Cruising has record year in 2003

Sunday, 19 May, 2004 0

The launch of more relaxed and more varied cruise holidays has revitalised the image of cruising and led to record bookings.

The Passenger Shipping Association’s (PSA) Annual Cruise Review, published today, will confirm that for the first time more than one million Brits took an ocean or river cruise in 2003.

Bookings were up 12% in 2003. PSA director William Gibbons said over one third of this growth can be attributed to Carnival’s Ocean Village, the informal cruising catered to 30-50 year olds. He also said that the high profile launch of Cunard Line’s Queen Mary 2 helped to stimulate interest in cruising.

The statistics were supported by numbers from Cruise UK, an organisation formed by VisitBritain. It found UK passenger numbers departing from UK ports was up 28%.

“The sheer diversity of cruise holidays is helping to increase interest and demand for cruises”, says Mr Gibbons. He says this has prompted more ship launches – 17 last year and 12 planned for this year.

The diversity in prices also remained. Luxury cruise passengers increased 70% last year, but at the other end of the scale, the average cost of a cruise dropped to just over £1,000.

Scandinavia and the Baltic were among the most popular cruising destinations in 2003, but emerging destinations include South America and Antarctica.

Mr Gibbons said specialist operators also enjoyed growth last year. He mentioned Celebrity, with its Xpedition to the Galapagos Islands, Norwegian Coastal Voyage and smaller operators like Windstar and Orient Express.

Report by Ginny McGrath

Ginny McGrath

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