Why Cruise Travel Is Outpacing Shoreside Vacations

Carnival Cruise Line’s Newest Carnival Vista. (Photo courtesy of Carnival Cruise Line)

It’s official: cruise travel popularity is growing by leaps and bounds.

According to the United Nations World Travel Organization (UNWTO), cruise market growth, among first-timers between 2004 and 2014, overtook land-based travel by 23 percent, and beyond the sampled decade, close to 25 million passengers were anticipated in 2016 alone.

And they’re coming back to cruising just the same. A J.D. Power survey discovered that over 90 percent of guests who take the first cruise intend to sail again, and the demographic of such cruisers to be most mindful of are Gen Y/Millennials and Gen Xers.

Carnival Corporation quoted Carolyn Spencer Brown, editor in chief of Cruise Critic, as to why: “The big appeal of a cruise vacation is that it offers superb value for your money, whether you travel to Alaska, the Caribbean or even more exotic itineraries. That’s something more and more people are discovering.”

Of course, older demographics continue to cruise as well. For example, the Spaulding family from Peoria wanted to celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary with a limited budget. Inspired by a friend, Jennie and her husband Jeremy embarked on a 4-day cruise aboard Carnival Cruise Line’s Carnival Inspiration to Mexico, all for just over $1,000, including their drinks.

“It was the best experience and the best vacation ever,” Spaulding said. “It was a way to reconnect for me and my husband, which is exactly what we did.” Particularly enjoyable to them were the poolside Guy’s Burger Joint, RedFrog Rum Bar, and BlueIguana Tequila Bar. “It was neat to see everyone onboard just having a good time. We work very hard and we don’t get a lot of time off, so this was perfect.”

Cruisers continue to flock back to their favorites too. Allan Benson, 75, and his wife Sandra, 69, from Denver, have sailed over 1,800 days on Holland America Line alone. He said, “If you’re curious, you like people, and you like going to interesting places, cruising is very cool,” adding, “You only unpack once and you have your floating hotel that travels to all these different places and then there are these languid sea days. It’s simplicity — that would be the word I would use.”

Beyond 2016’s nearly 25 million cruisers, Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) expects an even bigger year for 2017. After all, the cruise experience is constantly evolving to keep guests coming back. Brown explained, “Cruise lines have listened carefully to what travelers want, adding new features and itineraries to suit just about everyone’s travel style. There are travelers who just want to bask in the surf and sun and others who want to spend long days in port investing in distinctive experiences.”

And it’s all true. Cruising offers something for everyone. It’s just about finding the right brand, specific ship and destination that is best suited to each individual traveler, and soon they’ll be hooked.

Follow @LeppertPulse

Follow @PopularCruising

Why Cruise Travel Is Outpacing Shoreside Vacations

Leave a Reply Cancel reply