Australians love cruising. We’re the world’s biggest cruise market. But did you know that love and cruising go hand in hand?
Cruise & Maritime Voyages (CMV) recently conducted a survey to ask more than 1000 cruise enthusiasts about how love and cruising go hand in hand.
When it comes to love and cruising …
- 67 per cent of respondents travel with a spouse, partner or significant other (across all holidays)
- almost one in five guests have celebrated a milestone/special occasion on board with CMV, with 30 per cent of these being a wedding anniversary
- 42 per cent have travelled on ten or more cruises
- 87 per cent of respondents said they loved cruising because they only had to unpack once, and 85 per cent indicated it was also because everything was taken care of for them
- 71 per cent said ‘value for money’ was the top motivator for cruising
- The most romantic moments guests had witnessed on board ranged from grand displays, such as weddings and commitment ceremonies, to the little things like couples holding hands or slow dancing in the evenings.
CMV guest Kevin McCann certainly has a love of cruising, kicking off 2019 by completing his tenth consecutive back-to-back voyage.
Mr McCann will have completed a total of 37 cruises with CMV by the end of this season.
After five back-to-back sailings on Astor in 2017/18, he completed ten consecutive cruises with Astor over seven weeks in 2018/19. By the end of the 2019/20 season, he will have spent more than a year on board Cruise & Maritime Voyages ships.
Little wonder he has been dubbed the ‘back-to-back champion’ by the Cruise & Maritime Voyages team.
When it comes to on-board romance, Mr McCann won’t divulge much except to say, “I have had fun on the ship.”
Another solo cruiser, Ms Marilyn Clymo, will have completed 14 cruises with CMV by the end of this season.
Ms Clymo has sailed with CMV’s Astor and Marco Polo for more than 200 nights overall, after first trying the cruise line in 2014.
“I’d sailed with Marco Polo when it was known as a different ship and I just had to renew my acquaintance with her when she joined CMV,” recalls Ms Clymo.
“I’ve been around the UK twice with Cruise & Maritime Voyages. I’ve sailed up the Seine, and have been to Norway, the Baltics, Iceland and Canada. In 2017, I did the northbound cruise on board Astor from Fremantle to London and last year travelled on the southbound voyage [from London to Adelaide].”
Also a solo traveller, Ms Clymo said cruising made up around 99 per cent of her holidays with approximately three quarters of her cruise travel being international.
In terms of on-board romance, Ms Clymo says she’s seen it “but that’s as far as I’ll go!”
Do you love cruising? Can you estimate the total time you’ve spent on a ship?
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