The cruise industry is facing a range of challenges on the marine operations side, ranging from environmental regulations to human engineering, new technology, alternative fuels and public perception.
 
"Today, environmental regulations are clearly a challenge,” said Eirik Nyhus, director of maritime environmental strategic issues, at Det Norske Veritas (DNV). “We are looking at the regulations already in place and those that are coming – all of which will drive up costs for the cruise lines – whether for ballast or waste water treatment or for those related to fuel qualities. Whether cruise lines resort to scrubber technology or go to low sulfur fuels, they are looking at higher costs."

There is more pressure on the hotel department than ever before. With reduced ticket prices, the ships not only have to be mindful of spending, but have the job of making up the lost (ticket) revenue, while keeping passengers happy.

Both Carnival Cruise Lines and Royal Caribbean International introduced new ships this past fall. Carnival introduced the newest generation of what started as its Destiny class, built by Fincantieri in 1996, going from 101,000 to 102,000, 110,000 and now 130,000 tons and raising the passenger capacity along the way from 2,600 to 3,650.

From New York and New Jersey to Atlantic Canada, Newfoundland and Labrador and the Saint Lawrence River, cruise traffic is on a growth course, along with infrastructure development and marketing efforts to accommodate and attract more ships and passengers.

Mexico is still reeling from the double whammy of the swine flu outbreak last year and the economic downturn, and the country’s tourism and port officials are still gauging the effects.

This is a time of contrasts. The industry is introducing ever more amazing ships while raising standards and the bar on product delivery. At the same time, ticket prices are dropping lower than ever due to the economic downturn. We are seeing seven-day Caribbean cruises being offered as low as $399 per person this coming winter; year-end sales; and two-for-one pricing for 2010.

The polar regions are seeing an increased push in demand for voyages and landings. With more ships and capacity appearing in these regions over the last decade, there is no shortage of issues at hands for the lines to deal with.

“All of a sudden we have a situation where there is a lot of interest in the Polar areas with the climate change hype,” said Sven Lindblad, president and founder of Lindblad Expeditions. “Companies are waking up and saying ‘hey we’re going to take some people to Antarctica today,’ without any prior knowledge. It would be like me waking up tomorrow and wanting to run tours in Vegas.”