The big business of adventure
Major cruise lines are tapping into a $263-billion market that offers once-ina-lifetime experiences.
Some destinations fuel my sense of wanderlust: the Galápagos Islands, Mexico’s Gulf of California, Alaska, the South Pacific and Antarctica among them. Cruises to these destinations offer once-in-alifetime adventure and a chance to see remote beaches, hidden coves and fascinating wildlife.
Once the exclusive domain of small, expedition-type ships, adventure cruising has become a big business. Adventure travel is a $263-billion market that is growing at a rate of 65% annually, a George Washington University study reported, and major cruise lines are jumping aboard. Some have invested in smaller ships that can access these hot spots; others offer adventurestyle excursions, such as a chance to hike a Gold Rush trail in Alaska or swim with sharks in the Caribbean.
Baby boomers, many retired and working their way down a bucket list, are a prime target.
But they’re certainly not the entire market. Passengers include multigenerational families and an increasing number of Gen-Xers.
“The adventure trend crosses all age groups,” said Bruce Krumrine, shore excursions vice president for Princess Cruises. “We live in a fitness culture; it’s not a function of age.”
Princess, celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, has teamed with the Discovery Channel to offer excursions keyed to some of the station’s shows, such as “MythBusters” and “Gold Rush” and the various programs offered during “Shark Week.”
In Alaska, passengers can go bear and whale hunting (with a camera), hike the historic Chilkoot Trail used during the Klondike gold rush or take a combined flightseeing/airboat ride through the ice fields of mammoth Tongass National Forest. All of the tours are available only to Princess passengers.
“We’re offering more active tours all the time,” Krumrine said. “It’s a rising tide in the industry that’s lifting all ships.”
Celebrity Cruises announced a new slate of excursions this week, many focused on adventure. In Sicily, for instance, passengers can discover, by hiking along the rim of the Silvestri Spent Craters, how Mt. Etna shaped the landscape.
“We want our guests to experience authentic moments,” said Roberta Jacoby, managing director of Celebrity’s global tour operations, adding that such experiences offer passengers “a deeper connection with some of the world’s most amazing destinations.”
Celebrity also has a 40-passenger ship that explores a traditional adventure locale, the Galápagos, once almost exclusively the purview of expedition-style cruise companies.
Why these sorts of destinations? “There’s a growing fascination with ecology,” said Sven Lindblad, founder and president of Lindblad Expeditions, which has been exploring the far corners of the world for decades.
“People like the idea of getting out of their comfort zone and into the wild,” Lindblad said.
Lindblad’s cruise line, with ships that hold 28 to 148 passengers, is known for pioneering journeys that take citizen explorers to destinations that only scientists once could visit. Lindblad said larger cruise lines now advertising adventure are helping to broaden the market.
“Everybody seems to be dabbling in it a bit,” he said. “But offering these kinds of cruises is really hard work. To do it properly requires a lot of dedication.”