Cruise Highlights Of 2010

Cruise Highlights Of 2010

To book or not to book your cruise now, that is the question.

As highlighted in last week’s blog, cruise lines and travel agencies such as Virgin Holidays Cruises have embarked on exceptional cruise offer campaigns this month.

But cruise industry experts believe that while there are many fantastic offers to be snapped up in January, they may not be around forever.

Cruise bargains are deemed necessary as lines seek to attract record numbers of UK passengers in 2010.

Carolyn Spencer Brown, editor in chief of renowned cruise reviews website CruiseCritic and a leading authority on the cruise business, says the cruise industry stayed buoyant in 2009 due to companies’ willingness to slash prices and the fact that the British love a good bargain.

“As the economy crumbled, the cruise lines adopted a fearless attitude toward discounting, and the resulting deals proved irresistible,” she says.

“Prices won’t stay low forever, but the perks should remain as the competition to fill cabins continues. Look out for a host of new ships, more celebs at sea and the demise of controversial tipping policies.”

More than 1.5 million of us in took a cruise in 2009 despite the rough economy and this figure is expected to increase 6.5% this year, according to the Passenger Shipping Association.

What to watch out for this year

But what does CruiseCritic suggest we watch out for in 2010?

Value, Not Just Price

Deals will continue, but the exceptional offers will eventually dry up as the economy improves. So, holidaymakers are advised to book when they see a deal, rather than wait. Look for complimentary upgrades and onboard credit, free flights and other perks. New and refurbished ships often include new features and facilities, adding to the value of the cruise.

Hot New Ships

Norwegian Epic tops the list and will debut in July as the largest-ever NCL ship featuring an aqua park, an array of restaurants (but no main dining room), a circus- and acrobatics-themed dinner show, a duelling piano bar, an ice bar and cabins with curved walls and split baths.

More New(ish) Ships

Most of the ships debuting this year are sisters to previous ships. Costa Deliziosa, Celebrity Eclipse, Holland America’s Nieuw Amsterdam, Seabourn Sojourn and Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas are all twins or nearly so of existing ships namely, Costa Luminosa, Celebrity Solstice, HAL’s Eurodam, Seabourn Odyssey and Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas, respectively.

Headline Acts

Look for theme cruises being hosted by more big-name stars.

New Cabin Designs

Norwegian Epic is launching the New Wave cabin concept, featuring curved walls and a new bathroom concept with the shower stall, toilet area and vanity split up into three different entities. New, 100-square-foot studio cabins will offer mood lighting and access to an exclusive two-floor lounge, while the line’s spa cabins take that trend to new heights by placing in-room whirlpools in eight of the staterooms. P&O’s Azura will have 18 single cabins – a first for the line – and a pair of large suites, ideal for families or groups of friends.

Tipping

Unpopular with many UK cruisers, tipping polices – which often include compulsory gratuities – are changing. Royal Caribbean is reviewing its gratuities procedures, and P&O Australia recently announced that, starting with the line’s October 2010 departures, gratuities will no longer be automatically added to passengers’ onboard bills, leaving guests to tip – or not – at their own discretion. On the luxury side, Azamara is abolishing gratuities for housekeeping and dining as part of its more-inclusive policy.

Activity has already kicked off

On top of this, the year has already kicked off with some significant cruise industry activity, and there’s more to come over the next few weeks.

First, we had celebrations at the Italian ship yard where Cunard’s graceful new ship Queen Elizabeth was floated out of its dry dock ready for final construction to take place prior to entering service in October.

This was swiftly followed by Celebrity Cruises marking its 20th anniversary with plans to ‘Solsticize’ its four Millennium-class ships. What this means in plain English is that the US premium line is to introduce key elements of its highly rated new Solstice-class ships onto vessels which entered service around a decade ago.

So well received have the Solstice-class ships been, with their boutique hotel feel, that the company aims to adapt other ships in the fleet to reflect the look and feel of the modern vessels.

The work, which starts with Celebrity Constellation in April and run over four years, will see key Solstice-class attributes introduced. These include revamped cabins and suites, new dining options, bars and cafes.

So as not to miss out, sister brand Azamara Club Cruises’ US management team will be in the UK this week to give updates on the adventure cruise line’s rebrand and its move towards a more all inclusive offering.

I also have had a strong indication from the boss of Thomson Cruises that further fleet expansion could be in the offing over and above the new Thomson Dream which enters service this summer. No other details at this point, but certainly worth keeping tabs on.

All in all, the cruise industry continues to make headlines. Let’s hope it stays that way for the right reasons.

But one thing you can be sure of, cruising continues to be the biggest growing phenomenon in the travel industry and lines are going to bend over backwards to especially convince non-cruisers to climb on board.

Phil Davies

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Posted in Industry

11 Jan 2010

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