Travel is . .

. . . Doing well

In a time when costs for most things are sky high, when the stock market goes south and the country's financial ratings slip, cruise line business seems to be going great guns. In today's Sun-Sentinel newspaper I read an article about Carnival Corp. and plc building three new ships. Two will sail under Carnival's AIDA brand flag and one for Costa. The cost is just under $800 million for the Costa ship and $1.3 for the AIDA vessels.

Yes the cruise business seems to be good.

Espcially at the high end. I recently wrote a story about premium cruise ships and had several public relations people tell me the vessels are going out full. People are booking expensive, luxury cruises.

While gas prices hover around $3.80 a gallon and masses moan, more and more folks are
clamboring aboard cruise ship for a sea-going vacation.

A travel agent friend told me she is booking luxury holidays for couples in their 20s and 30s as well as retirees. Premium cruises are full and mass-market sailings are also doing extremely well.

It is an interesting (and interesting doesn't always mean good,)time all the way around: in politics, entertainment and business most certainly. The travel biz is no exception - certainly not in the field of cruises.