The golden age of cruising

Cunard’s Queen Mary 2, the biggest and most opulent passenger ship afloat, recently joined the world’s growing fleet of cruise ships. Why are millions of people now spending their holidays at sea?

How popular is cruising?

About 10 million people worldwide took cruises last year—up from 1.4 million in 1980. Passengers spent a total of $12 billion for their berths, making cruising the fastest-growing form of leisure travel. More than 200 cruise ships now ply the seas, and the 22 major cruise lines are rapidly adding new ships to their fleets, including nine new behemoths in the coming year. These ships—ranging in size from 180 passengers to floating cities carrying more than 3,000—stop at more than 1,800 ports and destinations, including Caribbean islands, European cities, Alaska, and the South Pacific. No longer do cruises appeal only to a select few demographic groups—the “newly wed, overfed, or nearly dead,” as the old adage goes. It’s estimated that 15 percent of North Americans have taken to the sea on a cruise.

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