Presented by Daniel Toriola
Cruises have traditionally been the preserve of the wealthy and the elderly. It is a perception that the industry,
which has seen exponential growth in the last decade, is trying to move away from. Anybody can enjoy cruises
the way he or she desires.
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Can Cruising Survive the Credit Crunch?
By Andrea Delucia
One of the most obvious changes in the international holiday market of late is the boom in the
numbers of cruise passengers. An increasing aversion to flying; the growth in personal wealth from
rising property values; a greying population; all are factors that have helped to fill newspapers' travel
pages with adverts for cruises.
Cruise lines now have about 40 new ships under construction and ready to come into service by 2012.
Many of the new ships are bigger and better than anything that has ever floated before. But is the
boom about to go bust with this extra capacity arriving just as the worldwide recession has hit
travellers' finances and confidence?
The biggest operator is Carnival Corporation. Their chairman says soaring fuel and steel costs,
combined with a weak dollar, have made it virtually impossible to put together a new ship building
project beyond 2012 for any of the corporation's North American cruise brands Carnival Cruise Lines,
Princess, and Holland America Line. This gloomy prophecy was made, ironically, at a press
conference for the launch of Carnival's latest ship, Carnival Splendor.
Carnival's biggest competitor, Royal Caribbean International, appears more optimistic. The company,
which includes Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises and Azamara, has placed orders for the largest,
most expensive ships ever to be built. Yet it's hard to imagine that cruise bosses are