Millions of US travelers research cruises online each month. The online cruise category – which includes cruise line sites, specialty cruise agency sites, and the cruise sections of the major online travel agencies – has been visited by an average of 6 million unique visitors per month in 2008. Online activity spikes in the winter months as travelers seek the warmer climates offered by many cruise vacations. In February 2007 and February 2008 over 8 million prospects clicked on one of the many cruise sites, 2 million higher than the average monthly level.

Looking at the composition of the online cruise category shows a mix of several different types of cruise sites. The top five most visited are all cruise supplier sites, led by Carnival.com which attracts an average of 1.7 million US cruise prospects per month. Seventh on the list is the cruise section of Expedia, the largest OTA cruise site with just under a half a million visitors per month.

The online cruise industry is large, with millions of cruise researchers seeking out information at dozens of sites each month. The activity across this category of sites increases each winter, in January and February, illustrating an increase in demand for cruises during these times. Considering that many cruise vacationers perform their research online and ultimatley book over the phone or face to face with an agent, online activity is a valuable demand predictor. As such, cruise marketers should leverage online consumer behavior data not just at their own sites but across all competitors in order to understand how many prospects are in market for a cruise at any given time.