Cruise holidays poised for renaissance

Worldwide passengers for both ocean and river cruises grew 8.4% to 13.4 million in 2004 and are projected to hit 15 million in 2006, according to a report released last week by the UK Passenger Shipping Association.

The association, which represents leading cruise and ferry companies in the UK, said that with just four new ships expected to be delivered in 2005 compared with the average 10-12 ships in each of the last four years, bookings are not expected to grow quite so much this year.