Cruise lines report minimal UK growth
Just 25,000 more Britons took an ocean cruise last year compared with 2012, which means the market grew by only 1.5% and, as a result, little extra cruise capacity was put on sale in the UK in 2013.
CLIA UK & Ireland said the situation remains the same for 2014, but next year will be "a completely different story", it said.
P&O Cruises’ new ship Britannia and Royal Caribbean Internationals’ Anthem of the Seas will both be sailing out of Southampton from next spring.
And Princess Cruises’ Royal Princess will also return to Southampton next year, offering cruises in the spring and summer.
"These deployments are a reflection of the industry’s renewed confidence in the UK and should ensure the sector increases its share of the UK holiday market," said CLIA.
"This appeared to have dropped in 2013 as although passenger numbers grew 1.5%, early estimates were for a 4% increase in foreign holidays and 6% in package holidays.
"However, cruising has still trebled its share of the package holiday sector and more than doubled that of the whole foreign holidays market since 2001."
The UK is still the largest cruise market in Europe and last year there was a 41% increase in the number of overseas passengers flying to the UK to embark on cruises.
This meant that more than a million people embarked on cruises from the UK for the first time in a single year.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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