Money talks as ports battle for ships

Has the Port of Houston’s spectacularly generous cash incentive to attract cruise lines raised the bar for other ports seeking to retain or expand their cruise traffic? It certainly raised plenty of eyebrows.

A new round of cruise commission cutting has brought a mixed reaction from the UK travel trade. Will it stabilise prices and put the cruise lines back in charge of how their products are distributed – or cost the cruise industry sales support?

The new online bidding system for shore tours introduced last year by Carnival Corp & plc to create more transparency and streamline the process across the brands has changed the way tour companies bid for the business – and not, according to some, for the better.

  

Despite the new Emissions Control Area, a combination of European economic woes and a new scrubber deal for a major cruise line should ensure a good 2013 and even better 2014 for many North American ports.