The news from across the Atlantic is not good. When the Seatrade Cruise Shipping conference was meeting in Miami a few weeks back, Reuters reported that cruise operators were desperately trying to attract passengers for 2009, slashing prices, offering last-minute deals, two-for-one pricing, shorter cruises, family packages in which children sail free, and home port cruising that avoids the cost of an air fare to reach an exotic departure port.

Yet, Michael Abele, chief operating officer of Cruises International Ltd, Norwegian Cruise Line's sole agency in Malta, is still very optimistic. He is quick to point out that the American market is very different to the European one, if anything because the financial crisis gripping the US is far worse than that in Europe.

"Our prices in Malta went down considerably compared to last year. There are special offers coming out from time to time but this is quite normal. Cruises have sold very well in Europe and the cruise companies are happy with their sales in Europe," he proudly insists.

Comparing his company's sales this February with February 2008, Mr Abele reports an increase of over 10 per cent and this despite the fact that this year there is more competition on the Malta-to-Malta route.

NCL expects to increase the total number of passengers embarking in Malta this year, beating the 2008 record. "This is due to the fact that NCL enjoys a very good name in Malta. The Norwegian Gem has built a reputation of excellence and this, combined with very attractive prices, will lead to this increase".

Hitting the 6,500 passenger mark, NCL claims a market share of 50 per cent of the 13,000 people who bought a cruise in Malta last year. This is expected to rise to about 14,500 passengers this year and NCL is forecasting a bigger market share.

But how is it possible that the cruiser liner industry is not affected by the international economic crisis?

Mr Abele is quick to point out that the growth rate last year exceeded 15 per cent and he forecasts further growth this year though, perhaps, not as much as in previous years. "The fact that a cruise is very similar to an all-inclusive holiday makes it very popular during a time of crisis," he argues.

On the home front, he says, cruise companies and their agents have been promoting cruises in Malta heavily, showing the advantages of a cruising holiday when compared to a land-based holiday. Local agents also offer good incentives for booking early and, in general, cruise holidays have never been cheaper than in 2009. Mr Abele goes into specifics, comparing NCL prices for Malta-to-Malta cruises on the Norwegian Gem: a week-long cruise in the first week of August 2008 (including all taxes) sold for €1,301 per person in an inside cabin; this year it costs €999.

Even when faced with the argument that, good value for money or not, cruising is bound to suffer also when the economic crisis bites further, he insists the cruise line business will maintain a steady course.

"People will always want to travel but, maybe more than ever before, they will choose very carefully which holiday to book and, of course, limit their budget accordingly. We have seen a certain trend this year in that people will rather go for the less expensive inside cabins instead of balcony cabins and people are willing to travel in the off season as it is cheaper than during the peak summer months. They will compare the total costs of a cruise to a land-based holiday and then make their decision. Naturally, someone who has just lost his job will probably not be able to travel but then there are also a lot of people who previously preferred to go on a land-based holiday but now find it the better option to travel on a cruise liner."

A person taking a cruise can then decide what to spend. The prices quoted by NCL cover accommodation of very high standard, all meals, all taxes and all entertainment on board.

Excursions at ports of call are optional. Mr Abele notes there are a lot of clients who arrange their own excursions by using public transport, hop-on-hop-off city tours or just walk through the cities with the help of a map or a guidebook.

Even on board, some clients are happy to stick to ice tea, water, coffee or tea, which are free of charge all day long. Others with a bigger budget may go for their optional bottle of wine during dinner and, here, Mr Abele points out that the prices are not more expensive than in any other 5-star hotel in Europe, "often much cheaper".

Statistics show that 97 per cent of all clients will take another cruise after experience a cruise once. This may not happen immediately the year after but at one point in their life they will take another cruise.

Mr Abele notes that his company's records in Malta indicate a large amount of repeat clients going on cruises every year, some even taking more than one cruise a year. Also, figures show that 50 per cent of passengers are loyal to their brand and will book the next cruise with the same cruise line.

The most important factors influencing people when deciding which cruise to take are: price, destination, ship, cruise line, facilities on board and available discounts, in that order.

Mr Abele believes that the Freestyle concept offered by NCL is very attractive to passengers, adding it is certainly very popular among the Maltese. It basically means passengers are free to eat at whatever time they like, in the restaurant they prefer and sit on the table they please with whom they want.

Mr Abele is an ardent believer in Malta's potential in this business:

"I think that by having so many cruise ships calling to Malta we are, at the moment, in a healthy position. However, we need to stay focused and maintain this momentum. It is very easy for a cruise ship to change port. Malta should emulate other Mediterranean ports such as Barcelona, Venice and Civitavecchia where, literally, hundreds of thousands of travellers go there specifically to take a Mediterranean cruise and many of them also opt to make a pre or post stay in a local hotel. Malta is, unfortunately, not so well connected with major airports, especially beyond Europe, but this should not prevent us from building something on a more modest scale and for this there definitely is scope. The government, the Malta Tourism Authority, Viset - operators of Valletta Cruise Terminal - and cruise ship agents like us are all doing our part to achieve this."

But let nobody take anything for granted. Mr Abele has his own wish list: More quays are required at Grand Harbour; the infrastructure needs to be seen to, even if it has improved tremendously over the last few years; the same passenger that is mesmerised by "the most beautiful port in the world" then has to walk up to Valletta passing by piles of rubbish, broken steps and an impression of shabbiness.

"We must also try and avoid having situations like last year when the bus drivers went on strike because of the hearses. Cruise companies are very sensitive and Malta has a lot of competition in the Mediterranean; it is easy to lose them".

It is an open secret that the Norwegian Gem was originally destined for Messina but Mondial and SMS succeeded in bringing it over to Malta.

It took SMS and Mondial long years of lobbying to persuade NCL to come to Malta. It was only after both companies, through Cruises International Ltd (their joint subsidiary), made a big commercial commitment and guaranteed a specific number of cabins that NCL agreed to sail into the Grand Harbour.

Mr Abele points out that bringing NCL to Malta between May and November on a weekly basis means over 65,000 passengers a year plus 1,150 crew members on a weekly basis. The ships purchase supplies and other services and the passengers spend money on excursions, taxi services, restaurants and shops, which all benefit from such an operation.

Mr Abele thinks it would be "great" if Cruises International could offer clients a cruise to the Greek islands or the Adriatic, including Venice. But he realises that this would be very difficult unless there is a ship that uses Malta as homeport. "But, having said that, cruising out of Valletta is so convenient and affordable that we have a lot of clients who sail again on the same ship.

That they go to the same port does not necessarily mean they see the same attraction. Take, for example, Naples. One can go to Capri, or Costa Amalfi, visit Pompei and the Vesuvio. All this cannot be done in one day. The same in Rome, Livorno, Cannes and Barcelona. There is so much one can do that it never gets boring. For many of our clients the ship is the destination because they like the concept of living in luxury on a ship and this is why they keep coming back."

Being a man who prefers to keep both feet firmly on the ground - unless he is sailing, which is not rare in his case - Mr Abele acknowledges it will be very difficult to secure another liner that takes a different route... but it is not impossible either . "It was very difficult to get the Norwegian Gem to Malta but we managed, so if we did it once, we might do it again...who knows".

As to new NCL vessels sailing to Malta, nothing is programmed for 2010 and beyond. In 2010, NCL will launch a new mega-liner, a 150,000-ton giant named the Norwegian Epic. "Who knows, maybe it will come to Malta one day; our port is large enough," Mr Abele says hopefully. But, then again, he may know something we don't!

The possibility of NCL using Malta as a home port is not on the horizon... yet. Mr Abele explains that Malta is not big enough to be able to provide a viable number of passengers. In addition, there are no direct flights from the USA to Malta and, in general, flights to/from Malta are relatively expensive due to the distances. Another problem he sees is that Malta's sea terminal is too small to handle 2,400 passengers in four hours.

If Mr Abele had to be the Prime Minister or the minister responsible for both the ports and tourism, what changes would he make and why?

That is something he prefers to keep to himself. "I prefer not to answer, if you don't mind", is his courteous reply.

The price of a cruise

Michael Abele, COO of Cruises International Ltd, works out what it will cost a family of four - two adults and two children (15+17 years) - to spend a week on the Norwegian Gem:

If they book at the early discount rate for August 25 they pay €979 per adult and €279 per child, a total of €2,516, including a seven-night cruise, all meals, inside stateroom (Cat. JJ on deck 9/10) and all entertainment, port and government taxes. Not included is the service charge of $12 per person per day and other items of a personal nature and drinks.

Excursions are optional.

Based on his own experience, travelling on the Gem with his children - a bottle of wine, the optional soda package for the children (costs €26 per child per week and includes unlimited soft drinks from the soda fountain), two excursions and eating in different restaurants that apply a surcharge - the total bill at the end of the cruise amounted to $1,300 (circa €1,000), including the service charge.

If this were to be taken as an average, the total holiday would cost about €3,500.

• The author was a guest of Cruises International Ltd on board the Norwegian Gem.

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