2019 in Review

As the year drew to a close, we took a look at some of the industry headlines and reviewed some of our cruise adventures.  Weather made the biggest headlines impacting the cruise industry in 2019.  The cruise industry responded to the hurricane devastation with outpouring of support and supplies.

Cruising continues to increase in popularity as more than 30 million guests took to the seas on a cruise vacation in 2019, according to Cruise Line Industry Association (CLIA) State of the Cruise Industry Report.  "While demand for cruising has reached new heights, the cruise industry is accelerating our efforts to be a leader in responsible tourism." said Kelly Craighead, CLIA President and CEO.

The cruise lines continued to add capacity,  introducing 18 new ships bringing the total to 272 CLIA-member cruise ships.

Viking Jupiter Photo Album

 "First New Cruise Ship
for 2019"

Once again honors went to Viking Ocean Cruises as it took delivery of the fourth ship in Viking Ocean's fleet, Viking Jupiter, in February. It is virtually identical to sister ships Viking Sea, Viking Sky , Viking Star  and Viking Sun, featuring 930-passenger capacity with highlights such as the Explorer Lounge, a two-deck observation library with lots of comfy chairs and couches; the Nordic-inspired spa with Finnish sauna and snow room; the indoor/outdoor Aquavit Terrace dining venue; and a magrodome pool, with a glass roof that opens in warm weather.

Viking Ocean ships are all-balcony cruise ships with the smallest cabins measuring a sizable 270 square feet; the largest suites comes in at 1,300 square feet. The ships specialize in destination-oriented cruise experiences with long days in ports, plenty of overnights in major cities and few days at sea.

Cruise fares include a selection of free shore excursions, complimentary Wi-Fi, and beer and wine at lunch and dinner offering good value for the cruise price.

Love that New Ship Smell

Our 2019 National Conference took place on Royal Caribbean Symphony of the Seas. We had our pre-cruise reception, hosted by   MSC Cruises,  at Hyatt Regency Miami.  MSC celebrated the launch of it's new private island in the Bahamas, Ocean Cay (watch video).

Symphony of the Seas is an Oasis-class cruise ship owned and operated by Royal Caribbean International. She is the largest passenger ship in the world by gross tonnage, at 228,021 GT, surpassing her sister Harmony of the Seas. Having our conferences on a relatively new ship, was one of our highlights for the year.

If you have specific questions about the ships, the itineraries, or cruising in general, we'd love to hear from you.
 
Weather Impact on Cruises

The damaging slow-moving storms of 2019 were Hurricane Barry (Louisiana, $600 million in damage), Hurricane Dorian (The Bahamas, Southeast U.S. and Canada, at least $4.6 billion in damage), Tropical Storm Imelda (Texas and Louisiana, $2 billion in damage), and Tropical Storm Fernand (northeast Mexico, $250 million in damage). 

Throughout September and October, we were posting itinerary updates as schedules were impacted by either the approaching storms or following the landfall.

Cruise lines rushed to aid victims with several voyages cancelled to launch rescue and supply missions.  The industry response was like no other in history.   We are proud to be part of this industry as everyone joined together to help in this time of need. 

At our conference, industry leaders from the cruise lines and organizations stressed that while there had been a tremendous response to date, it was crucial that we as Travel Professionals helped get the message out that the Bahamas & Caribbean is Open for Business.   They still need our help to recover from the hurricanes.   One of the ways this can be done is by bringing tourism dollars back into the regions hit hardest by the hurricanes.

Our Favorite Cruises for 2019

Having cruised for 30+ years, our cruise selections are driven primarily by destination and secondly by cruise ship. We love exploring new destinations from our bucket list as well as revisiting some of our favorites. Exploring new ships, including older ships we've never sailed on before, is also quite enjoyable. Of course, we love to share with our readers so that they can discover the world that awaits them.  In addition to our conference cruise on Symphony of the Seas, here were our other journeys.

13 Day Syndney Australia to New Zealand Cruise

Click on the image to the left for  Blog posts about this trip.

During our Southeast Asia Voyage we took advantage of the book onboard and anniversary sale to plan our next cruise.   New Zealand was identified as a popular destination for 2019, so in order to bring our clients first-hand experiences of this destination and the latest ship from Princess Cruises, Majestic Princess, this was the cruise we selected.   Follow along on our journey to the land down under.

Photos can be found on our Australia & New Zealand Shutterfly page

Magic Carpet

There's no shortage of innovation on Celebrity Edge. The industry-first Magic Carpet^SM is both the best way to take in spectacular views and the most exciting place to be. By changing function and location, it provides an incredible array of visual perspectives and a distinct experience on every deck it visits. We particularly enjoyed having a drink while enjoying a sunset during our past cruise. 

This is only the beginning of what awaits you on Celebrity Edge. We posted on our social media accounts throughout the cruise and have begun our diary (click image).   Bookmark the page to learn more about our trip.

What's Ahead for 2020

As this is an election year in the U.S., there's a lot of uncertainty as the new year and new decade begins.   At our national conference, cruise lines execs told us that they are planning for any impact from election year by having their best deals early to fill the ships in advance of the elections.  They all told us that bookings are strong and this should be another good year for the industry.

It will be a rebuilding year for the Caribbean and Bahamas and another ship building year as well.  What will the added capacity mean?   There are still a large percentage of the population that have not experienced cruising.   The lines, including new players like Dream Cruises and Virgin Voyages, will continue to advertise which will help spread the word.

As cruise prices stabilized, many lines have been looking to onboard expenditures as a means to increase revenue.   Items that had once been included, like room service, have started to see additional charges for example.   Some passengers aren't happy with the new trend to "nickle-and-dime" them and may look to cruise lines that have less optional charges.   Luxury lines are becoming an even better value since you know your cost of the entire trip up front.

It will be interesting to see how new players, such as Viking Oceans, impacts the industry as they grow their fleets.  They are bucking the tide to go big and instead opting for smaller ships and more emphasis on the destinations.  Of course, the river cruise industry is booming as the demand soars for this method of exploring the globe. Crystal has entered the market as well, bringing another luxury option to this growing market.

Travel Professionals are not going away.  In fact, their expertise is even more valuable now, as there are more and more options to sort through.   Matching the right ship and itinerary to the cruisers' desires is one of the biggest values they bring to bear.   Hope to see you on the seven seas in 2020.

Happy New Year

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