As might be expected, optimism reigned at a conference of the cruise community that predicted the clouds of the long pandemic lockdown have finally disappeared and the horizon is once again brilliantly sunny.
At the Seatrade Cruise Global conference in Fort Lauderdale, cruise lines pointed to record booking days–in part due to redemptions of cruise credits for previously cancelled cruises–and the fact cruise tourism is rebounding faster than bookings for land-based resorts–in part because cruising is a comparative bargain.
The global cruise passenger total is forecast to surpass pre-pandemic 2019 levels in 2023, according to the Cruise Lines International Association. The projected 31.5- million is up is up from the admittedly anemic 20.4-million who cruised in 2022 in the recovery from the total shutdown of the previous year. But it’s also up from the pre-pandemic 2019’s total of 29.7-million, the industry association calculated.
Cruise executives pointed to CLIA’s surveys that found 85 per cent of past cruisers said they plan to cruise again this year as proof that the cruise market is primed for a resurgence. The big trends for the future include:
Cruising’s still a bargain—for now
Frank Del Rio, the soon-to-retire as CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings said in a keynote session that a major advantage the cruise industry has now is pricing that’s low compared to land-based vacations. He added he thinks fares are actually too low, hinting that increases are inevitable.
“Over the past three years, that gap has actually increased. Try to book a hotel room in Europe. Try to go to a nice restaurant in Buenos Aires. Try to get an airplane ticket somewhere. And we’re lagging behind,” Del Rio said.
Carnival CEO Josh Weinstein agreed with that, pointing to CLIA surveys that find cruises can be 25 to 50 per cent cheaper than what people will pay for equivalent land-based vacations. “We need to do a better job of communicating what the value proposition is of a cruise to people who don’t know cruising,” he said.
‘Kidfluence’ is a force in family cruise decisions
What children see on social media or television is an important driver of family decisions on destinations and family cruising is increasingly being “kidfluenced,” a round table discussion agreed.
That goes even for exotic choices like a cruise in Tahiti, said Susan Robison, general manager of sales and marketing for Paul Gauguin Cruises. She sees Instagram and Pinterest, Facebook and group chats driving a lot of family cruise decisions.
That’s why MSC Cruises is investing heavily in social media, said Allison Smith, the line’s vice-president of integrated marketing. “Kidfluence is a big thing and that’s the reason we are putting out tons of content on TikTok, because we want to get our product offering in front of the kids… the more we post, the more chance we have of potentially going viral.”
Sustainability is a must for the future
Ecological protection, cleaner fuels and decarbonization of emissions were pervasive themes at the conference. New ships entering service are powered by cleaner burning fuels like liquefied natural gas or methanol rather than diesel. Ships are increasingly being outfitted with equipment to plug into shoreside power to avoid having to run engines when in port. Fuel cells are being developed for ships that create no air pollutants have water as their only by-product.
“We are dedicated to minimal environmental impact,” said Michael Unger, the CEO of new luxury line Explora Journeys debuting this year. “Calling this a trend doesn’t do it justice. We must have a long-term view and vision on it because we must achieve net-zero by 2050.” Explora’s future ships will have fuel cells able to power the vessels in port without running the engines. “It’s a bold move, but it’s something we can and must do. It is our duty to leave this world a better place than we found it.”
“What is going to make a difference is the culture that we are building on board the ships and in our shoreside communities,” said Seabourn Cruises’ new president Natalya Leahy. In a discussion, she cited an example of a recent ship tour in which a crew member had a suggestion that the food processed by the ship’s waste digester system should be donated to non-profit groups based on land for use as an organic fertilizer. “Our team members care about what they do, why they do it and how they do it,” she said, adding that ecological thinking should be a priority for all employees, from management to deck hands.
Sustainability on the plate matters too
In the first formal partnership of its kind, Holland America Line announced it’s partnering with Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute to certify that all the seafood served on its six ships cruising in Alaska is certified sustainably sourced locally. Holland America purchases and serves more than 4,000 pounds of wild Alaska fish per cruise.
“I believe it’s best to think local and let the food do the talking,” said HAL west coast Culinary Council Chef Ethan Stowell. “Holland America Line has always been supremely focused on the authenticity of their ingredients that tell the tales of the destinations they visit – and certainly Alaska has many stories to share.”
Plant-based menu options and vegan menus are also taking prominence. Several cruise lines, particularly Disney Cruises, Holland America, Oceania Cruises, and Silversea Cruises highlight vegan options and nearly every line now offers vegetarian menu choices.
So where to this year?
Judging by sheer multiplication of cruise itineraries, Alaska and Iceland are seeing the biggest growth spurts for the summer of 2023. Lindblad Expeditions/ National Geographic, Atlas Ocean Cruises, Explora Journeys and Seabourn Cruises all have Iceland on their charts, combined with Norway or the Canadian Arctic. Scenic Cruises is doing a summer Northwest Passage heading east from Anchorage through the Canadian Arctic to Copenhagen, while Seabourn is going in the other direction from Iceland.
Extended cruises are going to even longer lengths. Holland America announced an expansion of its Legendary Voyages, ranging from 25 to 59 days. Most of them sail round-trip to or from U.S. or Canadian home ports to make for more convenient domestic flights and easy embarkation, said HAL president Gus Antorcha. And they cover the globe, including Australia and New Zealand, the Amazon, South Pacific and Hawaii, Greenland and Iceland, Asia and the Arctic Circle.
One particularly exotic new HAL addition is a 28-day Coral Triangle, Volcanoes and the Great Barrier Reef sailing to seldom-visited Pacific locales including the Torres Strait and the Kumba and Krakatau volcanoes.
So this is the year to get back to cruising, the execs at Seatrade sessions all insisted. There are more cruise ships that are state of the art than ever and many more arriving by the end of 2023.
It’s full speed ahead –and if their calculations are correct, cruising should be the travel bargain of the year.
Wallace Immen, The Cruisington Times
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