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The future of cruising looks bright. Most cruise lines
are expanding, building or buying more ships and seeking
new destinations. This expansion relates to several
factors:
- a strong North American economy,
- the great diversity in cruise vacations, and
- demographics – and aging population sees cruising as a
comfortable, stress-free holiday.
In addition, many North Americans feel that cruises to
Alaska and the BC coast offer the chance to experience
remarkable scenery, wildlife and culture without the
cost and security concerns of foreign travel.
 Overall, the cruise industry trend is towards building
bigger ships. For example, Royal Caribbean’s Freedom of
the Seas can accommodate 3700 passengers, and that’s not
counting crew! However, ships of this size are not well
suited to the more challenging Inside Passage waterways.
In general, the goal in designing new ships for coastal
excursions is to produce vessels that are more
economically efficient, that are environmentally
far-sighted and that offer more passenger amenities. Of
course, each cruise line also hopes for some “extras”
that will give their vessels a competitive edge.
Homeports and destination ports will continue to benefit
from the economic impact of the cruise ship industry.
Recent studies in Alaska cite more than $700 million
(US) in annual economic benefits directly tied to the
industry. In British Columbia, the estimated spending by
cruise ship companies, passengers and crew is in excess
of $500 million (Cdn) per year. This includes ship
supplies, repairs and maintenance, fuel, stevedoring,
port costs, pilotage and docking services, hotel
accommodations for passengers and crew, local tours and
shopping, restaurants, buses, taxis and air
transportation.
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