Cruise ship tourism has been one of the fastest growing industries globally. According to Cruise Market Watch, in its Cruise Line Market Share and Revenue Projections for 2011, the industry will account for $29.4 billion globally in 2011, with more than 19 million passengers having been carried worldwide.

The industry’s rapid growth has seen nine or more newly built ships catering to a North American clientele being added every year since 2001, as well as others servicing European clientele, according to Wikipedia.

Smaller markets, such as the Asia-Pacific region, are generally serviced by older ships. These are displaced by new ships in the high-growth areas.

The world’s largest cruise ship is Royal Caribbean International’s Allure of the Seas.

Marthinus van Schalkwyk, minister of Tourism of South Africa, said at the launch of a report on cruise tourism in November 2010: “The development of cruise tourism as a niche market would further enhance South Africa’s reputation as a world-class and globally competitive tourism destination.

“The global cruise tourism industry has experienced significant growth over the last three decades, expanding from 1.4 million passenger carryings in 1980, to an estimated 15.4 million by 2009,” he added.

Statistics from the Cruise Line International Association (CLIA) show that cruising continues to grow in popularity, with 15 million guests taking trips on its member lines in 2010, up from 13.4 million in 2009.

CLIA’s forecast for 2011 is 16 million cruise passengers, with 11.68 million North American guests and the rest international.

According to a report by the Associated Press in Canada (27 January 2011), 14 new ships have been added to the CLIA fleet this year.

This includes the very recently launched Disney Dream, already attracting praise for technology and design features such as a water coaster and virtual portholes that stream video of sea and sky to windowless staterooms.

Also getting attention is its speciality restaurant, the Remy, which charges $75 for meals.

While many ships now feature fees for special meals, typically the cost is $25 or $30. CruiseCritic.com editor-in-chief Carolyn Spencer Brown said $75 is “the highest” such fee on any ship.

Also just launched is the 1 250-passenger Oceania Marina, which arrived in Miami last month.

Paul Motter, editor of CruiseMates.com, said the Oceania Marina sounds “impressive,” with “the largest staterooms at sea on average, 10 dining venues largely co-ordinated by culinary icon Jacques Pépin, a spa by Canyon Ranch” and suite furnishings by Ralph Lauren Home.

Brown said the Oceania Marina will help carve out a new category of ships, which she described as “less expensive than high-end luxury cruising, but more upscale than a mainstream cruise, with smaller ships.”

Ten- to 19-night sailings on the Oceania Marina in Europe and the Caribbean start at $1 499 a person.

May 2011 will see the launch of Carnival Magic, a 3 690-passenger ship that is scheduled to sail the Mediterranean through October, and then from Galveston, Texas to the Caribbean.

Highlights include an extensive aqua park called WaterWorks and a pub with a private-label beer brewed especially for Carnival Magic, called ThirstyFrog Red.

Celebrity Silhouette, with room for 2 866 passengers and a July inaugural cruise, will offer an outdoor interactive grill restaurant; a space called The Hideaway, described as “a high-tech avant-garde treehouse-like spot” for relaxing with an iPad or a book; as well as a studio area that offers both art- and culinary-themed instruction.

River cruises

River cruises carry about 300 000 people a year, says Patrick Clark, managing director of Avalon Waterways.

That is merely a fraction of the passengers who take mainstream cruises, but the industry has been growing by about 10% per year since 2003, Clark said, with Avalon’s growth higher, at 50%.

The appeal of the river ships, in part, is an experience that is completely different from a modern megaship.

“It’s gourmet-oriented, good service, nice accommodations,” said Motter.

Instead of having thousands of passengers on board, there may be a mere 150.

While mainstream cruises charge for excursions or activities in port, excursions are included in the price on European river cruises, and may range from a walking tour of a small village to a cultural experience in Vienna to sightseeing in the South of France.

“They’re fun; you get to know everybody,” said Heidi Allison-Shane, spokesperson for CruiseCompete.com.

“On some trips, you can even rent a bike in port and meet the ship at the next port.” (Source: The Associated Press, 27 January 2011)

Motter added that “a whole new breed of river cruise boats has been built since 2005, and they are more beautiful than ever.”

Older river boats “rarely had windows that opened”, but today’s river boats may have sliding glass doors that bring in fresh air, he said.

All the Avalon’s rooms offer French balconies.

A sample fare on Avalon’s seven-night Rhine cruise in April this year runs from $2 300 to $2 500 per person in a double occupancy room.

According to a report in The Sydney Morning Herald in February 2011, cruising is the fastest growing sector of the tourism industry in Australia, generating $1.2bn in economic activity in 2009–10.

With that figure expected to rise to $3bn within a few years, Sydney will require additional cruise ship facilities to cope with both rising demand and the latest generation of international superliners, most of which will not fit under the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

There is a need for a cruise shipping terminal west of the bridge to be served by reliable public transport links, thereby allowing visitors quick access to Sydney’s major tourist attractions.

Internationally, the four major cruise ship companies in the world have seen double-digit growth every year from 2004 until the end of 2010.

In Europe, there were 4.9 million ship cruises a year in 2008, and it increased to 5.5 million cruises in Europe in 2009.

The double-digit growth in 2009 and 2010 is significant, as the international world experienced a serious economic downturn and implosion due to the recession. Locally, that recession was the first in South Africa since 1992.

The double-digit growth in the major cruise line companies could be partially attributed to a change in mentality from the consumers or holidaymakers.

Originally, according to a chief executive officer of a major international cruise ship company, people thought of line cruisers as a boring way of going on holiday. It was seen as something for old people, and an expensive way of going on a trip, as well as associated with a black-tie event.

But clients have realised that a cruise vessel is for everyone. It is a destination, a floating entertainment centre, with restaurants, bars, formula-one simulators and theatres.

People have discovered it is a holiday for every member of the family and for people of all ages.

“One of the great success stories of cruises is that people don’t only enjoy the sea, but wake up in different countries and places with different experiences every day,” said the CEO.

Booking patterns

Travelocity’s year-on-year data on cruise prices shows that overall, consumers should be prepared to pay a little more to cruise this year than last.

In 2009, the average price per person for a seven-night Caribbean cruise on Travelocity was $922. The average price for a similar trip dropped to $844 last year, but is back up to $874 for the coming year.

Luxury cruising, meanwhile, has become a little more affordable, with more deals being offered by high-end lines.

For example, for 2011 bookings, Regent Seven Seas Cruises includes free overnight accommodations at deluxe hotels before every European cruise.

Booking windows for cruises are not expected to change this year compared to last, with consumers on average reserving cruises about 5.8 months in advance, up from 4.5 months in 2009, according to a survey done on more than 500 travel agents, conducted by the CLIA.

CLIA represents 25 cruise lines, including major brands such as Carnival, Celebrity, Cunard, Crystal, Holland America, Norwegian, Princess and Royal Caribbean.

Growth in China

The number of visits by cruise liners to Shanghai in 2011 is expected to maintain the historic level reached in 2010 that was driven by the Expo 2010 Shanghai China, underscoring the rapid development of the city’s cruise liner industry, reported the China Daily on 26 January 2011.

According to statistics from the Pujiang Frontier Inspection Station, cruise liners will make approximately 200 visits to Shanghai in 2011.

Zhang Jin, at the cruise department of the SAL Travel agency, said she has observed a gradual increase in the number of visitors since the firm introduced the cruise business eight years ago.

“Last year was a surge,” said Jin. “Costa had an extra cruise travelling to Shanghai and that’s why we have more than doubled the visitor numbers from 1 700 in 2009 to 3 800.”

Not only Shanghai, but the entire Chinese cruise sector witnessed robust growth in 2010, with the mainland receiving 223 international cruise ships in 2010, said the China Cruise & Yacht Industry Association (CCYIA) in January 2011.

The figure, a year-on-year rise of 42.9%, shows that China has become a key player in Asia’s cruise sector, said Zheng Weihang, secretary-general of CCYIA, the cruise industry watchdog. (Source: China Daily, 26 January 2011)

Fanie Heyns

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