Articles tagged “clia”

The cruise industry is still growing fast, and the next leader of Cruise Lines International Association should be prepared to address the side effects of that growth. We'll be interested to see who ends up in the job, especially considering earlier difficulty in filling it.

Australians have taken to cruising like ducks to water. With around 85 percent of bookings going through travel agents, this sector is providing a shot in the arm for travel retailers hit by falling margins in their bread-and-butter flights and hotels business.

Higher-than-expected cruise passenger counts are good news for an industry that saw much slower growth just a few years ago. A lack of high-profile disasters has been helpful, and cruise lines are getting better at promoting themselves and expanding into new markets.

The cruise industry is generally very good at getting passengers to fill all their ships, especially new ones with the latest bells and whistles. Executives have also been trying to get those passengers to pay more for their trips, which is sometimes a struggle.

If you're going to release a report trying to show the strides your industry has made in sustainability, it helps to have concrete evidence to bear that out. Asserting that advanced technology, which has yet to even be installed, has solved the problem is misleading and damaging to the credibility of cruising at large.

While the tone has changed this year in conversations about China — lower prices will do that — executives say they still believe in the market for the long term.

Cruising has quietly gotten its act together after regulators and public opinion turned against the industry a few years ago following several safety and health mishaps. Now, it's up to the industry's leaders to chart a course for the future.

Norwegian Cruise Line is being strategic about deploying new ships to growing markets and bringing its aging fleet up to a better standard. But it still faces a challenge in communicating what exactly a Norwegian cruise experience is.

Growth in Asia and Australia is fueling the better-than-expected cruise numbers, but industry leaders would like to see the largest market — North America — make more gains as well.

Now that major cruise lines have updated their onboard product with all new bells and whistles, they're looking to revamp their land offerings to attract consumers who are the most hesitant to cruise.