Cruises to Caribbean
exceptionally cheap
PHILIPSBURG--Prices for Caribbean cruises have seldom looked so good. Even newer ships such as Royal Caribbean International’s ballyhooed Freedom of the Seas, which debuted last year as the world’s largest cruise ship, are offering big bargains.
It’s a matter of supply and demand. The cruise lines, which order new ships years ahead of delivery dates, are struggling with overcapacity in the Caribbean. The cruise lines boosted capacity eight per cent last year to 246,759 berths, with much of that growth going into the Caribbean, which warm weather and proximity to the United States make the industry favourite.
Plans call for boosting global capacity nearly 30 per cent by the end of 2010, with lines spending $15 billion on 30 new ships, according to the Cruise Lines International Association, a trade group. Twelve new ships are slated to start cruising this year alone.
But the wave season – the industry’s busiest booking period, which runs January through March – is shaping up weaker than hoped in the Caribbean, cruise lines say.
While ships are sailing full, as usual, they are taking deep discounts. Prices are down roughly 10 per cent from last year, or about $50 to $100 per person, estimates David Brams, president of World Wide Cruises.
Many middle-class consumers, those likely to fancy the shorter and mass-market cruises in the Caribbean, have curtailed leisure spending as they confront the housing downturn and high fuel cost.
“The lower-end, first-time cruise is in the Caribbean, and that’s the demographic we’ve seen pull back discretionary spending,” Joseph D. Hovorka, a cruise and leisure analyst with Raymond James & Associates in St. Petersburg, told The Miami Herald.
Some analysts suggest highly publicized outbreaks of the gastrointestinal bug Norovirus on more than 30 voyages during 2006 are deterring some consumers, and the spate of hurricanes in the Caribbean during 2004 and 2005 hasn’t helped either. And for some cruisers, the Caribbean has simply lost its novelty.
To be sure, the cruise lines, travel agents and analysts remain optimistic about the industry’s growth prospects in the Caribbean and elsewhere. Ships are still sailing full, even if some must slash prices to do so.
This year, the industry will carry a record 12.62 million passengers, according to the Cruise Lines International Association, a projected increase of 500,000 passengers from last year.
To support that growth, the cruise lines are working every angle, from refurbishing ships that are just a few years old to scouting out new ports and upgrading existing ones.
“Just because a destination was successful for 20 years doesn’t mean it’s going to be this year,”' said Michele M. Paige, president of the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association, a trade group that works with Caribbean destinations to constantly innovate offerings to catch consumer interest.
Americans flocked to Caribbean cruising as a safe option in the years after the September 11 terrorist attacks, said Paige, “Now, there are so many new, exciting places opening up.”
To compete, Caribbean destinations are upgrading their facilities. St. Maarten built its new pier and cruise terminal, spurring a big boost in cruise ship visits in recent years. New duty-free shops have come on line as well as a host of shore excursions.
“We tell them don’t look at sea and sand [as a big selling point.] Look at history, culture, attractions. Do you have volcanoes, mountains, falls, cultural trails?” said Paige.
The price picture for cruise operators could brighten in the spring, when many ships in the Caribbean sail to Europe for extended summer itineraries. That will lighten competition in the Caribbean for the slower summer season.
St Maarten vacation rental
