Exotic destinations

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Unless you have plenty of time to spare, don't ask anyone in the cruise industry, "What's new?" Since 1980, the industry has enjoyed an annual growth rate of about 8 percent. This always-growing part of the travel business greets the new year, as it has for the past decade or so, with new ports, new vessels and a variety of new on-board programs designed to intrigue passengers and keep them coming back while also attracting more first-time cruisers.

After September 11, cruise lines focused largely on "home ports" -- sailing from Charleston, S.C.; Baltimore; Tampa, Fla.; Philadelphia; Houston; and several cities in California, to name just a few. This enabled many passengers to enjoy the comfort and economic advantage of forgoing airports and airplanes by driving directly to the port to board a ship. It worked. Thousands of passengers did just that.

Estimates are that 10 million passengers went on cruises in 2004, including many who drove to home ports to sail. But the times, they are a-changin', and travelers are seeking to expand their horizons. Cruise lines have scheduled itineraries that will help them do just that.

While the home-port advantage remains valid, visits to exotic and historic ports of call are attracting passengers who have sailed the Caribbean a dozen times and to whom the Mediterranean or the Baltic are no longer interesting or appealing.

Think about exotic Tibet or Libya or Tunisia on your itinerary, and you have a concept of 2005's hot new destinations. This year, Holland America will deploy ships to all seven continents.

Whether small boutique lines with a few deluxe ships or a mass-market product with 19 or 20 vessels accommodating 2,000 or more passengers each, the cruise industry continues to offer something new under the sun.

DESTINATIONS

Silversea is offering three new Beirut itineraries this year. The first also will call in Syria and Libya, mostly untapped travel areas holding great appeal for adventurous guests seeking unique and unconventional destinations.

The Oceania and Holland America lines are visiting Libya and Morocco, and Carnival Cruise Lines will sail European waters for the first time, offering round-trip Rome itineraries on the new Liberty and calling at Naples and Venice, Italy; Dubrovnik, Croatia; Barcelona; and Cannes, France.