This year’s Seatrade Cruise Global in Miami revealed a plethora of opportunities for cruise’s interior business
Kicking off the Key Note Session, CLIA president and chief executive Kelly Craighead unveiled positive figures highlighting the growing strength of the cruise industry. Singling out an important milestone, she revealed total passenger numbers hit 31.7M in 2023 – surpassing 2019 numbers by almost 2M. And CLIA has forecast passenger numbers will hit 31.4M in 2024, jumping to 36.4M in 2025.
There is also a healthy orderbook of what Ms Craighead refers to as “spectacular” ships. CLIA member cruise lines are projected to exceed 300 oceangoing cruise vessels this year for the first time. Fourteen ships were delivered last year, with eight due to be delivered this year, including two expedition ships. There are an overall 56 new cruise ships on the global orderbook that are due to be delivered by 2028, worth an investment of more than US$38Bn.
All this bodes well for the growth in cruise ship interiors.
Several new ships were announced at the show, which took place this month, which is exciting news for the interiors industry. Windstar Cruises announced it is going to build two new ships. In terms of interior features, there will be Windstar’s Watersports Platform with all-new staircase access, the Yacht Club café and lounge, a two-story spa and fitness facility, a forward whirlpool on the bow, a spacious open deck and new dining options, among other features.
Other stories in this month’s newsletter include that APT is entering the ultra-luxury sector with newbuild river ships, while following a multimillion dollar refit, Celestyal has welcomed its second new ship in two years.
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