Prepared remarks
Good morning. My name is Morgan, and I'll be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Royal Caribbean Group Second Quarter 2026 Earnings Call. Operator instructions were provided. I would now like to introduce Mr. Blake Vanier, Vice President of Investor Relations. Mr. Vanier, the floor is yours.
Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today for our second quarter 2026 earnings call. Joining me here in Miami are Jason Liberty, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer; Naftali Holtz, our Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer; and Michael Bayley, President and CEO of the Royal Caribbean brand. Before we get started, I'd like to note that we will be making forward-looking statements during this call. These statements are based on management's current expectations and are subject to risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from our current expectations. Please refer to our earnings release issued this morning as well as our filings with the SEC for a description of these factors. We do not undertake to update any forward-looking statements as circumstances change. Also, we will be discussing certain non-GAAP financial measures, which are adjusted as defined, and a reconciliation of all non-GAAP items can be found on our investor website and in our earnings release. Unless we state otherwise, all metrics are on a constant currency adjusted basis. Jason will begin the call by providing a strategic overview and update on the business. Naftali will follow with a recap of our second quarter, the current booking environment and our outlook for 2026. We will then open the call for your questions. With that, I'm pleased to turn the call over to Jason.
Thank you, Blake, and good morning, everyone. This morning, we reported second quarter results that exceeded our expectations, along with an increase in our full year guidance that reflects the continued strength in demand for our leading vacation brands. Revenue in the second quarter grew 6% year-over-year. Earnings were 8% higher than guidance, and we returned over $600 million of capital to investors through dividends and share repurchases. Our flywheel is accelerating. Demand for our vacation experiences continues to strengthen, driven by a healthy experience-seeking consumer and exceptional execution from the team, which is delivering Net Promoter Scores averaging the low to mid-70s. We see continued commercial momentum as guests are booking in greater numbers, supported by our industry-leading technology and loyalty platforms. From my perch, it is clear that the differentiated offerings across our leading brands are driving strong demand, enabling higher pricing, increasing retention amongst our most valuable guests, and encouraging greater onboard and vacation spending. The further connectivity between our brands through loyalty, data and technology, combined with new destination experiences like Celebrity River, are fueling our vision of transitioning from a vacation of a lifetime to a lifetime of vacations. Since our April earnings call, the ongoing conflict in the Middle East has modestly weighed on bookings for some of our deployments in the near term, which primarily impacts the third quarter. Although booking trends improved after the initial disruption, the conflict has persisted longer than anticipated, influencing consumer destination preferences and resulting in more modest yield growth for Europe sailings this summer. As a result, we are reaffirming our yield guidance for the year of 1.75% to 2.25% as we grow our capacity 6.6% to deliver approximately double-digit improvement in absolute revenue and double-digit improvement in earnings per share for 2026. Given the interest in Mahahual, Mexico, one of our many destination projects, let me provide an update before discussing the results. Mexico has been a key destination partner since our inception and has played an important role in helping us fulfill our mission of delivering the best vacation experiences responsibly. Our commitment to Mexico and the destinations we visit is stronger than ever. This includes the great community of Mahahual, where we continue to maintain a constructive dialogue with community leaders and public officials as we work to develop a tourism destination that will create long-term opportunities for the region, for Mexico, and for our guests. Recent public comments by the Mexican administration acknowledge the community support for development. The government is continuing to engage with community stakeholders to better understand their perspectives, a process that will take some time and is expected to affect our previously planned timeline. We remain heavily engaged with key stakeholders to create sustainable tourism that includes lasting environmental, economic and social benefits for the region, including investments in critical infrastructure to protect the local environment. We will provide additional updates on this project as appropriate. With that, let me dive into the second quarter results and updated outlook for the year. In the second quarter, we delivered 2.4 million incredible vacations at industry-leading guest satisfaction scores. Capacity increased 5% year-over-year and total revenue grew 6%. Net yields were up 1.2%, which was 100 basis points higher than our guidance, driven by better-than-expected close-in demand, including strong onboard revenue, primarily for Caribbean products. Costs also came in favorably, primarily due to timing, and we also benefited from better-than-expected performance from joint ventures and balance sheet management. As a result, adjusted earnings per share was $0.33 higher than our guidance. These results reflect the continued appeal of our vacation experiences, diversified portfolio and disciplined execution. Naftali will elaborate on our results and outlook in a few minutes. Turning to the demand environment. As I noted before, we continue to see engaged consumers who prioritize travel and experiences. Travel remains the number one leisure category where consumers intend to spend more, and they are increasingly seeking vacations as a way to relax, unwind and escape. The ongoing geopolitical situation has affected near-term travel plans for some consumers, primarily preferring closer destinations over international trips due to the cost of air travel. Consumers tell us that they are booking closer in due to flexibility and ease, which is reflected in the strong close-in booking volumes we have been seeing. Our book position is in line with prior years at record pricing for both 2026 and 2027. In addition, onboard spending and pre-cruise purchases continue to exceed prior years. These trends are supported by our digital channels and our growing ability to connect guests with the experiences most relevant to them at the right point in their vacation journey. The response to Legend of the Seas and to the Royal Beach Club in Paradise Island and Santorini has been excellent. These new experiences showcase how expanding our fleet and destinations offer even more reasons for guests to vacation with us. Consumers are becoming more deliberate about their spending, yet they still prioritize quality leisure time, which aligns with our differentiated portfolio and the compelling combination of experiences, choices and value we offer. Now, let me provide an updated outlook for 2026. We expect net yield growth of 1.75% to 2.25% for the full year. While the prolonged conflict in the Middle East has modestly impacted Mediterranean sailings, which are heavily weighted to Q3, we continue to expect full year yield growth across our key products, including the Caribbean. We also remain committed to expanding margins by continuously identifying efficiencies through prioritizing spend and leveraging technology and AI without compromising the quality of the guest experience. We expect another year of strong earnings growth and cash flow generation. Full year adjusted earnings per share is expected to grow 14% and be in the range of $17.73 to $17.87. Our scale, industry-leading margin profile and strong cash flow generation allows us to continue to invest in our future and return capital to shareholders. Let me now turn to the progress we are making against the long-term strategic initiatives and how we are bringing our connected vacation platform to life. Across our portfolio, we are strengthening engagement with our guests across the vacation journey, creating more opportunities to serve them across brands, destinations and occasions. Royal ONE is our new co-branded card that allows guests to earn and redeem rewards across our brands. Since its launch in April, it has been exceeding expectations, driven by higher sign-ups and cardholder spend. We are seeing Royal ONE cardholders spend more on our vacation experiences than non-cardholders, and they are twice as likely to sail multiple times. We are seeing similar momentum from Points Choice and Status Match, which has generated over 0.5 million new loyalty enrollments. These loyalty enhancements give guests greater freedom to engage with us across our brands without sacrificing the recognition they have earned. That flexibility is contributing to sustained growth in cross-branded bookings and bringing us closer to our goal of serving guests across the lifetime of vacations. Technology is helping us make those relationships more relevant at every interaction. More than 90% of our guests now use our app, where monthly active users have increased fivefold since 2019, and more than half of our onboard revenue was purchased before embarkation. That engagement provides a richer understanding of what our guests value, and allows us to deliver more personalized recommendations while making the vacation easier to plan and enjoy. These capabilities enable a more personalized itinerary across dining, entertainment and destination experiences, real-time recommendations that connect guests with the next experience they are most likely to enjoy and a digital vacation passport that brings together preferences, loyalty recognition and rewards across all three brands. We are also expanding the experiences that bring guests into the ecosystem. The debut of Legend of the Seas brought the Icon Class to Europe for the first time. Equally important, we continue to invest in the ships our guests already know and love through Royal Caribbean's ongoing amplification program, Celebrity Cruises' Solstice Series revitalization and continued investments to elevate the luxury experience across the Silversea fleet. These enhancements strengthen the guest experience, improve return on existing assets and create even more reason for guests to vacation with us more often. Our ships are platforms for experiences that cannot easily be replicated elsewhere. Taken together, our brands, ships, destinations, loyalty programs and digital capabilities are increasingly operating as a connected system. Each interaction gives us the opportunity to better understand the guest so that we can improve their experience. This creates a strong reason to vacation with us again and again, supporting greater frequency, higher lifetime value and attractive returns. In fact, this year, we have seen repeat guest mix increase year-over-year even as we continue to grow our platform and attract guests who are new to cruise and new to brand. Finally, supporting communities has always been a core part of our strategy. This quarter, we published our annual community impact report, highlighting our positive impact in over 85 communities worldwide and reaching over 3 million individuals through investment and partnership. Mahahual exemplifies our commitment. As part of our ongoing investment in the community, we're planning a new community center that will offer a modern, accessible gathering space for all residents. Such initiatives create lasting value for local residents and support the region's long-term growth and vitality. In summary, demand for our brands remains strong, and we expect another year of double-digit earnings growth. We continue to capture a greater share of the growing vacation market while investing in our future and returning significant capital to shareholders. While still early in our booking and planning cycle, we are encouraged by the elevated booking activity and year-over-year pricing improvements we are seeing for 2027. We fully remain committed to delivering the best vacation experiences responsibly, resulting in record-breaking Net Promoter Scores. All of this, combined with strong cost and capital discipline, further bolsters our expectations on delivering Perfecta next year. And with that, I will turn the call over to Naftali.
Thank you, Jason, and good morning, everyone. I will start by reviewing second quarter results. Adjusted earnings per share were $4.21, $0.33 higher than the midpoint of our guidance and driven by higher revenue, lower costs and favorability below the line, including joint ventures. We delivered 6% more vacations and achieved net yield growth of 1.2% compared to last year. The continued expansion of yields and capacity resulted in total revenue growth of 6% for the quarter. Yields for the quarter were 100 basis points above our guidance, driven by stronger and accelerated close-in demand compared to our expectations in April, particularly in the Caribbean. We have seen consumers choosing to book closer to the vacation time, mainly driven by flexibility and ease. Net cruise costs per APCD, excluding fuel, were up 3.9% year-over-year, about 90 basis points better than expected, driven by the timing of our costs shifting to the second half of the year. Adjusted EBITDA was $1.8 billion, EBITDA margin was 38% and operating cash flow was $1.9 billion. As Jason mentioned, our book position is strong and in line with prior years at record prices for 2026. While still very early, booking trends for 2027 are encouraging and pacing ahead of historical levels, including for itineraries where demand was impacted by geopolitical events this year. Consumers' desire for memorable experiences with our leading brands drives strong demand for our vacation experiences. Our capacity is growing 6.6% this year with the Caribbean representing the same deployment mix compared to last year, while Europe is slightly down. We plan deployment to optimize margin and operating income, and the mix this year creates slight headwinds to yields, especially in the third quarter. The Caribbean represents 57% of our capacity this year and 44% in the third quarter. Our competitive position in the region is strong, supported by our industry-leading ships, destinations and experiences. This allows us to deliver incredible vacations and record Net Promoter Scores and grow yields even with elevated industry capacity in the region. Europe will account for 14% of capacity for the year and 28% of capacity in the third quarter. Europe demand is strong. We did, however, experience a modest and near-term impact on 2026 bookings since the last earnings call, primarily due to the prolonged geopolitical activity that is driving our reduced yield outlook for the remainder of the year. Lastly, Alaska is expected to account for 5% of total capacity and 13% in the third quarter. Now let me talk about our guidance for 2026. Net yields are expected to grow 1.75% to 2.25%. Together with capacity growth of 6.6%, total revenue is expected to grow 9% as we continue to grow both yields and capacity. As I mentioned, our yield guidance compared to April is impacted by prolonged region-specific global events affecting select itineraries. For the full year, net cruise costs, excluding fuel, are expected to be approximately flat, consistent with our prior guidance, reflecting ongoing efficiency improvements and prudent cost management without impacting the guest experience. As I mentioned on the last call, the first half's cost growth is expected to be higher than the second half, driven by timing of dry docks and other year-over-year comparisons. We expect fuel expense to be $1.3 billion for the year, and our consumption for the remainder of 2026 is 58% hedged at significantly below market rates. Additionally, when prices subsided in June, we opportunistically hedged more for 2027. Based on current fuel prices, currency exchange rate and interest expense, we expect adjusted earnings per share between $17.73 and $17.87. While our operating assumptions remain largely unchanged, we've benefited from an improved outlook from our joint ventures and expenses below the line. More importantly, our confidence in the business remains high, supported by strong demand, a healthy book position, disciplined cost management and continued execution against our strategic priorities. We expect continued cash flow growth, enabling us to increase margins, invest in strategic initiatives, maintain solid investment-grade balance sheet metrics and return capital to shareholders. Now let me discuss our third quarter guidance. In the third quarter, capacity is expected to be up 8.5% year-over-year and net yields are expected to be roughly flat. As I mentioned earlier, deployment mix changes and global events have created yield headwinds in the third quarter. Looking ahead, we anticipate yield growth during the fourth quarter to reaccelerate. This growth is expected to be driven by a more favorable year-over-year comparison, deployment mix and the timing of dry dock scheduling compared to last year. While this provides a 2-point benefit to fourth quarter yields, there is a similar headwind to yields in the third quarter. Net cruise costs, excluding fuel, are expected to decrease in the range of 1.1% to 1.6% in constant currency. Taking all this into account, we expect adjusted earnings per share for the quarter to be between $6.26 and $6.36, a double-digit year-over-year growth. Turning to our balance sheet. We ended the quarter with $6.9 billion in liquidity and leverage below 3x, consistent with our goal of solid investment-grade metrics. In July, we increased, through the accordion feature, the revolving credit facility capacity by $250 million to a total capacity of $6.6 billion. We maintained strong access to diverse capital funding sources that support our robust liquidity and growth aspirations as well as shareholder returns. During the second quarter, we paid $404 million of dividends and repurchased 0.8 million shares. We have $805 million remaining under our current share repurchase program authorization. In closing, we remain committed and focused on our mission to deliver the best vacation experiences responsibly as we work to deliver another year of strong results. With that, I will ask our operator to open the call for a question-and-answer session.
Questions and answers
Your first question comes from Matthew Boss with JPMorgan.
Congrats on a nice quarter. Jason, could you speak to the continued strength in onboard spending? I know historically, this has been a key lead indicator for the health of your consumer. And can you elaborate on 2027 booking and pricing trends across regions?
Sure. Thanks for the question, Matt. I hope all is well. I think on the onboard side, there's a combination of things. One, as you pointed out, we're seeing about 180,000 people on any given day spend. Seeing elevated spend while they're on a ship is obviously a good indicator of the health of the consumer, or at least our guests that sail with us each and every day. I think also what's very beneficial is our ability to help our guests identify what they want to do on the ship prior to embarkation. Our investments in technology and the data to help curate well ahead of time allow our guests to book what they want to do and also to basically get the first day of their cruise back, so they're not spending their time trying to identify what there is to do. The combination of those things has resulted in a very strong trend of onboard revenue continuing to rise. I would also comment that when we look at where our guests have spent on an elevated basis, you've seen an increase in spend in beverage and shore excursions, for example. Seeking those experiences was higher than we had anticipated or had seen in previous periods. On 2027, obviously—first, it's July, so it's early—but we have seen very strong demand for 2027. As we said, booking volumes are at historically high levels. So our booking volumes are in a great place. We're trying to optimize our yield, not just be better than historical levels for the sake of being better. We feel very good about our book position, and that's all at higher rates across the portfolio of products that we offer. So we feel good about 2027, which is also why we reaffirmed our view on reaching Perfecta by the end of next year.
Your next question comes from Steve Wieczynski with Stifel.
Jason, I want to ask about the Caribbean. From our seat, it's pretty clear a few of your peers have accelerated promotions in that market. As we think about the fourth quarter and next year, wondering if you've seen any impact from the uptick in promotions and if that has started to impact your ability to take price in that market? And if you haven't seen an impact from those promotions, would it be fair to assume that without the European headwinds you encountered this year, you would have been able to raise your yield guidance for the year?
Sure. Thanks for the question, Steve. I'll start with the latter part. That's absolutely correct. Europe was off to an incredible start at the beginning of the year. The results of geopolitical activity in the region and the impact on fuel, etc., did curtail to a degree demand for Europe. Now that's not to say that European yields are down—European yields are still very good for this year—but they are less than what we had expected. So to your point, we would have raised the back half of the year, if not for those activities. On the Caribbean side, this has been one of the main stories or concerns for the year. Whether it's cruise competitors or other vacation competitors, we're all dealing with a different set of dynamics. But the reality for the Caribbean is, while we have increased our Caribbean capacity for 2026, demand for differentiated assets—which we bring with our ships and destinations—combined with our loyalty and technology initiatives, has resulted in us attracting higher-margin guests. That allows us to be a bit less insulated from competitors' promotions. For us, we're in a very good position for the Caribbean for the balance of the year, and we continue to see strong demand going into next year.
Steve, it's Michael. I just want to add on the Caribbean that we opened the Royal Beach Club earlier in the year, and that's our top-rated experience in the Bahamas to date in Nassau, and it is incredibly popular. It's a great product. Combine that with Perfect Day: we're just shy of 4 million guests going to Perfect Day in 2026 with two Icon-Class ships and the third one coming in the fourth quarter back from Europe with the Oasis Class on the short product itineraries. We really have a phenomenal brand with Royal Caribbean and with the sister brands, and we've got these unbelievable products that set Royal Caribbean apart from our competition.
The last point I want to add is that when you're delivering Net Promoter Scores in the mid-70s in the Caribbean, which is exceptional, we're very intentional about the vacation experience we're delivering. Our cost management has been strong, and we've continued to invest in product and experience. That results in establishing incredible trust with our guests, fueling repeat rates. Our customers value experiences and want assurance they will get what they expect. The Net Promoter Score is a great indicator of not just they had a great time, but also advocacy—sharing with friends and family—which is driving very strong demand.
Your next question comes from Lizzie Dove with Goldman Sachs.
I wanted to put a finer point on Matt's question about 2027. With fourth quarter implied strength and two years of easier comps, Caribbean next year should be more benign. Carnival is pulling mid-single-digit capacity out of the system versus some of the long tail of what we've seen with the Middle East this year. How do you think about whether this is setting up to be potentially an above-algorithm year?
I wouldn't say the comps are easy. We've had substantial yield growth over the past several years. We are doing things on product and experience: adding hardware like Legend, bringing new destinations online, and introducing River. There are a lot of tailwinds going into 2027. It's too early to pinpoint exact yield outcomes for next year. We continue to believe we drive tremendous shareholder value with moderate yield growth, strong cost control and being discerning about capital investment and returns. There are tailwinds, but we don't plan for perfection.
Your next question comes from Robin Farley with UBS.
Just looking for color around the 2027 commentary. You talked about pacing being up, which sounds like incremental. I'm wondering if load factor on the books is up and whether the strategy is not to have it up at this point. How does load compare to this time last year? And then price on the books for '27—your release talked about record but didn't necessarily imply price on the books is up for '27 at the moment. Could you clarify whether record for 2027 means up year-over-year compared to the same time last year?
Yes. Robin, it's Naf. We feel very good about how it's pacing. It is early, as Jason said, but we booked very well and at higher prices. So we feel pretty good about next year.
Robin, on load factor, it's at an elevated level on a comparable basis and more or less in line with where we have been booked on a load factor basis. When we used the term record pricing, that means higher pricing than the previous period, so that's positive. We have built sophisticated AI-driven models that help us every day manage millions of price points to optimize yield. We're focused on driving revenue. Where we are today we're at an elevated level, but we're not trying to be extreme—these tools are very predictable and successful in helping us generate higher revenue.
Your next question comes from Brandt Montour with Barclays.
Recognizing the Mexico timeline is a bit in question, does that affect your target of a Western/Eastern Caribbean 50-50 split in 2028–2029? If that has to be changed, what is your capability of managing any shifts? Or does there need to be a change to that split?
Brandt, we'll see if there will be any impact to that. We're not in a place to comment on the status of that development. What I would say is we are generating very strong demand out of home ports like Galveston, Tampa and South Florida for cruising in the Western Caribbean and believe we'll be able to deliver with a set of different vacation and destination experiences highlighted by Mahahual and Cozumel. There might be some deployment changes on the margin, but that's not our expectation today, and we're not worried about the ability to generate growing yields off that capacity.
Your next question comes from James Hardiman with Citigroup.
Walk us through the last few months and what you've seen with demand. As of your last call, the geopolitical headwind had begun to dissipate, but one of your competitors talked about a step back in May and improvement in June. Do you generally agree with that pattern and can you tell us about July? People are looking for the exit rate as a data point.
The commentary you referenced is generally what we saw as well. After our April call, we had seen a great rebound in April from earlier geopolitical noise. Then a few weeks after the call we saw some modest softening in May. These are highly marginal dynamics that can cause small changes to revenue and booking environment. We saw most of June and certainly July with very strong demand. We're seeing strong volumes and pricing for 2026 and into 2027. There's geopolitical noise, and ebbs and flows in booking activity, but across our products demand is strong.
Your next question comes from Sharon Zackfia with William Blair.
I recall you were working on a project to enhance onboard spending through the app with a rollout next year. Is that timeline still intact? Could you refresh how you plan to make onboard spending more frictionless with a digital mechanism?
We sit on a mountain of high-quality data and have millions of interactions with our guests, so we're getting better at identifying what guests want and personalizing the experience. Some of the app features will start to appear in early next year. These tools get smarter and are designed to enhance the guest experience. It's important they learn and curate what's relevant for each guest.
Just to add, we're focused on the entire journey. This is one piece, and there are other initiatives to simplify how people explore and understand the options we offer, ensuring the booking journey is frictionless.
Your next question comes from Conor Cunningham with Melius Research.
There have been many questions around the 2027 bridge, but I wanted to focus near term. The implied fourth quarter steps up from the third quarter. Can you give the puts and takes around what you're assuming there? Anything that helps drive confidence in that exit rate would be helpful.
Let me give you a couple of the pieces. It's hard to compare quarter-over-quarter versus last year—there are many moving parts. You have timing of new ships, deployment changes, dry dock days, capacity and changes in mixes between Caribbean and Europe. All of those affect quarter-over-quarter. Between the third and fourth quarter this year, it's an opposite impact: around a 200 basis point headwind to the third quarter and a similar tailwind to the fourth quarter.
Your next question comes from David Katz with Jefferies.
If we're seeing this right, average itinerary length appears to be getting a little shorter. Is that intentional or strategic, and how should we think about implications?
We've invested in destinations where guests want to visit places like Perfect Day and Royal Beach Clubs, allowing us to offer elevated short-product experiences. Half of our guests are millennials or younger, and they prefer shorter, more frequent vacations. They often spend the same amount on a short vacation as a long one. We've curated products, especially in the short Caribbean space, that generate very high demand. Shorter products work as great weekend getaways, driving higher frequency and new-to-cruise guests. We're also investing in more Royal Beach Clubs and better assets there, which increases frequency and attracts new guests.
David, on short product we've grown year-over-year and it's very successful, but we've never walked away from the classic 7-night itinerary, which remains unbelievably popular. With Icon Class and Legend and new ships coming online, we have a huge lineup of classic 7-night product, especially in the Caribbean, which is very popular for families. So short product is successful, and the classic 7-night continues to perform well.
If you look at our deployment mix, short this year versus last year on a mix basis is not significantly higher than capacity growth. We have growth across other products as well.
Your next question comes from Vince Ciepiel with Cleveland Research.
Thanks for the color on bookings and the geopolitical impact. You noted it had some impact on 2026 yield, but at this point 2027 looks strong. You noted strong demand in June and July despite recent street commentary. Do you think cruise bookers are becoming desensitized to the situation, or is it more a mix effect with more Caribbean bookings right now?
A few things are going on. When looking further out, geopolitical events have little to no impact on guests thinking 6 months out. They can affect nearer-term plans for 3–6 months. Airfare, typically published about 12 months out, can influence decisions. Overall, our business is incredibly resilient and our consumer is resilient. People care about world events, but once situations are resolved or normalize, they refocus on building memories and experiences with friends and family. That's why we see a resilient consumer across brands. There might be small mix shifts—choosing one location over another—but demand for Europe, Caribbean and Alaska remains high. As long as we deliver what guests expect, they're willing to trust their vacation with us, which shows in booking volumes and rates for 2027.
Your next question comes from Raymond "Trey" Bowers with Wells Fargo.
One of your competitors in River has said it's important to drive the ocean business. As you get closer to launching Celebrity River in Europe, how do you think the river introduction might impact long-term pricing dynamics for Celebrity ocean?
We have high ambitions for Celebrity River. We have a strong customer base that trusts us for elevated experiences on river. For Celebrity customers, we're effectively miniaturizing an Edge-class ship on River; the look and feel are what they want. Elevating the land component where guests walk away with stories drives organic demand. We're seeing pricing that's higher than competitors in River. Over time, this should be a tailwind to yields for Celebrity and our other brands as guests take more vacations across our ecosystem. We're seeing encouraging early signs, including repeat guests who spend 20% to 25% more, and offering another non-substitute vacation experience is positive for us.
We also see strong interest from Royal Caribbean guests for Celebrity River, which is great news. The response to this new product has been very positive.
Your next question comes from Jamie Rollo with Morgan Stanley.
Could you talk about where you are on maximizing per diems rather than pricing to fill? Should we expect load factor to soften a little in Q3 given the slowdown you noted? Might booked load factors soften over the next 6–12 months if demand shifts to later booking?
Price integrity is top of mind every day. Generally, we're fortunate that guests appreciate our vacation experience and accept moderate price increases. There are times—such as geopolitically—when we might not chase load factor at the expense of price integrity. Over the past several weeks, we've seen high demand going out, so our booked load factor position is being managed to an optimal level, positioning us to raise prices in the future.
Your next question comes from Xian Siew with BNP Paribas.
You talked about strength in close-in bookings in the quarter. Is there anything you are doing to drive close-in demand beyond market factors? For close-in bookings, is the mix of repeat guests versus new-to-cruise similar to your overall mix, or different?
On the mix, there has been an increase in repeat cruisers, which helps short- and long-term demand. For the past three to four years we've seen close-in demand come in higher than expected because we've made it easier to book closer in. Guests appreciate flexibility and optionality. They may not decide until closer to departure, and limited inventory sometimes encourages capture closer-in. Historically, close-in bookings might have required discounting, but today we can increase pricing for close-in demand, and we're happy to harvest that.
That concludes our Q&A session. I will now turn the conference back over to Naftali Holtz, EVP, CFO, for any closing remarks.
Thank you all for your participation and interest. Blake will be available for any follow-ups. We wish you all a great day.
Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes today's call. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.