When they find out my job, everyone on Queen Mary 2 wants to know how the cruise industry is doing given the recession.
Not too badly at all, if news from Regent Seven Seas Cruises is anything to go by.
Regent is reporting a 41% increase in call volumes between January and May this year compared to the same period in 2008, and a 48% increase in bookings in the same five months, again versus 2008. May was the cruise line's highest-ever booking month.
That's not bad given the constant financial gloom and doom, but these record-breaking results have not come without a price for Regent.
Passengers are being hooked with the offer of unlimited free excursions, which really is a fantastic deal when you consider many cost £80 per person and more, free flights on selected departures and cruise prices based on a generous $1.95 = £1 exchange rate.
The key question is whether the high demand can be maintained when we get out of the recession, cruise lines try to get prices back to normal and the lucrative incentives disappear.
After all, it's easy to cut prices, but much harder to increase them.
It is always possible that new passengers tempted by the offers to try an ultra-luxury all-inclusive cruise line - and I'm guessing there are quite few of them - find they just don't want to go back to the pay-as-you-go drinks system, in which case Regent is laughing.
Alternatively, if those new passengers disappear along with the incentives, might there be a chance Regent will look at ways to keep the free excursions, making the line truly all-inclusive and giving it an edge on its rivals?
Then there is ultra-lux rival Crystal Cruises, which is offering $2,000 per couple on-board credit to get people booking. Might there be a chance they will switch to all-inclusive if they find passengers rather like getting free drinks after all (soft drinks are free on Crystal, but you pay for alcohol)?
There could be some interesting times ahead.
Jane Archer
