Mad Money

Norwegian Cruise Line CEO: Attracting millennial guests through Instagram

Key Points
  • "We are now building ships with the understanding that Instagram is something to deal with" because millennials make up 25 percent of bookings, Norwegian Cruise Lines CEO Frank Del Rio says.
  • "The thing to understand, unlike the hotel industry, the airline industry, our ships run full and they run full all the time ... and [we] can finance the brand new ones" at low interest rates, he says.
  • Norwegian Cruise Lines is focused on adding more trips to Turkey after cutting back in the wake of geopolitical events in 2016, he says.
Attracting millennials through Instagram: Norwegian Cruise Line CEO
VIDEO0:4300:43
Attracting millennials through Instagram: Norwegian Cruise Line CEO

Millenials make up 25 percent of Norwegian Cruise Line's bookings and the company is putting more accommodations on board its ships to attract the fastest-growing customer base, CEO Frank Del Rio told CNBC Tuesday.

"We are now building ships with the understanding that Instagram is something to deal with," he said in an interview with "Mad Money's" Jim Cramer. "We're actually creating Instagram venues so that, when you get the urge, they're going to go there and that's the best publicity [we] can have."

Instagram is owned by social media giant Facebook.

Norwegian has ordered nearly a dozen new ships to be delivered through 2027 and their completion dates are staggered as to not "choke on the inventory," Del Rio said. He noted that some people, who worry that a recession is looming, think it's not an opportune time to add more ships to the fleet because the cruise industry is a "discretionary product," but the chief is optimistic about the future.

"First of all, there's no recession. We're past that, I hope. And the thing to understand, unlike the hotel industry, the airline industry, our ships run full and they run full all the time," he said. "So if you've got full ships all the time and you can finance the brand new ones at interest rates of less than 3 percent over 12-years fixed ... You'd order more ships."

The future for Norwegian Cruise is looking bright because customers are booking as far as eight months out, Del Rio said. He pointed out that 65 percent of 2019 inventory was sold at the the turn of the year and 35 percent of 2020 inventory in some brands has been booked. Cash flow is "off the charts" and is the most "misunderstood variable in this whole equation," he added.

Norwegian Cruise is also refocusing on Turkey where trips were cut due to geopolitical events in 2016, Del Rio said. The cruise line has a dozen planned sailings to the country, set to increase to 20 next year, he said.

Itineraries that include Turkey have been selling fast and at higher prices, he said.

"So the good news is that Americans are willing to go back to Turkey," Del Rio said.

WATCH: Cramer chats with Norwegian CEO Del Rio about the company's performance

Norwegian Cruise Line CEO: Attracting millennial guests through Instagram
VIDEO7:5807:58
Norwegian Cruise Line CEO: Attracting millennial guests through Instagram

Disclosure: Cramer's charity trust owns shares of Facebook.

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