Articles tagged “cruising”

Carnival Corp. reminds us that China is a small part of its business — which is true. But if the market is going to become the world's largest as the company expects, there are a lot of complications to work through.

MSC Cruises continues to show its ambition as it plans to add more ships to an already fast-growing fleet. Now the question is whether demand can keep up with all that supply.

Expanding to new markets can be tough; Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings is fortunate that its business in the rest of the world appears to be thriving.

No one disputes that China is a promising market for the cruise industry. But new players can use as much help as they can get reaching customers.

As cruise lines find that customers want to spend on experiences, will they seek to offer more personalized options in shore excursions, dining, drinks, and onboard offerings? We think there is potential to further customize what cruise passengers can buy, even on mass-market brands.

Carnival Corp. is seeing strong demand and a willingness to pay more in its key markets. That's good news for the company and the industry in general, but China will warrant close attention if the dispute with Korea is not resolved quickly.

Celebrity Cruises had a lot of time to think about what it wanted on a new type of ship — 10 years, in fact, since the last class was designed. The line has added some concepts and features that we expect to see more of in the coming years.

Cruises aren't inherently political. But as the conversation at an annual cruise conference showed, it's hard to talk about the industry without discussing the potential effect of a new administration in Washington.

This move combines Fathom's two aims — social impact in the Dominican Republic, culture-focused visits to Cuba — in one trip. Although the experiences in each will be truncated, this could be enough to attract passengers looking for variety rather than a full week in one country.

This will likely appeal to some cruisers who want to do more on land than take a tour or hang out at the beach. But we have to wonder how this will play out for Fathom's bookings. Will travelers who want to volunteer sidestep a full week on Fathom and just book a one-day excursion on another line?