Cruise numbers rising, age falling

Record numbers will opt to take a cruise this year and the average age of people choosing to take cruises is falling. Around 1.5 million Britons are expected to take a cruise this year, which is a 13% increase in 2007, according to the Passenger Shipping Association (PSA).

There has been a steady growth in the popularity of cruise holidays – a decade ago, only 660,000 chose to holiday on a liner. The increase in numbers has been driven partly by the incredible range of destinations and cruise ‘styles’ available now, and partly by the good value for money that a cruise provides. This is also why the average age of British cruise passengers has fallen slightly in the past decade, from 55 to 53 years.

Some cruise companies have a much younger customer base: Ocean Village says the average age of their passengers is 44 and Royal Caribbean International and Carnival both say the average age of their British passengers is 48. The report also revealed that the Mediterranean was the most popular cruise destination for Britons, attracting 548,000 people, while the Caribbean was visited by 224,000 of us.