Cruising through 2023

Demand for bucket-list voyages are on the rise - here we chart some of the top cruise trends

- SUSAN J YOUNG

As travel slowly reemerges from the 2020-2021 "dark era," EY's Future Consumer Index reveals that consumers have a strong KIELELL desire to stop reacting to events and instead begin creating the lives they want. Today, many are doing exactly that and rewarding themselves with "bucket list" cruise holidays. 

Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) UK & Ireland reports that holidaymakers from this region alone took approximately 1.7 million cruises last year, nearing demand levels last seen in 2019. Up to 85 per cent of cruise passengers intend to take a holiday at sea again, while 70 per cent of holidaymakers who've never cruised before will consider it in the next few years.

Cruisers simply can't wait to gaze at wild penguins in Antarctica, sip wines at vineyards along European rivers, or soak up the sunshine along the Mediterranean or in the Caribbean. Cruising across the globe is back in 2023 - and in a big way. Here we look at some of the biggest cruise industry trends.

Lengthier ocean cruises

Week-long voyages remain popular, but many holidaymakers desire lengthier holidays. Why? They want to check off more bucket-list destinations, make up for pandemic-era "lost time," and squeeze optimum value from increasingly pricey air tickets. People say: "If I'm going to spend the money to go across the globe, I want to get the most out of my journey and stay longer."

P&O Cruises offers both Classic Southern Hemisphere Journeys, typically spanning a month or two travelling to Australia and Asia, and 50-to-65-night Grand Tours sailing round trip from Southampton to regions in the Americas and the Caribbean. Industry-wide, many lines have introduced more of those one-to-three-month Grand Voyages plus even lengthier World Cruises of 100 to 180 days or even more.