Summary
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...
These are requiring several ports, such as...
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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$1.3 billion warship sets course for city
Sun reporterThe vessel's radar picks up objects as small as a fly, sensing potential hazards more than 100 miles away. Its 100,000-plus-horsepower jet engines go from full speed ahead - about 45 mph - to a dead stop in less than a length and a half of the 510-foot...Tags: Grumman, Aerospace Manufacturing, Tourism and Leisure, Defense, Armed Forces
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This week's travel deals
(c) 2008, The Washington PostGo ahead -- leave the country. With gas prices at home so high, you might as well get on a plane and head for the shores of Asia, Egypt -- even France. Get a great deal on a cruise in Vietnam or a stay in Cairo. Whatever you choose, here are great deals...Tags: Travel Deals, Petroleum Industry, State Budgets, British Airways Plc, Air Transportation Industry
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To save money, people are cruising closer to home
FAMILY STYLE Caribbean cruise market remains strong The Caribbean remains a top destination among cruisers, and more are bringing their children along for the journey, according to a new survey by the Cruise Lines International Association. Cruise...Tags: Meteorological Disasters, Tour Operations Industry, Prices, Hurricanes, MP3 Players
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To save money, people are cruising closer to home
The Caribbean remains a top destination among cruisers, and more are bringing their children along for the journey, according to a new survey by the Cruise Lines International Association. Cruise experts also say that, in response to rising fuel costs,...Tags: Tour Operations Industry, Prices, Tourism and Leisure
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Limited number of ways to avoid single supplement
Chicago Tribune Media ServicesThe tour and cruise businesses are built around the model of serving people as couples. Unfortunately, the travel industry in general has been slow to catch up with the country's increasing single-adult demographic. And it's still behind the times:...Tags: Tour Operations Industry, Transportation Industry, Tourism and Leisure
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'Yangtze' rises to the occasion
Sun movie critic(B) A government-sanctioned cruise company's luxury-ship tour of the Yangtze River, which is rising with the completion of the world's biggest hydroelectric project (The Three Gorges Dam), becomes a microcosm of forced social change in Up the Yangtze....Tags: Tourism and Leisure
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Sen. John Kerry introduces cruise ship safety bill
Los Angeles Times Staff WriterCruise ships would be required to install peepholes in cabin doors, increase guardrail heights and maintain crime report logbooks under sweeping legislation introduced Thursday by Sen. John F. Kerry. The Senate bill, designed to hold the $35.7-billion...Tags: Sexual Assault, Tour Operations Industry, Upper House, Assault, Federal Bureau of Investigation
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Getting the whole family on board a cruise vacation
Though cruise lines tout cruising as the biggest bang for your buck, fares still can be daunting for families. Add grandparents to the mix and the numbers can be numbing. However, several cruise companies are extending a helping hand by offering special...Tags: Family, Glaciers, Tour Operations Industry, Prices, Carnival Cruise Lines
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Taking a cruise with the blues
Mcclatchy-tribuneA light breeze blows across the pool deck, as the Oosterdam heads south along the Mexican Riviera. People sun themselves in lounge chairs, sipping fruity daiquiris and munching appetizers served from the seemingly never-ending buffets. Sounds like a...Tags: Popular Music, Elvin Bishop, John Lee Hooker, Otis Clay, Ron Jr Thompson
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Company launches weekly tourist cruises for New Yorkers
New Yorkers will soon be able to be tourists in their own city _ by taking a sightseeing cruise around Manhattan. Circle Line Sightseeing Cruises is launching a weekly cruise on Wednesdays called "New Yorkers for New York" that will cater to city...Tags: Tourism and Leisure
Jul 4, 2008
|Story| Baltimore Sun
Jun 30, 2008
|Story| AM New York
Jun 29, 2008
|Story| Newsday
Jun 29, 2008
|Story| Newsday
Jun 29, 2008
|Story| Chicago Tribune
Jun 27, 2008
|Story| Baltimore Sun
Jun 27, 2008
|Story| Los Angeles Times
Jun 15, 2008
|Story| Baltimore Sun
Jun 15, 2008
|Story| Baltimore Sun
Jun 17, 2008
|Story| Associated Press
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