There's no question that the last 2 years have been the most challenging in history for the travel business world-wide. The economy, 9/11, the Norwalk virus, war in Iraq, SARS, and the unsettling spectre of terrorism inside U.S. borders, have dramatically reduced the number of people willing to leave home.

One of the few bright spots in travel is the continued growth of the cruise industry. Long perceived as a vacation for wealthy seniors, the lowest cruise prices in history along with a new emphasis on casual cruising has made this a vacation for everyone...especially families. The positioning of ships in 'home ports' like Galveston, Houston, New York, Baltimore, Jacksonville and Charleston makes cruising easily available to those unwilling to fly.

With cruising still representing little more than 4% of all leisure travel purchases, cruise lines continue to introduce new ships at a blistering pace...14 new ships in '03 and 10 scheduled for delivery in '04 with the average ship carrying over 1500 passengers. Combine the new capacity with the soft economy and you have an unprecedented buyers market for the next 2 years. This does not mean that the cruise lines are not profitable or that there's availability everywhere on every ship. With a perishable product and capacity controlled pricing, most ships are going out full at a price point far below brochure prices. Currently there are only 2 ships scheduled for delivery in '05 and '06. Want to get the most for your cruise dollar? Be flexible in your dates of travel and buy now. This is a real window of opportunity that will disappear as the new capacity is absorbed by demand. To date, the cruise industry is 23% ahead in passenger growth over last year. With that growth and an astonishing repeat factor of 90%, That window could close more rapidly than you think. If you're not Cruis'in, you're Losin !

For more information or to book an interview with John Krieger of Admiral of The Fleet Cruise & Tour Center please contact Footwork Media Productions at 214-826-4992 or via email Kimyla@FootworkMedia.com.