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Looking Back at Historic Year
As the year drew to a close, we took a look at some of the industry headlines and reviewed our cruise adventures. COVID-19 made the biggest headlines impacting the cruise industry in 2020.
Following a year unlike any other in the history of the industry, this Cruise Line Industry Association (CLIA) State of the Cruise Industry Report offers a look at the trends and analytics propelling the cruise industry forward in the coming year and beyond.
(Click the link above for the complete report)
CLIA President's Message
"In a year marked by hurricanes, wildfires, and the worst public health crisis the world has experienced in over 100 years, we have seen our industry and our communities challenged in ways we could have never imagined.As with the rest of the world, our plans for 2020 were turned upside down at the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, culminating in the voluntary suspension of cruise operations worldwide in mid-March. In the months that followed, our industry wasted no time engaging leading experts and government authorities to strengthen already robust public health measures and to put people and communities first. With enhanced measures in place, an initial resumption of cruising began in Europe and some other parts of the world, building confidence in the industry’s new protocols and inspiring hope for the future." said Kelly Craighead, CLIA President and CEO.
She also remarked "The reality of 2020 sits in stark contrast to the year that immediately preceded it. In 2019, the global cruise industry welcomed nearly 30 million passengers, creating jobs for 1.8 million people around the world and contributing over $154 billion to the global economy. With this growth came increased recognition of cruising as one of the best ways to experience the world, and our industry was focused on achieving previously unthinkable milestones to pave the path for a brighter and more sustainable future."
Cruise Line Industry Association (CLIA), member cruise lines and health industry experts, from CDC and elsewhere, teamed up to outline plans for a safe and healthy resumption of cruise operations. Those efforts are still ongoing, with the majority of cruises in North America suspended through the first quarter of 2021.
2020 Industry Trends - Putting People First
2020 Industry Trends - Thoughtful Planning
2020 Industry Trends - Following the Science
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Spotlight on Responsible Tourism
Sustainability - Even as CLIA members worked tirelessly to address the impacts of COVID-19, the
cruise industry remained focused on its commitment to a cleaner, more sustainable
future.
Innovation - The cruise industry continues to lead the way in the adoption of cutting-edge maritime environmental
technologies.
Progress - CLIA’s annual 2020 Environmental Technologies and Practices Report
highlights the progress that the cruise industry continues to make in
the adoption of new environmental technologies.
Partnership - The cruise industry
continued to lead the way
in sustainable tourism
management in 2020.
New Cruise Ships for 2021
Our Favorite Cruise for 2020
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.
We had several cruise adventures planned for 2020, including our National Conference onboard the brand new Celebrity Apex, but those were all rescheduled to 2021.
15 Day Australia- Asia Cruise Click on the image to the left for more Blog posts about this trip. While onboard Majestic Princess in January, 2019, we looked at cruises for 2020, taking advantage of the ongoing Anniversary sale. Our selection was a respositioning cruise which included Southern Australia, Malaysia, and Singapore. There were several options for embarkation, including Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, and Perth. We selected the 15 day itinerary from Melbourne based on cabin availability in the cabin class we were looking for. Due to the COVID-19 (Novel Coronavirus) epidemic, our cruise was terminated in Perth, Australia (cancelling the segment from Perth to Singapore). Additional photos can be found on our Soouthern Australia Shutterfly page View Our Other Shutterfly Share Pages |
What's Ahead for 2021
There's a lot of uncertainty as the new year begins. At our virtual national conference, cruise line execs told us that they are planning for the gradual resumption of operations. They all told us that bookings are strong and they were optimistic about the industry recovery once vaccines become more widely available.
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.
There has been a lot of ship re-deployments, with larger ships replacing smaller ones, to allow for social distancing, The first itineraries that will be sailing will be shorter cruises, 3 - 7 night maximum, to comply with CDC guidelines. Ship capacity will also be reduced at first, and gradually increase once the world's population has been vaccinated. Life onboard and in port will be different as new protocols are employed to keep passengers, crew, and countries visited safe and healthy.
We are constantly in communication with our travel partners, learning about the latest itineraries, ship deployments, future cruise credits, and other changes. We have had multiple re-bookings for some of our guests as these new measures are implemented.
Travel Professionals are not going away. In fact, our 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 we bring to bear. Hope to see you on the seven seas in 2021 and beyond.
Note: while you are waiting for cruising to resume, we can also assist you with land travel. There are several resorts that have implemented changes to allow for safe and healthy vacations. We appreciate your business as 2020 has been very devastating for the travel industry (as well as many other industries).
Happy New Year
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