Cruise liners change course

FUEL COSTS:AS CRUISE LINERS get bigger so do their fuel bills. So it makes sense that some operators, such as Royal Caribbean International, Carnival and Norwegian Cruise Line, are charting new courses for routes that use less fuel.

Spending more time in ports, creating itineraries of ports that are closer together and turning the ships into floating resorts that are themselves the destination are just some of the methods being used.

MS Freedom of the Seas, one of the world's largest cruise ships, has three huge swimming pools plus pubs and shops - but ships of this scale can spend hundreds of millions of euro on fuel each year.

Some cruise companies have followed airlines and started to impose fuel surcharges. They are also cutting the speeds of their vessels, as running at 15 knots requires half as much fuel as running at 23 knots.

Cruise lines must be wondering if bigger really is better. A recent poll by Cruisecritic.co.uk found that three out of four customers preferred the feel of smaller ships. But that's not the way the business is going. Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas, under construction in Finland, will be the world's largest cruise ship, at about 220,000 gross tons, when it is launched. It will house its 5,400 passengers in seven "neighbourhoods", with parks complete with growing trees. P&O's new Venturais offering circus workshops, top-deck trampolines and a restaurant by Marco Pierre White.

The changes create serious issues for tourism around the world, as passengers spend at least €100 each while visiting ports. How will ports manage when there's little reason to leave the ship?