Beach

Queen Elizabeth, together with some of the Royal family, had gone on a series of cruise holidays recently. Now that the vacation is over, business now back as usual.

The Queen was personally greeted by the Prince Charles when she arrived. The Prince of Wales was on holiday in Caithness and then went to meet his family who just arrived at the Scrabster harbor following an eleven-day trip aboard the Hebridean Princess.

Part of the entourage was the Earl and Countess of Wessex and their children. The group then attended a lunch hosted at the Castle of Mey.

Also enjoying this special cruise holiday were the Duke of York, daughters Eugenie and Beatrice, Vice-Admiral Timothy Laurence.

The 49-passenger vessel sailed from Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis on July 23, 2010 and the trip was a memorable one for everyone since they managed to spend significant time with each other.

Celebrities and guests gathered for the launch of Azura, the newest and seventh in the P&O’s fleet of cruise ships.

This 115,000 ton-wonder can accommodate up to 3,100 passengers and offers memorable cruise holidays for everyone. This ship costs 380 million British pounds and started its maiden voyage this week via a 16-nights travel in the Mediterranean.

Carnival Corporation COO Howard Frank said that the launch of this latest ship signifies the return of the cruise holidays industry, which was hampered severely by the global financial crisis for the past two years. Carnival Corp is the owner of P&O.

Last year, about 1.5 million passengers from Britain alone took part in a cruise, a 4 percent increase from the previous year. P&O Cruises officials believe that the figures will increase once more this year with the launch of new ships and attractive rates due to healthy competition. In addition the company provides a targeted platform to sell holiday related products such as swimwear and scuba equipment.

More and more vacationers from United Kingdom are opting to avail of cruise holidays compared to the usual traveling via planes and reaching the destination faster.

The Passenger Shipping Association stated that there will be a projected rise in number of cruise holiday goers next year. The rise could be as high as 6.5 percent. The increase can be attributed to the planned introduction of new cruise ships to the public.

As per estimate, the Passenger Shipping Association said that there will be around 1.55 million people availing of cruise holidays this year alone. This is an increase of five percent as compared to last year.

PSA added that continuing consumer interest on these kinds of holiday deals have increased due to reasonably priced packages offered by the travel companies, retail companies are also cashing in and offering discounts on their holiday garments such as swimwear and beach bags.

The projected number of UK holiday goers by next year would be 1.65 million.

Media reports revealed that cruise holidays are becoming a hit among the British tourists. This can be evidenced by the increasing number of cruise lines offering holiday packages. This mode of vacation is becoming a hit because it is the better alternative to flight delays and baggage losses in airports.

One of the most popular cruise lines is the Royal Caribbean International which announced just earlier this week that its Independence of the Seas cruise ship will now accommodate more trips next year with reasonable pricing for vacationers.

The ship has a capacity of 4,300 passengers and provides an exciting 18-day cruise of the Mediterranean. Families can easily avail of the cruise holiday for as long as £1,691 per person.

Another cruise line P&O is offering almost a month-long Caribbean cruise for a reasonable price. The fact that the seats for this year alone have been sold out only means that a lot of people are now jumping on the cruise holiday bandwagon.

Despite the fluctuating currency of the pound, the prices of the cruises are still manageably affordable for families. The financial crisis did not diminish the interest of families to go on vacation according to a recently conducted survey.