Do You Have the Cruise Ship Blues. This is a rhetorical question that really could have at least 2 meanings that I am thinking of. 1, are you thinking that taking a cruise right now would be awesome and you just cannot figure out how you can afford to make the time or find the money to do it? Or 2, have you taken a cruise in the past and it just did not live up to your expectations and all of the hype described in the Cruise Operators Brochures? In either case I can appreciate that you could be having the Cruise Ship Blues.
Today, the cruise ship industry is one of the fastest growing tourism markets. In 2009, over 13 million passengers took a cruise of at least 2 days in duration. Between 1980 â 2004 annual increase in passengers is over 8% year over year. During this time cruise ships have increased significantly in size with larger ships today carrying over 3,000 passengers at a time. Although the demand for cruises has occurred because cruise ships have become more efficient thus reducing the average cost per person thus making it more affordable to a larger population of the US and the World, the lower costs have also been because of the significant concessions that Cruise Operators have received from Local, State, and National governments. In this assignment I would like you to learn more about the positive and negative aspects of this very important and popular segment of the Hospitality Industry.
Start your search by typing in the key words âCruise industryâ into Google or your favorite search engine from the results of this search you should be able to answer the following questions.
1. What are some of the current key statistics that reflect the state of the industry. (Select items based on the impact they have on you as a cruise passenger (now or in the future) or as a global citizen)?
2. Briefly describe the makeup of the industry operators.
3. What are the primary countries that cruise use as country of registry?
4. Why do many ships not register in the United States?
5. Provide a headline from a news source within the last year that presented the cruise industry in a negative light.
6. Identify a cruise operator and briefly describe one of their cruise options available during over the next 2 years.
7. What is your overall personal feeling regarding the cruise industry? Provide specific examples why you feel this way.
8. Find a website that is completely devoted to reporting the negative news from the cruise industry and briefly describe what information it provides.
9. Describe who you believe more, the Cruise Industry Proponents or Opponents.
10. List the name of a book written in the last 5 year regarding the Cruise Industry.
11. If you have taken a cruise please describe your experience. Or, if you have never taken a cruise please state why you would or would not be interested in taking a Cruise.
12. Reflecting back on this assignment did you find information that changed you opinion of Cruising? Explain.
