Bookings rocket as families find their cruise legs
Families in search of new thrills and credit-crunch busting all-inclusive holidays, are finding their sea legs according to figures announced by the UK’s largest independent travel retailer, The Co-operative Travel.
The Co-operative Travel reports that 2008 has seen cruise holiday bookings from families rocket by 31%. Families now represent one in ten of all cruise passengers.
The rise in family bookings is good news for Royal Caribbean which this month launches the world’s largest cruise ship The Independence of the Seas. Sailing out of Southampton, the ship features a range of family and child friendly features such as its H2O Zone, an on board children’s water park.
“The launch of The Independence of the Seas will only serve to further boost the family cruising market,†says Davis. “The added publicity and capacity it will bring will show more parents what cruising has to offer them and their children.â€
This trend by UK families mirrors the habits of American holidaymakers. The Cruise Lines International Association, which represents 97% of US cruise ships, says that they carry approximately 1 million children each year and this demand has led cruise operators to increasingly cater for a family market.
Trevor Davis of The Co-operative Travel says, “Cruising has been one of the travel industry’s biggest success stories. In the US these types of holidays have been genuinely multi-generational and it now seems UK families are catching on to what’s on offer.
“The major cruise operators have courted parents looking for a stress-free break by fitting ships with increasingly bigger and better attractions for families, as well as improving their kids clubs and entertainment. They have also increased the number of ships departing the UK and the proportion of family berths.
Report by Chitra Mogul
Chitra Mogul
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