Consider
the following facts about the cruise industry and then draw
your own conclusions about its health: In 2009, 14 brand new
cruise ships, ranging in size from 82 to 5,400 passengers
will set sail. Many of the amenities and onboard environments
have never been seen on a cruise ship.
Royal
Caribbean wil launch Oasis of the Seas, the vessel
they hope will redefine the meaning of the cruise ship. Oasis
will carry a record breaking 5,400 passengers and 2,000 crew
and will soar 16 stories above the ocean. But its impressive
measurements aren't the big story. Oasis represents a radical
reimagining of the standard cruise ship configuration. It
has created neighborhoods - giving you a choice of where you
want to live while onboard.
Central
Park is one of the neighborhoods. An all natural area of Oasis,
Central Park is a central canyon open to the sky on top. It
offers six decks of balcony staterooms (which in the past
are the lowest, windowless inside cabin category) along with
its walls, with views of the sky above and the park below.
There are pathways, seasonal flower gardens and a canopy of
trees. Restaurants open along the park range from an elegant-specialty
to an al fresco cafe, Italian, a steakhouse and a wine bar.
Among the several bars around the park is one that moves up
and down three decks while you drink.
Royal
Caribbean is launching a vessel they hope will redefine the
meaning of the cruise ship.
With
these new ships come an impressive array of environmental
friendly technology, air emission reduction, solar power,
LED lighting, environmental friendly hull coating, low sulfur
fuels, and impeccable food and water processing to name a
few. Alliances are being formed on national and international
levels to protect the world's oeans and marine life. With
so many ships sailing our seas, the industry must stay on
top of the "fin print" that each ship leaves.
The
value and bang for your buck of a cruise vacation surpasses
many tours, land packages and independently created itineraries.
You can go on a 5-day cruise of the Caribbean- in bare bones
style - for $250 a day OR taste the refined life at $1,000
a day. Smart marketing has created a style of cruising and
a price point for every traveler. According to CLIA, the cruise
industry standard bearer, "34 million Americans intend
to take a cruise in the next three years. "Also impressive
is that more than half of the current sales are from repeat
cruisers."
According
to CLIA, more than half of the current [cruise] sales are
from repeat cruisers.
To
hedge their bets that the economy doesn't erode yearly passenger
increases - the perks and amenities now being offered by cruise
lines have never been seen. How about a $1,000 ship board
credit added to your account when you arrive on Crystal. That
makes a $250 spa treatment a must have. Free shore excursions
are offered by Regent and Oceania (now owned by the same holding
group). Shore excursions are usually a large profit center
for ships.
Theme
and Affinity Group cruises are exploding. Like to play tennis?
Try a three-day cruise with fellow players and pros to tennis
courts at a Bahamas resort. Or a 7-day cruise down the Columbia
River with 100 fellow wine lovers that stops at wineries in
the Pacific Northwest. Whatever your interest, you can be
surrounded by like-minded friends.
I
have been cruising since the 1980s and cannot remember ever
being offered these kinds of options and inducements. Creativity
and thinking outside the box will take every business and
industry to new heights as we push out of this economic meltdown.
Take advantage of how much more you can get for your vacation
dollar. Once the news media agree that we are out of these
economic choppy waters, these perks will quickly disappear.
