Cruise Trends in 2009

Cruises have always been favoured as a holiday option with various cruise liners offering the exciting travel experience without thefuss of transit and travelling from destination to destination. You can easily find many types of cruises on offer all aiming at different travellers and holiday makers from couples to singles to families.

Cruising in 2009 has felt considerable changes, as have the majority of travel industries in surviving the Global Financial Crisis, with the recent deals and activities introduced to the cruise industry to tempt people to invest in a cruise vacation. As a result, cruises have been refaced into modern extravagance and glamour getaway with amusing and relaxed destinations and activities available.

Cruises Price Deals and Savings

One of the main trends felt for 2009 in the cruises industry was the price cuts alone, with various cruise package deals now offered at half the price of recent pricing history. There is often question that when picking a cruise, it is best to hold off til as late as possible to reserve your ticket in order to get the best deal. While this is very true of airfares, it is not necessarily the case with cruises as early bird specials can often offer large savings. This is particularly true as when reserving a cruise, you are also reserving your room for the length of the cruise, which of course is a major priority. Most industry experts suggest booking around four to six months in advance for the cheapest price and best rooms.

Upgrade Opportunities

In addition to discounted cruise prices, cruises packages are offering upgrade opportunities, extended or cheaperreduced priced|lower priced} travel insurance and new incentives. For example, Norwegian Cruise Line has introduced a new service of "job loss" insurance, meaning passengers are entitled to a full refund if they lose their job anytime before departure date.

Introducing New Activities On-Board

Cruises have not only lowered the price on existing cruises; they are also bringing bigger extras to the offer by bringing upgrades to the cruise liners themselves and some destination plans. For cruises remain competitive against the highly popular extreme holidays, they are now offering more extreme activities and sports. These range in everything from rock climbing, ice skating, ocean swimming (within netted areas), trampolines and even surfing by way of the newly developed artificial wave generators which can be found on board some ocean liners.

But if a relaxed cruises are more your style this is more than catered for, with the forever popular romantic cruise still a massive drawcard for romantic getaways or honeymoons. While the usual dining and ballroom activities will remain, the majority of cruise ships now have everything from mini golf and similar sports to shopping to gyms, these features also make the cruise an attractive option as a family holiday choice.

This push for cruises to become a primary family holiday choice has been further encouraged in 2009 with many cruise liners and companies offering free travel insurance for children.

Discounts to Fuel Surcharges

In 2008 cruise liner companies started rolling back any fuel surcharges as a response to declining oil prices, and while the price of oil has recovered since 2008 many cruise companies have kept this surcharge off their prices until the end of 2010.

New Destinations with Extra on Land Activities

There are loads of great cruise destinations on offer to tempt people to travel the globe, although there is a few destination favourites that have been well and truly established over time as excellent cruise alternatives, including the Caribbean, South Pacific and even Antarctica.

As another trend in 2009, cruises companies have introduced on-land excursion packages which range from the standard sightseeing activities to more extreme selections of scuba diving, sports car racing and bungee jumping .