Travel's Brightest Star

More than two decades of spectacular growth - averaging 8.4% per year - have made the cruise industry the brightest star on the vacation travel stage, not to mention one of the great success stories of any business. Over 10 million North Americans will vacation aboard cruise ships in 2004, yet cruising has barely tapped its potential.

• Almost 70 million Americans would like to take a cruise in the next five years, and nearly 30 million say they will likely take a cruise vacation within the next three years. Those prospects represent a potential cruise vacation market of at least $57 billion and as much as $85 billion.
  
  
• Approximately 90% of cruise vacations are booked through travel agents. Last year, cruise lines paid over $1 billion in commissions to travel agencies in North America.
  
  
• Just 16% of the U.S. population has taken a cruise. Each year millions of first-timers discover cruising.
  
  
• Cruise vacations boast some of the highest satisfaction ratings among all types of vacation travel. Once people try cruising, they come back again and again.
  
  
• Cruise lines are investing over $15 billion to build at least 62 new ships to the market place between 2000 and this year, with more ships to follow. Today’s cruise industry comprises everything from adventure ships designed to explore the world’s most remote areas to floating resorts that rival Las Vegas or the Riviera.
  
  
• Cruising appeals particularly to the Baby Boom generation, with shipboard facilities designed to satisfy their intellectual curiosity with college-level classes and computer centers, their health consciousness with top-notch spa, fitness and sports facilities, and their independence with a dazzling array of choices for everything from accommodations to dining and entertainment.
  
  
• With more ships, cruise lines are introducing new itineraries and expanding the choices of destinations, departures and cruise lengths available to people considering a cruise. Now vacation travelers can choose from cruises as short as two nights or as long as three months. Cruises depart from some of the most beautiful cities in the world; and these days, more and more depart from ports located within driving distance or a short flight away from nearly everyone in America.