What the Way forward for Cruise Holidays Will Look Like, In response to the Consultants

The approaching yr is prime time for a cruise trip, and there have by no means been extra choices for vacationers trying to spend time at sea.

That was the important thing takeaway from almost 100 consultants who convened in late October for the Journey + Leisure Cruise Summit 2024, which was hosted on the Waldorf Astoria Cancun, in Mexico.

Among the many attendees on the forefront of the cruise trade have been greater than 60 journey advisors, together with a number of members of the T+L Journey Advisory Board. “You actually are listening to from the perfect within the enterprise,” mentioned Katy Bano, the vice chairman and writer of T+L, in her opening remarks.

Over the course of the two-day convention, attendees heard from among the world’s foremost trade consultants, together with Kelly Craighead, CEO of the Cruise Line Worldwide Affiliation (CLIA).

“Luxurious cruise is such a phenomenon,” Craighead mentioned, noting that 2025 is forecast to be a record-setting yr for cruise journey globally. “There isn’t only one factor about ‘cruise,’ there are such a lot of, many, many various kinds of experiences which are resonating.”

Among the many above-and-beyond journeys mentioned through the summit have been issues like a voyage via the fjords of Norway, an expedition to the North Pole, a visit to see penguins within the Southern Ocean, and enjoyable wellness escapes on sailings within the Caribbean or Mediterranean. Additionally mentioned have been the top-flight culinary choices on luxurious ships of every kind, and the distinctive advantages of river cruises.

Visitors of the occasion got here away with recent concepts on the best way to finest market these journeys — and an appreciation for the distinctive benefits of touring by ship, together with the power to unpack as soon as whereas seeing a number of ports and the turn-key simplicity of reserving one trip that features a number of international locations.

“Cruising is simple,” mentioned Carmen Teresa Targa, a Journey Advisory Board member who spoke on a panel about the advantages of cruising with a number of generations. “All the things is completed for me and I don’t should assume,” she mentioned with fun.

“If you may get the posh traveler onto a ship, they are going to by no means look again,” agreed Bano.

Along with a number of panel discussions summarizing developments within the trade, summit attendees additionally participated in a sequence of workshops, which have been lead by Crystal, Oceania Cruises, Ponant, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, and Viking.

Attendees additionally had loads of alternatives to benefit from the hospitality on the Waldorf Astoria Cancun, a superb resort situated lower than 20 minutes from Cancun Worldwide on Mexico’s Riviera Maya. The beachfront property is the primary purpose-built luxurious resort in Hilton’s Latin America portfolio, with two swimming pools, incredible Mexican delicacies, and a vacation spot spa, as detailed just lately by T+L contributor Dobrina Zhekova.

For its half, Hilton Accommodations & Resorts has a number of different notable luxurious developments within the pipeline, in keeping with Phillip Peña and Feisal Jaffer, two executives who detailed the rising world footprint of LXR Accommodations and Resorts through the Cruise Summit.

Along with seminars and panel discussions, attendees had loads of time for networking and collaboration over a pair of working lunches: One was sponsored by Explora Journeys, the high-end line with excessive marks within the World’s Greatest Awards, whereas the opposite was sponsored by AmaWaterways, a favourite of World’s Greatest Awards voters within the river cruise class.

Lots of these on the summit got here away with new concepts, in addition to bullish predictions about the way forward for the trade. Among the many noteworthy sound bites heard across the summit:

• “Prospects who’re ‘new to cruise’ have to know that these luxurious choices exist,” mentioned Sandy Schadler, a member of the Journey Advisory Board who spoke on a panel moderated by T+L senior editor Elizabeth Rhodes.
• “Cooler locations have been an enormous twist — they’re large now, notably the fjords of Norway, Greenland, Iceland,” mentioned Brenna Abels, of Regent.
• “It’s by no means been safer or extra snug to go on an expedition,” mentioned Ellen McIlvaine, of Ponant.
• “Our lawyer mentioned I might say this: Cruise is the most secure option to journey,” agreed Craighead, the CLIA CEO.
• “Gen Z are essentially the most obsessed with cruising,” mentioned Anne Madison, one other CLIA consultant in attendance.
• “There’s such selection on board, we will cater to everybody’s style,” mentioned Nathan Hickman, of Oceania Cruises.
• “Crystal is constructing two expedition ships,” mentioned Glen Rothe, of Crystal, the road that’s additionally now integrating Abercrombie & Kent experience into its shore excursions.

If something, the theme of chance appeared to run via the proceedings, with advisors, sponsors, and T+L employees all in settlement that the way forward for cruising, notably on the excessive finish, is brighter than ever.

“We’ve had mother and father pull their children out of faculty to take them on a Cape City to Singapore cruise for 30 days,” mentioned Hickman, throughout a panel dialogue moderated by Andy Harmer of CLIA. “They mentioned, ‘That is extra necessary than faculty.’”