Editor’s Note – CNN’s Monthly Ticket is a new travel series that highlights some of the world’s most compelling travel topics. In April we set a course for the diverse world of cruises. Whether you are looking for inspiration for travel or inner knowledge, the monthly ticket will take you there.
(CNN) – After two years of navigating relentlessly exciting seas, the cruise industry – one of the tourism sectors hardest hit by the pandemic – predicts a much smoother voyage.
Facing the constant pressure of a pandemic and increasingly urgent demands for climate action, industrial innovation and adaptation is the name of the game.
After a 15-month period of blocking the pandemic, ships began leaving U.S. ports again last summer, though not without fail (the CDC issued its strictest warning about cruising around Omicron’s jump in December, for example). ). According to the world’s leading cruise trading group, the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), more than 75% of its member ships have returned to service, and almost all are expected to be back in the water by the end of the summer.
The valiant lady of Virgin Voyages made her debut in March 2022.
Greg Walstenholm / Bav Media / Shutterstock
CLIA predicts that the number of passengers will not only reach but also exceed pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2023. And according to Cruise Industry News’s cruise ship order book for ocean-going vessels, nearly 40 new ships are scheduled to debut this year alone, with more than 75 custom ships by 2027.
Insiders in the industry say there is a delayed demand for cruisers.
“The industry is only running for two and a half months in 2020 and partly in 2021, so there are essentially more than 20 months of cruise passengers who have not received their holidays,” said Monti Matisen, managing editor of Cruise Industry News. .
Colleen McDaniel, editor-in-chief of Cruise Critic’s leading cruise review website, said: “We see buyers and cruise bookings increasing week by week, which is fantastic news for the industry.
The cruise is definitely back, albeit with a slightly different look and feel. This is where the future of cruises is now for 2022 and beyond.
Continuation of the pandemic protocols
CNN’s Natasha Chen reports from the Celebrity Edge, the first cruise ship to sail from a US port in more than 15 months.
Cruise lines have introduced stringent health and safety measures in response to the pandemic, which CLIA spokeswoman Lazisa Lambert said was “one of the highest levels of Covid-19 mitigation compared to virtually any other trading environment.”
McDaniel says that as a result, consumer confidence is high.
“Among cruisers, we are told that they feel more comfortable traveling than flying, staying in a hotel, attending an indoor event and even attending a home party with a number of guests outside their family,” says the editor.
These measures include vaccination mandates, pre-cruise tests, advanced ventilation systems, deep cleaning protocols and the removal of high-contact surfaces (for example, buffets are now manned rather than self-service). Some lines still require masking and promoting social distancing through reduced capacity, although these policies are being relaxed.
“I’ve heard a lot of positive comments about the fact that the ships are less than full and how this has led to a better experience on board,” Mathisen said, adding, “This will be over soon.”
But some of the newer measures to reduce crowds are likely to remain and add value to passengers, such as easier boarding when boarding and replacing personal training with virtual ones.
Passengers checked in for their cruise in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on June 26, 2021. The Celebrity Edge was the first cruise ship to leave U.S. port after the coronavirus pandemic brought the industry to a 15-month standstill.
Martha Lavender / AP
“Many of the painful points of the cruise experience were around the first day – check-in, pick-up, etc.,” says Mathisen. “And they all have a new look.”
The continuing impact of the pandemic on routes is also remarkable, given the many changes in international restrictions on cruise ship access. Promisingly for the industry, some major destinations are lifting cruise ship bans in 2022 for the first time in two years, including Canada and Australia.
Many ports will continue to require proof of vaccination or negative Covid-19 tests for passengers to disembark – and port policies may change along with the tides of pandemic waves.
McDaniel says that because of such instability, flexible cancellation policies are the number one consideration for potential cruisers. However, she advises: “Cruise lines are beginning to change their cancellation policies from what we saw earlier in the pandemic, so it’s important to make sure you’re aware of the policy of your choice before booking.
More environmentally friendly ship technology
The fast-growing cruise sector is facing increasing control over its huge contribution to air and water pollution (a recent study found that a large cruise ship has a larger carbon footprint than 12,000 cars). In November, CLIA’s maritime cruise lines pledged to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, in line with the UN’s broader net global emissions targets for this year. Yet the industry’s continued dependence on highly polluting fuel oil (HFO) is an obstacle to its decarbonisation targets.
Pioneering cruise lines are now pursuing a variety of new and more sustainable alternative energy sources to green their fleets, including electric batteries, biofuels and hydrogen fuel cells.
Norway-based Hurtigruten is behind the world’s first electrically powered hybrid cruise ship, three-year-old MS Roald Amundsen; since then, the company has added two more hybrid ships, with three more to come and announced plans for a zero-emission ship by 2030. They banned the HFO more than a decade ago and are currently experimenting with biofuels.
MS Roald Amundsen of Hurtigruten in Duse Bay, Antarctica.
Oscar Farrer
Asta Lassesen, CEO of Hurtigruten Expeditions, says the company hopes to set an example, as “the only way forward for the cruise industry is more sustainable”.
“Unfortunately, we see a large part of the cruise industry dragging on, supplying ships with polluting fuel oil and flooding small communities with thousands of people at once,” she added.
Some unanimous cruises join the ranks, such as the luxury Ponant line, which debuted with an electric hybrid ship last year, and the superb Silversea Cruises, which has a hybrid ship scheduled for 2023. Meanwhile, Italy’s MSC Cruises has ambitions to develop the first the world’s cruise ship with hydrogen propulsion.
CLIA reports that more than half of the new cruise ships in the industry will rely on liquefied natural gas (LNG). However, industry observers such as Marcy Keever of the Friends of the Earth environmental group warn that LNG is simply a distraction and another significant pollutant.
“The cruise industry moving to LNG will simply lock them into a failed fossil fuel technology for another 30 to 40 years,” she said.
The industry is also looking at measures to reduce emissions by connecting offshore energy, which allows ships to turn off their engines and switch on while in port. The CLIA will enable 174 ships with such connectivity by 2027 – although only 14 global ports are currently activated with compatible infrastructure.
Smaller ships
Even before the pandemic, cruisers showed an affinity for smaller, more intimate ships, with a wealth of riverboats and expedition ships now commissioned.
Existing cruise lines such as Viking and Seabourn are branching out into the expedition market this year, while entirely new brands such as Atlas Ocean Voyages and The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection are expanding the space for small ships.
The two new Viking expedition ships have a luxury apartment of the owner.
viking
Although high-priced, these smaller ships offer a distinct attraction in a post-pandemic world, with fewer crowds and access to more exotic rosters with a list that are otherwise inaccessible to larger cruise ships.
They also help tackle over-tourism, a pressing problem facing the industry before Covid, and has since led to popular port cities such as Venice and Key West that restrict access to cruise ships.
“Simply put: size matters,” says Lasesen of Hurtigruten. “An expedition cruise ship has a smaller footprint than a megaship.”
Contactless technology
The pandemic has also accelerated the technological revolution aboard cruise ships, with recently digitized features allowing for a more convenient and contactless environment on board.
Smartphones and wearable technologies such as bracelets or medallions are now commonly used as board cards and key cards; some carrying devices even allow guests to track traveling companions on board.
In restaurants, QR codes are replacing traditional printed menus, while mobile cruise line applications continue to evolve to help cruisers book meals, spa treatments, shows, activities and excursions at the touch of a button.
Bottom row
McDaniel believes that the industry is in a good position to navigate all the challenges of the pandemic that may lie ahead.
“Based on the trends we’ve seen around the options, their effect on reservations has a short shelf life,” she said. “So, assuming that such models continue, we can expect the industry to be in a good position.”
Still, when it comes to sustainability, the industry still has a long way to go, experts like Keever say.
“Unfortunately, an incredible amount of greenwashing is happening,” she said, adding that government regulation and oversight is needed “to force industry to improve its environmental behavior and work to genuinely protect the communities and marine environment they travel to.” .
What is certain is that there are high economic stakes associated with …
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