Cruisers keep sailing in rough times

The cruise news and review site, CruiseCritic.co.uk has conducted a worldwide survey of more than 2000 cruise travellers on how the economic downturn might be affecting their plans for the coming year. Contrary to some of the dire predictions of rough times ahead for the cruise industry, only 13 percent of respondents said that they won’t be going on a cruise because they can’t afford it, while 23 percent said that their cruise plans were unaffected.

Nevertheless, it would seem that while cruise travel could be more recession resilient than other sectors, most Cruise Critic respondents admitted to keeping a weather eye open for ways to contain and reduce costs. The most popular measure was to forsake air travel and sail from their closest homeport (32 percent) and just over a quarter of cruise travellers (26 percent) said that they would be waiting to book until the last minute in the hope of getting a great deal. Otherwise 23 percent of respondents pinned their hopes on a drastic reduction of onboard spending.

Said CruiseCritic Editor in Chief Carolyn Spencer Brown: “Cruise travellers are a determined lot and will go without and seek out all kinds of economies before losing their annual fix on the high seas. Of course, the inclusive nature of cruise travel means that it compares very favourably with a land based holiday with a cruise fare typically including accommodation, meals, gratuities, entertainment, transport from port to port, and, in some cases, even airfare.

“It will be easier than ever for UK cruise travellers to avoid airfares with a huge increase in home cruise options available for 2009. There are some great deals to be had and we’re seeing some that are as low as 50 pounds a day (you might even get lucky and find airfare thrown in).

“On board spending is where travellers have the greatest spending flexibility,” Spencer Brown continued. “The most frequent money saving recommendations among Cruise Critic members have been about excursions, drinks and gambling. The top tip is for travellers to arrange their own excursions and not take those organised by the ship. Suggestions for reducing bar bills (charges for alcohol, water and soft drinks) include taking advantage of the “drink of the day specials” and buying all-you-can-drink soft drink or soda cards. The recommendation for gambling is – don’t.”

A full list of cruise travellers’ money saving tips can be found on cruisecritic.co.uk. In particular, pound stretching tips from cruise travellers can be found on Cruise Critic’s forum and information about the hidden costs of cruising. With cruise fares dropping drastically as cruise lines scramble to fill ships, the very latest deals can also be found. Meanwhile there is a handy budget calculator on Cruise Critic's sister site Independent Traveller which travellers can use to create a customised budget and estimate the total cost of their next cruise holiday.