Riding the wave of strong global economic growth of past decade or so, the passenger cruise line industry has experienced some phenomenal growth, with some 74 new cruise ships launched onto the world’s oceans since 2000. The industry is estimated to be worth 30 billion US dollars per year.

The cruise liner industry is the fastest growing global tourism sector, with an average sector growth rate 8% per annum since 1980. Over 12 million people went cruising in 2006, a figure expected to hit 16 million by 2009.

Last year the cruise industry experienced a record increase in passenger traffic with an estimated 12.6 million North Americans alone taking cruises during 2007.

The industry sustains approximately 559 000 jobs and pays over US$5.7 billion in wages per annum. Over the next three years, at least another 23 new cruise ships are scheduled to be launched. These ships will see the creation of more than 26 000 new cruise line jobs in addition to the 32 000 new cruise line jobs created over the last two years!

The industry is also experiencing some innovations, like offering people opportunities to buy their own cabins on some of these luxurious floating apartment blocks.

In the last few years, the cruise ship industry has acquired 17 new ports of call in the United States, including Baltimore, New Orleans, Mobile, Charleston, and New York City.

Areas such as the east coast of Australia and New Zealand have also become popular cruise destinations.

Cruise ships keep on expanding their itineraries to include more and more ports around the world. Some South African ports, like Cape Town and Durban are presently putting plans in place to benefit from this growth.

With its reputation as one of the most beautiful tourist cities in the world, Cape Town in 2007 unveiled ambitious plans to become one of the best passenger cruise liner destinations in the world.

The city seeks to benchmark itself against the likes of Miami, Vancouver, Sydney, Melbourne and even Auckland, which have all developed as favoured cruise liner destinations.

“The time could be ripe to re-establish Cape Town as one of the great passenger liner destinations of the world by promoting itself and the southern African region as a base for destination cruises,” BuaNews reported the city councillor in charge of economic development and tourism, Simon Grindrod.

He said he was disappointed, however, that Cape Town and southern Africa had largely failed to benefit from the trend of cruise liner operators seeking new destinations.

The advantage of cruise liners, Grindrod said, was that they could berth at ports with limited landside facilities as they were basically equipped like floating resorts. In addition, approximately 50% of passengers expected to return to places that they have visited while on a cruise.

“Given this position, areas which have previously been fairly inaccessible to this type of tourists as well as the traditional nodes could also benefit,” he said.

Grindrod said that at present, Cape Town and Durban featured on the schedule of round-the-world cruises and vessels that are on appropriate repositioning cruises, but cautioned that this was a limited market.

Multi-purpose terminals

Cape Town is perceived as having the perfect opportunity to develop a multi-use cruise liner terminal. Grindrod said that cruise liner terminals were not profitable investments on their own, but “given this position trend worldwide, the city would construct a multi-purpose use facility” that can be used as a cruise liner terminal and other uses.

“If destination-based cruise liner business is to expand in this region, then terminals at the potential home-ports of Cape Town and Durban are probably essential,” he said.

Durban is indeed also planning to build a cruise liner terminal as part of the redevelopment of the Point.

A survey commissioned by KwaZulu-Natal province found that more than 85% of cruise passengers believe that cruising is an important vehicle for sampling destinations to which they may return.

Cape Town’s executive director for economics, social development and tourism, Mansoor Mohamed, said a major challenge for southern African countries was that a few major players dominated the industry.

“We need to contact the cruise liner operations to market the region to these companies to assess what is required to induce them so that southern Africa can be included on their list of cruise destinations,” Mohamed said.

“Our marketing bodies also need to be prominent at the relevant trade shows around the world to promote the region as a cruise liner destination.”

From London, the erstwhile home of many of the world’s mail boats that offered grand travelling in a bygone era, it is reported that cheaper deals, bigger ships and more destinations have elevated cruising from the preserve of the elderly and sedate into a mass market.

The demand for fully catered holidays on what are effectively floating holiday camps has turned cruising into the tourism industry’s fastest-growing sector.

The vast majority of cruise liners are essentially holiday resorts. The sector has diversified to such an extent that there are now cruise lines to cater to the tastes, age and budget of most holidaymakers.

An example of the latest development in the cruise liner industry is the marketing of the Residensea World.

It is described in marketing material as “not so much a liner as an array of floating apartments that sails around the world ‘in pursuit of fair weather, special international events and natural attractions’.

“While a typical ship of this size could carry over 1 500 passengers, the Residensea World is expected to carry an average of 285 guests plus a crew of 252. The apartments will start at US$2 000 000. Yearly maintenance charges are expected to range from $60 000 to $240 000. It will spend around 250 days in port. The building cost is estimated to be US$262 500 000.

The Residensea World has a length of 196.35m (644ft), or 173m between perpendiculars, and a moulded breadth of 29.8m (97.8ft). It has a design draught of 6.7m (22ft) draught and a moulded draught of 9.2m. It registers 40 000gt and has a maximum speed of 19 knots. The facilities are spread across 12 decks and are accessed by six full-size elevators.

“The ship will have a maximum capacity of 1 046 persons. The accommodation is split between residents and guests. There will be 110 private residences ranging from 1 100ft² to 3 200ft² in size. There will also be 88 guest suites ranging in size from 220 to 500ft².

“The private apartments have living and dining areas, two or three bedrooms (each with an ensuite bathroom), a kitchen and a terrace. All the apartments are furnished and have advanced audio and video equipment, in addition to modem access and fax capability. There will be a choice of six floor plans including penthouses and bi-level residences,” claims the marketing material at www.ship-technology.com/projects/world.

That this ship is indeed a floating town is well illustrated by the amenities on offer. Two entire decks are reserved for shopping and leisure activities. Seven restaurants and cafés offer a wide range of international specialities. In addition to numerous lounges and bars, a theatre, casino and nightclub feature.

Also on board are a library, museum, and business centre. Other facilities will include a ‘market room’ with a licensed stockbroker, a helicopter landing pad and a retractable marina for access when anchored in port. The ship includes a golf centre with driving ranges, putting greens and hi-tech simulators, a full-size tennis court, paddle tennis, a jogging track and two swimming pools – one outdoor and one indoor. It also has a health spa, workout room and sauna treatment rooms.

However, industry sources estimate that only 3-4% of the global cruise market could be genuinely regarded as truly upmarket. The vast majority of cruise liners are just holiday resorts which happen to be moving from port to port.

The economies of scale brought on by the development of ever larger ships have apparently reduced prices to a level at which they can compete with many land-based holidays.

Piet Coetzer & Darron Jedeiken