What's on deck?
| • | Five more huge liners joining world's cruise fleet |
By Sue Kovach Shuman
Washington Post
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On Norwegian Cruise Line's new Pearl, passengers can bowl on the first regulation-size alleys on the high seas. Take a voyage on Cunard's Queen Mary 2, and you can study Shakespearean acting with alumni of London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Crystal Cruises even puts adventurers behind the wheel of a Formula One race car in Monaco.
Fun, perhaps, but these days travelers are finding another reason to book a cruise: the prices.
In his 23 years in the travel business, says Alan Fox, chairman of the Houston travel agency Vacations to Go, "the inflation-adjusted price of a cruise has never been lower. It honestly is a buyer's market out there." Prices average about $70 per day on some ships, he says.
The number of cruisers is on the upswing, according to the Cruise Line International Association, which represents 21 lines — or 97 percent of those based in North America. The organization reported that nearly 10.2 million Americans took cruise vacations in 2006, and it predicts that half a million more will this year.
The best bang for the buck can be found in the Caribbean, Fox says. Further, he notes, lines he considers "extremely family-friendly" — including Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Princess, Disney and Norwegian — are sending ships out full.
Here's a look at some other cruising developments.
Dubai is becoming popular as a safe, hospitable port in the Middle East. Crystal sails to Dubai four times in 2007, with 14- to 17-night trips on the Serenity and Symphony (recently refurbished to the tune of $23 million).
This year, Celebrity Cruises is adding 40 destinations in the South Pacific, with ports dotting the coasts of Australia and New Zealand. Windstar Cruises sails for the first time to Almeria, Spain, where "Lawrence of Arabia" was filmed, while Princess Cruises adds Parintins in Brazil to its Amazon itinerary. Regent Seven Seas calls on 21 new ports on four continents, including Chile's Paso Quesahuen for travel by catamaran to watch icebergs break away from the San Valentin glacier.
San Francisco agent Gary Pollard says culinary and wine trips with top-of-their-game chefs have taken off in the past 2 1/2 years: "They're a premium, but people will pay more to hobnob with famous people."
Regent Seven Seas offers cruises on which 16 passengers at a time don aprons to learn French cooking with visiting Le Cordon Bleu chefs. That can add $400 to $500 to the basic cruise cost, Pollard notes, but these extras are in demand. Lauraday Kelley, vice president of www.Vacation.com, says both culinary and religious cruising are growing. "On Carnival, they're selling out the ship" to religious groups, she says.
"Particularly with baby boomers, I think people want to go back to your roots, your religious heritage, or whatever," Kelley says. "And over the next 18 years ... those are the people who'll have discretionary dollars."
Most ships have Internet cafes; some have wireless connections in public areas, some in cabins. In 2004, Norwegian became the first to offer fleet-wide cell-phone service (roaming rates apply), and others have followed suit. Some lines, including Norwegian and Regent Seven Seas, let you set up a shipboard e-mail account, while Windstar offers the complimentary use of iPod Nanos and rents laptops.
"On a cruise ship, you couldn't even get a phone call 15 years ago," Fox notes, adding that the issue now is whether your cell phone will operate via satellite while at sea.
"I hope they'll restrict cell phones. Being in touch constantly wherever you are in the world on a cruise ship," Fox says, "changes the experience."
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