It's All Aboard The Ship

CLIA says 9.52 million travelers, 1 million of them children, took a cruise in 2003, a jump of 10.2 percent over the previous year. The association expects 10.6 million cruisers in 2004.

And since 2000, the number of ships on the water has increased by 41 percent, according to the group.

While cruise lines took a hit along with the rest of the travel industry after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, it was one of the areas quickest to recover.

One element that helped it back was the notion of "home ports," industry analysts say.

Over the past several years, more than 30 ports, from Galveston to Baltimore, have begun accepting cruise ships, meaning vacationers -- especially those who suddenly feared flying or found it a hassle -- no longer had to get to Miami or New York or Los Angeles just to get to the ship. Home ports have also helped keep the price of cruise vacations down.

"It brought cruising to your back yard," CLIA's Dale said.

It also brought keener competition. There seems to be little that one cruise line features that the others don't rush out to emulate. Want to gamble? The liners all seem to have casinos. Need pampering? They go by many different names, but spa facilities are everywhere. Some of the more ambitious installations -- elaborate water slides, for instance -- require more investment of time and money to replicate, so there may be lag time between one line's innovation and the other lines' adaptation.

But don't be surprised to see Royal Caribbean's signature rock-climbing wall, someday soon, on a cruise ship near you.