Highlights
Cruising once may have been the province of the rich, but by the 21st Century, the North American-based cruising industry had become a massive economic engine: about 12.5 million passengers spent about $17.6 billion onboard and ashore in 2007, according to the Cruise Lines International Association. While the industry has struggled recently, the companies proved optimistic about growing demand: By the end of 2007, nearly 100 new ships will have been introduced since 2000 -- 8 just in 2007 and more in the pipeline. Several cruise lines such as Royal Caribbean are building monster-sized boats like the Project Genesis class, which will hold 5,400 passengers.
These are requiring several...
These are requiring several...
Cruising once may have been the province of the rich, but by the 21st Century, the North American-based cruising industry had become a massive economic engine: about 12.5 million passengers spent about $17.6 billion onboard and ashore in 2007, according to the Cruise Lines International Association. While the industry has struggled recently, the companies proved optimistic about growing demand: By the end of 2007, nearly 100 new ships will have been introduced since 2000 -- 8 just in 2007 and more in the pipeline. Several cruise lines such as Royal Caribbean are building monster-sized boats like the Project Genesis class, which will hold 5,400 passengers.
These are requiring several ports, such as Fort Lauderdale Florida's Port Everglades, to consider enlarging berths and deepening channels. Cruising is a key part of Florida's economy. In 2006, cruise line spending in Florida topped $5.8 billion and companies paid $5 billion in wages to Florida employees. Miami, Port Canaveral and Fort Lauderdale's Port Everglades are among the busiest ports in North America, accounting for more than half the cruise traffic, but New York and Hawaii are among the fastest-growing embarkation points. The average cruiser remains a 49-year-old person with a household income of more than $100,000, but much of the passenger growth has been due to aggressive marketing to a diverse range of demographics including an entire cruise line aimed at families with children, gay-friendly cruises, amenities designed to be handicapped accessible and younger cruisers seeking more active shore excursions like white-water rafting and rappelling. The types of cruises offered encompass more than the traditional 3-to-10 day vacations with one-day stops in a half-dozen ports. They include day trips to the Caribbean islands, "cruises to nowhere" solely to enable customers to gamble, round-the-world marathons and trans-Atlantic trips that can be cheaper than flying and staying in a hotel. Customer preferences ebb and flow. In 2007, traffic to the Caribbean dipped while demands for trips to and around Europe increased. Patrons are booking their cruises later and later. Cruise lines have striven to attract customers with huge ships that carry thousands upon thousands of passengers. They tout fine dining (even gourmet supper clubs and health-conscious menus), luxurious amenities, gambling casinos, rock climbing walls, exotic ports like Dubai, shipboard Internet cafes and Wi-Fi, lengthy rosters of pre-arranged shore excursions, and experts or celebrities lecturing on everything from languages to art. The industry continues to grow, but it has been hit by one headache after another: rising fuel prices, hurricanes canceling cruises and spooking potential patrons, ship fires, terrorism fears, passenger disappearances, gastro-intestinal illnesses, a soft economy cutting into discretionary spending and the rise of land-based casinos. Some lines have been criticized by environmentalists damaging the eco-system. The North American cruise industry's trade group is the Cruise Lines International Association.
These are requiring several ports, such as Fort Lauderdale Florida's Port Everglades, to consider enlarging berths and deepening channels. Cruising is a key part of Florida's economy. In 2006, cruise line spending in Florida topped $5.8 billion and companies paid $5 billion in wages to Florida employees. Miami, Port Canaveral and Fort Lauderdale's Port Everglades are among the busiest ports in North America, accounting for more than half the cruise traffic, but New York and Hawaii are among the fastest-growing embarkation points. The average cruiser remains a 49-year-old person with a household income of more than $100,000, but much of the passenger growth has been due to aggressive marketing to a diverse range of demographics including an entire cruise line aimed at families with children, gay-friendly cruises, amenities designed to be handicapped accessible and younger cruisers seeking more active shore excursions like white-water rafting and rappelling. The types of cruises offered encompass more than the traditional 3-to-10 day vacations with one-day stops in a half-dozen ports. They include day trips to the Caribbean islands, "cruises to nowhere" solely to enable customers to gamble, round-the-world marathons and trans-Atlantic trips that can be cheaper than flying and staying in a hotel. Customer preferences ebb and flow. In 2007, traffic to the Caribbean dipped while demands for trips to and around Europe increased. Patrons are booking their cruises later and later. Cruise lines have striven to attract customers with huge ships that carry thousands upon thousands of passengers. They tout fine dining (even gourmet supper clubs and health-conscious menus), luxurious amenities, gambling casinos, rock climbing walls, exotic ports like Dubai, shipboard Internet cafes and Wi-Fi, lengthy rosters of pre-arranged shore excursions, and experts or celebrities lecturing on everything from languages to art. The industry continues to grow, but it has been hit by one headache after another: rising fuel prices, hurricanes canceling cruises and spooking potential patrons, ship fires, terrorism fears, passenger disappearances, gastro-intestinal illnesses, a soft economy cutting into discretionary spending and the rise of land-based casinos. Some lines have been criticized by environmentalists damaging the eco-system. The North American cruise industry's trade group is the Cruise Lines International Association.
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Cruise lines: Carnival drops fuel charge
Carnival Corp., the world's largest cruise-ship company, said it would suspend its fuel surcharge for six North American lines on trips that depart on or after Dec. 17. The suspension of the charge is because oil prices have dropped to $46 a barrel,...Tags: Commodity Markets, Energy Saving, Petroleum Industry, Carnival Corporation, Festive Event
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AP Exclusive: Passengers on cruise ship describe "pop! pop! pop!" of pirates' gunfire
Associated Press WriterMUSCAT, Oman (AP) _ Ordered to get inside and stay down, Oregon tourist Clyde Thornburg heard the pirates' rifle shots hit the side of the luxury cruise liner — "Pop! Pop! Pop!" — then felt the ship speed up to escape. At this port north of...Tags: Firearms, Migraine, Oregon, Defense, Crimes
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Speed, boomboxes foil pirates
The Associated PressOrdered to get inside and stay down, Oregon tourist Clyde Thornburg heard the pirates' rifle shots hit the side of the luxury cruise liner -- "Pop! Pop! Pop!" -- then felt the ship speed up to escape. At this port north of the pirate-infested Gulf of...Tags: Firearms, Migraine, Oregon, Defense, Crimes
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Outrunning pirates
The Associated PressOrdered to get inside and stay down, Oregon tourist Clyde Thornburg heard the pirates' rifle shots hit the side of the luxury cruise liner — "Pop! Pop! Pop!" — and then felt the ship speed up to escape. At this port north of the pirate-...Tags: Firearms, Oregon, Defense, Crimes, Tourism and Leisure
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Cruise line's policies leave customer adrift
Question: We have made a reservation on a Norwegian fiord/Baltic cruise next summer through my alma mater. It is on a small cruise line, and I am worried about the possibility of financial default. Because of our age, the insurance premium quoted for this...Tags: Trips and Vacations, Tour Operations Industry, California, Credit and Debt, Tourism and Leisure
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Travel deal: Music cruises
Jazz aficionados have several notable choices for cruising the Caribbean this January. First, the "Smooth Jazz Cruise" on Holland America's Westerdam sails round trip from Ft. Lauderdale Jan. 18-25, with music by Gerald Albright, Tom Braxton and others....Tags: Trips and Vacations, Super Bowl, Sailing, Gerald Albright, Tourism and Leisure
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Tours & cruises: Cruise through Alaskan frontier
ALASKA
Cruise through the frontier
Explore America's last great frontier with Vacations to Go's Alaska cruise. The 14-day voyage hugs the coast, then goes inland.
Itinerary: Vancouver, Canada, to Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, Icy Strait Point, Hubbard...Tags: Trips and Vacations, Bodies of Water, Christmas, Alaska, New York
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Planning a family cruise
Special to the TribuneYou might, like us, wonder if sailing over the blue horizon as a family group is a good idea, especially as the holidays near. Earlier this year, we weighed the advantages of holding a family gathering at sea versus, say, a week at a land resort or...Tags: Trips and Vacations, Tour Operations Industry, Wine, Beer, and Spirits, Festive Event, Tourism and Leisure
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News to use
The Associated PressHELSINKI, Finland (AP) _ Finnish shipbuilders say the world's largest cruise liner has been launched into water for the first time. Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas will be completed within a year before sailing to Miami. The ship was floated out...Tags: Tourism and Leisure
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Universal Studios To Replace Gas-Powered Golf Carts With Solar-Electric Hybrids
Edmunds.comUniversal Studios Hollywood announced today that it intends to replace its fleet of 300 gas-powered golf carts with plug-in solar-electric hybrid vehicles. The vehicles' powertrain includes an electric motor, a solar panel atop the passenger compartment... -
Spike in cruises expected at city port
The Associated PressThe Maryland Port Administration is preparing for a significant increase in the number of cruise trips departing from Baltimore. Executive director James White said there are 79 trips planned in 2009, up from 27 this year and 28 last year. Until this...Tags: Carnival Cruise Lines, Tour Operations Industry, Maryland, Economic Policy, Tourism and Leisure
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Attractions trade show returns
Sara K. Clarke and Scott Powers, Sentinel Staff WritersOne of the most distinctive trade shows of the year returns to Orlando this week when the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions opens its annual conference and expo in the Orange County Convention Center. The conference portion...Tags: Tour Operations Industry, International Drive, Police, Shipbuilding, Tourism and Leisure
Dec 5, 2008
|Story| South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Dec 3, 2008
|Story| Associated Press
Dec 4, 2008
|Story| Orlando Sentinel
Dec 4, 2008
|Story| South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Nov 30, 2008
|Story| Los Angeles Times
Nov 30, 2008
|Story| Chicago Tribune
Nov 30, 2008
|Story| Los Angeles Times
Nov 30, 2008
|Story| Chicago Tribune
Nov 25, 2008
|Story| Associated Press
Nov 24, 2008
|Blog| Edmunds.com
Nov 17, 2008
|Story| Associated Press
Nov 17, 2008
|Story| Orlando Sentinel
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