Cruise Industry Adds Capacity Despite Slow Economy
The Cruise Lines International Association estimates North American
capacity will grow 8% in 2010 and 5% in 2011, despite our current
economic malaise. The growth of capacity is due to the cruise
industry having to take the long view, as ships take about three
years to build. (They have a lifespan of 30 years or more.)
Just launched is the largest cruise ship ever built, Oasis of the
Seas, by Royal Caribbean Cruises. With 5,400 passengers aboard, it
towers 20 stories above the sea and is almost four football fields
long (400 yards). The 225,000 gross-ton ship is about double the
tonnage of a typical cruise ship and has 13 retail shops, 21 pools,
and 24 restaurants plus a 300-foot water slide.
Given the 2009 fourth quarter�s soft cruise demand, 2010 should be
good for cruise barter-inventory as this capacity expansion sparks
barter deals.