In 2019, the cruise industry generated a total of $55.5 billion in economic activity in the United States, a 5.3% increase from 2018. According to the report, the cruise industry supported 436,600 American jobs paying $24.4 billion in wages in 2019—a 3.5% and 5.4% increase from 2018, respectively.

The cruise industry is one of the most important growth sectors in the tourism market. Over the past few years, the cruise market has seen an enormous growth in passenger numbers, while an increasing number of new cruise destinations are emerging. This growth has given rise to a demand for very large cruise ships.

Its positive economic benefit is clear as cruise continues to contribute significantly to the European economy through smart sustainable growth. This is thanks to more Europeans choosing a cruise holiday, more cruise passengers sailing in Europe, and more cruise ships being built in European shipyards.

Top 10 Reasons to Take a Cruise

• #1: A Cruise Vacation Offers Great Value.
• #2: See Multiple Destinations, Unpack Only Once.
• #3: Cruise Ships are Family Friendly.
• #4: Cruise Ships Come in All Shapes and Sizes.
• #5: Ships Offer a Variety of Onboard Activities.
• #6: Cruise Vacations are Easy to Plan.
• #7: Ships Are Floating Cities.

Cruise ships are terrible for the environment. Their heavy use of fossil fuels means that even on a short week-long cruise, a person would produce the same amount of emissions as 18 days on land. They also emit large amounts of sulphur dioxide and carbon dioxide and have terrible waste management policies.

Cruise lines potentially exposed passengers to various diseases (including COVID-19), which can be fatal. Cruise lines failed to notify passengers of the high risk of being infected with viruses/ bacteria on the company’s cruise ships. Passengers were infected by contaminated food or unsanitary conditions.

Update 7: Following parent company Royal Caribbean Group, it has been announced that cruises are now suspended through November 2020. Here are the details. Update 8: Parent company Royal Caribbean Group has announced the suspension of cruises until 2021 except for pilot sailings out of Singapore on Quantum of the Seas.

Dear guests, As Carnival Cruise Line continues to work on the implementation of plans to resume cruising in 2021, additional departures, particularly for the first part of 2021, have been cancelled: All embarkations from Miami, Port Canaveral and Galveston through and including 28.02. 2021.

Ocean cruise lines continue to cancel sailings to comply with the CDC’s Conditional Sailing Order. Major cruise lines like Carnival, Disney, and Celebrity Cruise are in a pause for the next few months. Others, like Norwegian and Princess Cruises have delayed sailings until June 30, 2021.

All cruises on Oceania and Regent have been canceled through March 31, 2021. That same day, Royal Caribbean announced it would be suspending its global sailings through February 28, 2021. Sailings in Australia are now cancelled through April 2021. MSC Cruises resumed service in Europe this summer.

When your trip is cancelled, your cruise operator should offer the choice of an alternative or a refund. When a sailing is cancelled and an overnight stay becomes necessary, your cruise operator should offer you accommodation free of charge, if possible. This can be on board the ship, or ashore.

Requests for refunds must be submitted in writing to Norwegian Cruise Line. Cruise tickets, air tickets, transfer coupons and/or vacation package vouchers must be returned before a refund can be made. Refund processing time is about 3 to 4 weeks.

In most cases, refunds will post to the original form of payment about 7 to 10 days after they’re fully processed. However, some refunds may take up to 30 days to post.

Why Refunds Take So Long It can take several weeks or months to fully process a cruise travel refund, particularly if the refund involves multiple passengers, several cabins, or complicated booking with add-on drink packages, pre-booked tours, spa appointments, airfare, and airport transfers.

Once you request a refund, your Future Cruise Certificate will be deactivated. Please note, if you choose the refund option and the refund is processed, you cannot go back to a Future Cruise Credit at a later time.