There are 15 cruise ships on Fincantieri's orderbook with deliveries through 2011. The contracts are valued at $7.8 billion, which gives the Italian builder nearly 40 percent of the worldwide cruise market. 

After the Carnival Freedom was delivered in February, three more ships are slated for deliveries in 2007 – the Emerald Princess at the end of March, the Costa Serena in May and the Queen Victoria at the end of the year.

There are many common denominators that affect the industry and the different cruise lines, but the people factor seems to be the most important.

For instance, all the cruise lines need qualified staff to serve passengers, and the higher up the product ladder, the more important the staff becomes in terms of offering six-star service.

It is no longer enough to be in business and be profitable. In addition it is becoming increasingly important how that business is run. 

Thus, AIDA Cruises was recently awarded a Maritime Social Responsibility (MSR) certificate from Germanischer Lloyd (GL), as part of the line’s integrated management system covering ISO 9001, ISO 14001, OHSAS 18001 and MSR.

Fuel conservation, maintenance and recruitment are some of the issues that will keep marine and technical operations busy in 2007, in addition to new ship introductions and refurbishment projects.
 
“We have made significant reductions in fuel consumption already,” said Captain William Wright, senior vice president of marine operations at Royal Caribbean International. “We are using more weather routing, paying more attention to currents. Before, we used to operate ships as if they were on railroad tracks. Now, we have a base route, but will deviate from that based on fuel optimization,” Wright explained.

This promises to be a busy year for hotel operations, with the introduction of new ships and refurbishment projects, as well as new homeports and new itineraries, while also meeting revenue targets, keeping expenses under control, and delivering a solid guest experience.

As the cruise traffic grows, Florida ports continue to benefit from the lion’s share of the business, while also gearing up for more. And to handle the growth, terminal construction and upgrades, dedicated transportation systems and roadways, are either underway or being planned.

The North American-based luxury lines were sailing with the current in 2006 and expect another good year in 2007. With things looking up, Seabourn Cruise Line ordered two new 450-passenger ships to be built by T. Mariotti, at a cost of $250 million each, for delivery in 2009 and 2010.