Big Changes Afloat As Fleets Grow

Sun., Dec. 15, 1996

Larry Fox And Barbara Radin Fox

The cruise industry is in the middle of an evolutionary change, where the capacity of the fleet keeps growing even though the number of new ships is exceeded by the number of older ships retiring.

Seven new ships have been or will be soon added to the cruising fleet: Carnival Cruise Lines’ 2,600-passenger Destiny and 2,040-passenger Inspiration, Celebrity Cruises’ 1,850-passenger Galaxy, Costa Cruise Lines’ 1,950-passenger CostaVictoria, Holland America Line’s 1,266-passenger Veendam and Royal Caribbean Cruise Line’s 1,800-passenger Splendour of the Seas and 1,950-passenger Grandeur of the Seas. That’s an increase of 13,456 berths, or an annual capacity of 635,300 passengers.

At the same time, there was a loss of 7,823 berths - an annual capacity of 399,100 passengers - because 13 ships were withdrawn from regular scheduled service this year.

After other redeployments, transfers of ships between lines and reconfigurations of vessels, the number of regularly scheduled cruise ships will stand at 116 ships at year’s end, with 106,441 berths and an annual carrying capacity of 5,708,585 passengers, an increase of 7.6 percent over 1995.

And more changes are to come. In 1997, eight ships will be introduced and seven others will be withdrawn from service. The passenger capacity of the fleet will increase again by 6,302 berths, an annual capacity of 394,755 passengers - an increase of 6.9 percent. And by the year 2000, it is expected that the fleet will consist of 130 ships, with a passenger capacity of 7,175,920 per year.

What does this mean to the cruise passenger? Several things:

If you cruise with one of the top four lines - Carnival Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, Holland America Line or Princess Cruises - it will probably be on a ship carrying 1,500 to 2,500 passengers. If you dislike big ships with constant activities and crowds, start studying the brochures and talking to your travel agent about the relatively smaller ships (carrying fewer than 1,000 passengers) offered by other lines. (Princess Cruises still has two smaller ships in service - the “Love Boat,” the 25-year-old, 640-passenger Pacific Princess, and its twin, the Island Princess.)

The increase in capacity may not be matched by demand, a good situation for cruise passengers. Watch newspaper advertisements or consult your travel agent for some great deals in the Caribbean, where capacity has exceeded demand in recent winters.

If you have a sentimental attachment to a ship, particularly an older vessel, plan your return cruise soon. Popular ships that will be withdrawn from service in 1997 include Princess’ Golden Princess and Holland America’s Rotterdam.

Older ships are being withdrawn from service for several reasons: They are not as cost-efficient to run as the new ships; they don’t have as many shipboard shops, casinos and bars for passengers to spend money in; and the cost of upgrading the ships to meet requirements set by the Safety of Life at Sea convention taking effect in the fall of 1997 is too onerous.

The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Larry Fox and Barbara Radin Fox The Washington Post

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