2009 best year for British Cruise Market

Figures released by the Passenger Shipping Association (PSA) at the Travel Convention in Barcelona showed that a record number of British people will have taken a cruise by the end of 2009 - 1.55 million Brits will have sailed on cruises, up 5% on the previous year.

This trend is set to continue, with around 1.65 million Brits taking a cruise holiday. One of the biggest expectations for the winter is the arrival of Royal Caribbean International Cruise Lines Oasis of the Seas – when she’s launched she’ll be the largest cruise ship ever built. While the tough economic climate has tested some travel lines to breaking point, and actually broken not a few travel agencies, the value for money that a cruise holiday offers is still proving to be a real winner.

Customer service and innovation in entertainment on board are key components of a successful cruise line and many are investing heavily in new offerings and new levels of customer care, even for ‘standard’ passengers. Both MSC and Costa have added large ships to their fleet, while fly-cruises have become increasingly popular with the British market. But the largest area of growth has been in ships sailing from British ports - P&O’s new cruise vessel Azura, and Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth will both cater to the British cruise passenger in the coming twelve months.