Cruise Market Booming!

One of the leading online travel agents has announced that they have seen a massive increase in enquiries about cruises to Europe – mainly coming from American travellers. According to the agent, cruise lines have been offering some fantastic deals for European tours, often allowing passengers to fly over to Europe and stay on a cruise ship for a lower price than they would normally pay to fly over and stay in a hotel!

In a direct comparison between staying in hotels for 7 nights, or going on a 7 night cruise around Europe, travellers could save a massive 68%! This is based on an inside cabin which is generally the cheapest room you can get on a cruise ship, but if you’re making that kind of saving…. who cares?! Even the outside balcony cabins worked out a lot cheaper than “going it alone”. The thing is, you don’t often think about the cost of travelling to all the places you get to visit on a cruise, or the cost of all that wonderful food you get to eat.

The European cruise market has grown by a staggering 165% since 1998, continuing to grow even throughout the recession. It is the fastest growing sector in tourism globally and looks set to continue as cruise lines branch out into new areas such as Australia.

In Europe in particular, smaller cruise ships tend to be very popular as they are able to navigate down narrow, winding rivers, often meaning they can dock in more desirable locations.