2003 yearend review: unusual circumstances affected the Cruise Industry in unusual ways

Cruise Travel, Jan-Feb, 2004 by Theodore W. Scull

Eleusis Bay, a floating anchorage of laid-up ships near Athens, is gradually being cleared of ships that no longer have a cruising future. The fate of several well-known vessels still hangs in the balance--the Windsor Castle (1960), the Statendam of 1957 (later the Regent Star), and the Ocean Explorer I (1944), best known in later years as the Emerald Seas.

More old timers with ocean liner pedigrees left the high seas in 2003 than any time since the fuel crisis period of the 1970s. But now, in spite of the disappearing tonnage, the worlds cruising fleet has never been more up-to-date or more numerous.

With an improving economy, the future is indeed a bright one for both owners and their cruising customers.