Carry on cruising! UK passenger numbers hit new record – and demand soars for Malta and

We’ve had the Iran war, soaring energy bills, a cost-of-living crisis – and even an outbreak of hantavirus on a cruise ship in the South Atlantic. Yet nothing, it seems, will deter British tourists from taking to the high seas.

A record 2.54 million passengers from the UK and Ireland went on cruises last year, according to the trade body Cruise Lines International Association.

And records could be smashed again this year, said Chris Hackney, boss of Marella Cruises, which is owned by global travel group Tui.

Full steam ahead: The cruise industry is booming and bookings are looking healthy this year

‘The market is very resilient,’ he said. ‘Not only have we got good bookings already but lots of people out there are still looking to book a cruise.’

Marella carries 350,000 passengers a year on its five ships, and Hackney said social media made trips more appealing to a younger demographic as content creators document their holidays.

Marella even recently appointed TV personality Denise van Outen as CCO – ‘chief chill-out officer.’

Meanwhile, in the City, analysts say the sector’s still mainly older clientele should shield it from increasingly fragile consumer confidence. The ability of the cruise market to bounce back was shown in the aftermath of Covid – itself a near-death experience for the sector. After ships were stuck at sea during the pandemic, there were fears many passengers would never set foot on a ship again.

Relax: Denise van Outen is ‘chief chill-out officer’ for Marella Cruises

But Hackney said: ‘The cruise market is bigger than ever now.’

When war in the Middle East broke out, Tui – Europe’s biggest tour operator – was forced to repatriate 5,000 holidaymakers from ships trapped in Abu Dhabi and Doha, costing it £35 million.

The conflict wiped a third off Tui’s share price as the German-owned group warned that profit would fall as consumers delayed bookings. However, the shares have recouped some lost ground as hopes of a lasting peace deal between the US and Iran rise. There were ‘ups and downs’ with booking patterns, Hackney said, but it is ‘through that now and seeing some more resilient demand’.

There are signs demand is shifting from the popular eastern Mediterranean to closer destinations such as Malta and Mallorca.

And more customers are booking a month or two before departure, which in the cruise world is seen as a late booking. Usually customers book 180 to 200 days out.

But Hackney said customers were seeing more ‘reassuring’ messages in the media over holiday prices than when the conflict began. Its seven-night trips start at about £800 a person per week.

And cruises have a ‘very loyal’ customer base, Hackney said, with some going on three to six cruises a year. Repeat passengers want novelty, whether it’s food, entertainment or destinations.

Albania, with its beautiful beaches and quieter tourism season, is one that the cruise company has added this year. Portugal and Lisbon are also increasingly popular pit stops, said Hackney. Themed cruises are booming. Marella’s Country and Western voyage ‘sold out within a week’ he said, while its Electric Sunsets, featuring 1980s, 1990s and early noughties music was also popular.

However, travel – especially the cruise section – faces criticisms of encouraging overtourism.

In 2016, Unesco threatened to strip Dubrovnik of its World Heritage status if it did not crack down on visitor numbers. The ancient Croatian port has since introduced a cap of two cruise ship arrivals a day – and they must dock for at least eight hours to prevent unmanageable waves of new holidaymakers coming ashore.

And in Palma da Mallorca, in the Balearic Islands, the authorities have agreed that the daily average of cruise ship passengers in the peak summer should be reduced from 8,500 to 7,500 between June and September from 2027 to 2029.

However, despite the challenges, Hackney said that, since the war: ‘The world hasn’t changed that much from our perspective. Travel is still a key part of people’s DNA and lifestyle choices.’