Cruise line food and beverage executives face challenges that landside chefs and restaurant owners do not – such as maintaining a fresh supply of fish and produce on long hauls at sea and frequent re-training of culinary staff due to the transitory nature of crew contracts.

However, they still manage to continually push the envelope with regard to introducing new choices in cuisine, creative presentation, and interactive food programs for passengers. This is crucial in order to “wow” both first timers as well as repeat passengers.

The ongoing recession notwithstanding, passengers are still drinking – not necessarily more, as one might expect during hard times, but they are not depriving themselves either. Whether they’re leaning more toward beer than pricier options or splurging on their favorite grape, passengers are continuing to imbibe. Cruise line beverage managers are innovating in response, with everything from Asian-themed cocktails to strategically placed signage.

The European cruise industry continues to grow, but not only with European-based cruise lines. The traditional American brands are also focusing more on Europe, and not only for ship deployment, but also for passenger sourcing.

The largest brands in Europe in terms of passenger capacity are Costa Crociere, MSC Cruises, AIDA Cruises, Pullmantur Cruises, P&O Cruises, Louis Cruise Lines and Thomson Cruises.

The most popular sailing region is the Mediterranean where cruise ships will carry an estimated 3.6 million passengers in 2009, according to Cruise Industry News, including 269,000 during the winter season.

The cruise capacity in Northern Europe is estimated to be 1.1 million passengers in 2009.

The Oasis of the Seas is not just the largest cruise (passenger) ship ever built, but also a totally new design and configuration, said Harri Kulovaara, executive vice president at Royal Caribbean Cruises. While the Oasis is clearly an extrapolation in size as well as in complexity, she is also the result of Royal Caribbean's 40 years worth of experience, as well as the combined experience and know-how of STX, Det Norske Veritas, the architects and designers, he added.

These are clearly challenging times, but the cruise industry has a lot going for it, including huge market potential on a global scale. Hence, to quote Vicky Garcia of Cruise Planners/American Express, “this is not the time to stick your head in a hole but to get out there and shake hands and kiss babies. This (economic) situation will turn around.”

She was directing her comments at travel agents, but that doesn’t’ mean they don’t apply industry-wide. This is a time to become more aggressive and more creative with sales, marketing and product development. “We must do what we did before and then more,” Richard Meadows, executive vice president at Holland America Line, told us.