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Cruise ships sail on despite criticism
Despite passenger safety concerns and rising oil prices, the 2006 outlook for the cruise industry is smooth sailing ahead, according to participants in the Seatrade Cruise Shipping Convention.
“The outlook for the year looks very encouraging,” Andy Stuart, executive vice president for Norwegian Cruise Line, told the media at the convention in Miami Beach.
Cruise line executives criticized recent media reports on safety as misleading.
“It’s at least ten times safer on a ship than on land,” said Mr Stuart. “That’s hard to believe if you’ve been watching recent media coverage.”
The US Congress is investigating safety issues after several passengers were either lost-at-sea or in ports.
Officials at the convention agreed rising fuel prices were a problem, however.
“I don’t think fuel has had a very positive impact on our profit situation,” said Bob Dickinson, president of Carnival Cruise Lines.
His company was involved in a controversial agreement with the Federal Emergency Management Agency that paid $236 million to use three ships in New Orleans to house emergency workers after Hurricane Katrina.
“Had the ships not been there, the police and fire workers would have left town,” Mr Dickinson said.
Cruise lines are combating the rising fuel problem at times by traveling at slower speeds and visiting fewer ports. New technologies might also help.
The leisure cruise industry’s dynamic passenger growth continued in 2005, according to the latest statistics from the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA).
Based on full-year statistics from CLIA members, the cruise lines carried a record 11.1 million worldwide passengers last year, a 6.9% increase over the previous year.
North American totals were up 9%.
ClIA’s 20 member cruise lines represent over 97% of North America’s cruise capacity.
Report by David Wilkening
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