BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, July 15th 2011 (CUOPM) – Royal Caribbean’s 5,400-passenger Allure of the Seas, which is scheduled to pay a visit to St. Kitts’ Port Zante in December this year, is the most popular cruise ship in the premium/contemporary category.
According to the June CruiseTrends report, Allure of the Seas, swiped the top spot from Princess Cruises’ 3,600-passenger Caribbean Princess, which was the top pick in the May report.
At the luxury level, the 2,600-passenger Queen Mary 2 is the most popular for June, and in the river cruise ship category, the 162-passenger AmaBella, operated by Ama Waterways, is the top draw.
Data for the monthly reports is mined from consumer behavior and purchasing decisions based on consumer quote requests on CruiseCompete, the website that enables agents to compete for business.
A look back over the last year’s data reveals that the booking window for luxury and river cruises has significantly widened.
The window for luxury cruises in the June report is 207 days prior to departure, up from 159 days in June 2010. For river cruises, the booking window in June was 333 days, up from 176 days in June 2010.
There also was a widening seen in the contemporary/premium cruise category, although not to the degree of the other categories. For these ships, the window in June was 146 days vs. 130 in June 2010.
In other results from the June data:
Carnival Cruise Lines is the most popular line in the premium/contemporary category. At the luxury level it’s Oceania, and for river ships it’s Ama Waterways. Ama took the top spot away from Viking River Cruises in the May report.
The Caribbean is the most popular cruise region for premium/contemporary ships, while the Mediterranean is tops for luxury vessels and Europe is most popular for river ships.
In the premium/contemporary category, Fort Lauderdale is the most popular cruise departure port. It’s Venice for luxury ships and Amsterdam for river ships.
The most popular cruise ports visited by premium/contemporary ships is Nassau. For luxury vessels it’s Kusadasi, Turkey, and for river ships it’s Vienna, which knocked Cologne, Germany, from the top spot in May.
Turning to accommodations, inside cabins are most the popular stateroom types on premium/contemporary and river ships, while balcony cabins are most popular on luxury vessels.
The “hottest” month for cruising aboard premium/contemporary ships is July 2011. For luxury ships it’s August 2011, and for river ships it’s October 2011.
*************************
DISCLAIMER
This article was posted in its entirety as received by SKNVibes.com. This media house does not correct any spelling or grammatical error within press releases and commentaries. The views expressed therein are not necessarily those of SKNVibes.com, its sponsors or advertisers.
