Ferries and Cruising

1. BACKGROUND OF FERRIES AND CRUISING

1821 The first regular commercial cross-channel steamship service was introduced in 1821 on the Dover-Calais route. 1838 The Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company (later P&O) is credited with establishing the first regular long-distance steamship service with operations to India and the Far East

1840 The Cunard Steamship company began regular services to the American continent in 18401862 By now the railway companies had gained the right to own and operate the steamships themselves. 1869 The opening of the Suez Canal stimulated demand for P&O’s services to India and beyond as Britain’s Empire looked eastwards

The C ontemporary Fer ry Market

- Ferries offer short distance transport ation both for local communities, on s

hort domestic routes, and for tourists. Local ferries can help tourists to acces

s areas that otherwise would be diffic ult to reach.

- Sea going ferries often operate on key tourist routes between countries.

These services may be provided by re gular ships, hovercraft, seacat or high

- speed sea service (HSS).

Ship

Hovercraft

Seaca t

-High spee d Sea Servi

ce (HSS)

International ferries in the UK are operated by companies from a variety of countries including Britain, Ireland, Scandinavia, France and Belgium.

The leading companies, by volume, are P&O European Ferries, Stena Line, Brittany Ferries and Seafrance.

2. HOLIDAY INITIATIVES

2.1 The Channel Tunnel

Impact on ferry services Competition from Eurostar and Le

Shuttle has however had a considerable effect on cross channel ferry operations not least of all in forcing some rationalization in the UK industry.

In common with air transportation on competitive routes, the ferry companies have lost passengers to the tunnel.

The Channel Tunnel was a strong competitor offering uninterrupted services which are both frequent and considerably faster than the ferry services.

The response from the ferry companies Rationalization in the sector

Heavy investment in their fleets (several hundred million pounds)

Increased frequencies (especially on short routes)

Intensive marketing activities including competitive pricing and involvement with promotions

Increased collaboration with the travel industry (e.g. tour operators, hotels)

By the end of the 1990s, facilities onboard ferries were often extensive.General Bars

LoungesInformation desk Globetrotier Club loungeShopping Spikes Globetrotter loungeViewing gallery Stingers Panorama loungeBureau de Change 

Entertainment RestaurantsCasino Ben & Jerry’sChildren’s areas Cupa CabanaChildren’s cinema GlobetrotterOnboard entertainment MacDonald’s

3. PACKAGED TRAVEL

The main suppliers of water-borne packaged travel are the cruise lines who offer more of a leisure product than a mode of transportation.

3.1 The Cruise Industry

Cruising is one of the fastest growing sectors of the travel business with bookings currently growing at least 15 per cent year on year.

There are currently around 50 new cruise ships either on order, under construction or on the drawing board.

The ‘big four’ cruise lines 1. Carnival corporation 2. Royal Caribbean International/ Celebrity CruisesCarnival Cruise Lines Royal Caribbean InternationalHolland America Line Celebrity CruisesWindstar CruisesCunard LineSeabourn Cruise LineAirtours Sun Cruises (26 per cent stake) Total capacity of existing fleet: 71,344 Total capacity of existing fleet:

32,992(including Airtours Sun Cruises 4196)Total capacity on order: 33, 192 Total capacity on order: 56,656

The ‘big four’ cruise lines

3. P&O Princess Cruises 4. Star Cruises/Norwegian Cruise LinePrincess Cruises Star CruisesP&O Cruises NCLSwan Hellenic Orient LinersAida Cruises Norwegian Capricorn LineFestival Cruises (dissolved October, 2000) Total capacity of existing fleet: 11,338 Total capacity of existing fleet:

24,236Total capacity on order: 26,404 Total capacity on order: 15, 004

Specialist cruise lines The Disney fleet includes two vessels – Disney Magic and Disney Wonder – which visit destinations in Florida and the Bahamas.

Flexible offerings

Varied ports of callVaried activities at each port port of

call/onboardVaried attractions at each port of

call/onboardGlobal sourcing of materialsGlobal sourcing of labourSegmentation opportunities (e.g.

romantic cruises, adventure cruises, sophisticated cruises)

The traditional image of cruising. ExpensiveUp-market clienteleEmphasis on high service levelsProvision of security and comfort (whilst

visiting destinations often that had a lack of developed tourist infrastructure )

Itineraries that included visits to several destinations (in comfort as opposed to most mobile holiday forms)

Destinations in the Mediterranean and Caribbean popular

New product developments

The industry has however successfully managed to attract a far broader customer base in recent years by varying its product offering

An important development in the 1960s was that of Fly Curises which transport passengers by aircraft to the departure point for the cruise.

Product offerings in the cruise sector

1. Floating resorts 2. Mini cruises

3. Themed cruises 4. Sailing ships

5. Family cruises 6. Cruise and stay

7. World cruises

Tour operators and the cruise market

Tour operators have long been involved in the cruise market in the USA but have traditionally had far less involvement in the European cruise industry.

More recent tour operator ventures into the cruise market have met with more success and cruising is now an important business for many of Europe’s mass market tour operators.

Airtours cruise operation Sun Cruises Costa CruiseDirect Cruise

Sun Cruise

Costa Cruise

Direct Cruise

Distribution

Cruise lines have traditionally relied rather heavily on travel agent for distribution and this has been a lucrative source of commission earnings for agents.

Specialist cruising agents have been developed including Cruise World, Mundy Cruising and The Cruise Line.

Trade Associations

As with other forms of transport, there are associations with a cruise line membership.

In the USA, the American Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) is important whilst in the UK the Passenger Shipping Association is significant.

3.2 BOATING HOLIDAYS

Coastal and inland waterways offer popular holiday options.

Demand has grown for sailing holidays.

Learn-to-sail package holidays have also captured some market share.

CRUISE IN THAILAND