7 New Luxury Cruise Ships on the Horizon

If you're like me, you've had just about enough of media reports pointing to cut-backs in consumer spending in the travel category. Some pundits are forecasting less-than-rosy scenarios for the next 18–24 months. And while I agree that the economy is in very serious straits, I don't want to lose sight of the wonderful things that are happening right now in the luxury cruise category.

Think about it: we've got some gorgeous new luxury ships coming down the pike:

• Seabourn's 450-guest Odyssey—sailing June 2009
  
  
• Silversea's 540-guest Silver Spirit—sailing January 2010
  
  
• Seabourn's 450-guest Sojourn—sailing June 2010
  
  
• Oceania's 1,260-passenger Marina—sailing September 2010
  
  
• Cunard's 2,092-guest Queen Elizabeth (to replace the QE2)—sailing Fall 2010
  
  
• Seabourn's 450-guest unnamed ship—sailing 2011
  
  
• Oceania's 1,260-guest unnamed ship—sailing July 2011

These new ship launches will ultimately be good for the luxury cruise lines and for you and me as consumers.

Will there be too many staterooms to fill in the coming years? Perhaps in the short term, but that may cause increased competition for the cruise lines to either provide impeccable service or offer lower price points.

Will all of the cruise lines make it through the recession? I certainly hope so, but if they don't there will be consolidation and an opportunity for combined teams to come together with new ideas to meet the challenges of the future.

We're already seeing some innovative strategies to entice new bookings (i.e., Regent's free shore excursion offer and Paul Gauguin Cruises' loyalty program that offers discounts to travelers who've sailed with a select group of cruise lines in the past).

These are all good things for the luxury cruise market. I'm looking forward to seeing all of these new ships take to the seas in the next few years.