Travel Trends for Cruising In 2011 and Beyond

As a travel agent who specializes in cruises, I follow the news and trends in this niche closely. First cruising in 2011 is expected to be up as much as 10% from last year now that the economy is coming back.  There are at least 11 new ships coming out this year and several more slated for early 2012.  With new ships comes new itineraries and shore excursions.  It is no longer just a cruise to somewhere, now a days the ships themselves are destinations unto themselves.  Royal Caribbean, for example, has the 2 largest ships afloat in Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas.  These ships each carry 5400 passengers plus crew.  I recently toured Oasis of the Seas down in Ft Lauderdale and the amenities and options were incredible.  They have 7 different neighborhoods and while it sounds like a lot of people and area, it was not crowded at all.  I believe you could stay on these 2 ships all 7 days and still not see everything it has to offer. While the Disney Dream & the Norwegian Epic are not as big as Royal Caribbean's two ships, they both are large for each of their companies.  The Dream is Disney's first ship in over a decade and she is a beauty at 130,000 ton ship. She was christened today at Port Canaveral by Ms Jennifer Hudson, singer and actress. The Dream is offering the AQUADUCK, which is the industries first water coaster at sea. The Dream will appeal to young and old alike with the magic and charm that only Disney can provide. It has adult only lounges and areas on the ship that are quiet and relaxing to adults but the children's program is one the best in the industry.


The Epic is a one of a kind for NCL. Not only due to its size at 155,000 tons, but it is also one of the first to offer solo travelers studio cabins to be able to travel alone and not have to pay double for a single person. They also have the Blue Man Group on board for nightly performances.

Ft Lauderdale, FL-Oasis of the Seas

I believe the prices, which have been very low during 2009 & 2010 will start to come up as demand increases.  It is not out of the ordinary to need to book at least a year out if you are looking to put together a large group.  If you have a small group of friends or family wanting to travel together 9-12 months out is a reasonable time to hold reservation.  Did you know that as few as 8 cabins makes up a group by cruise lines definitions?  You can still hold those 8 cabins and if after everyone is booked, you only use 6 cabins, the other 2 can be dropped and your group still keeps the group rate.  The group rate is lower than the per cabin rate if you are booking them one cabin at a time.  On some cruise lines, if you maintain at least 5 cabins out of the 8, you are still eligible for group amenities of which you can choose or leave it to the travel agent to choose.  It ranges from robes and champagne to simple things like chocolates or a bottle of cider.


Whatever your cruise experience in the past has been from never have cruised to a few cruise or like myself 17 and getting ready for 18 & 19 this year, the cruise industry has a cruise for you. Eco friendly to Adventure, exotic to relaxing try one out this year, it is an experience that you will be ready to do again and again.
Until the next time...Bon Voyage!
Joyce