Europe Season Opens with 206 Ships Serving 528 Destinations

As the summer season gets under way in Europe, 79 ships will be sailing back from their winter routes in the Caribbean, Latin America, Africa and Asia, bringing the total fleet in the region to 206 cruise vessels operated by 64 lines. They will serve 528 destinations stretching from the Mediterranean to the Arctic. The European summer fleet will field 20 new ships, including 13 vessels re-entering service for new operators. In addition, three new cruise lines have started operations, and four new destinations have opened to cruise ships, according to data compiled for the Cruise Lines International Association and the European Cruise Council. Forty-five lines will operate in the Eastern Mediterranean, 44 in the Western Mediterranean and 40 in the central Med, according to data supplied by GP Wild (International) to CLIA/ECC. Forty-three lines will be in Norway and the Arctic, 40 in the Baltic, 30 in the Atlantic islands and 44 in other Northern Europe regions. There will be 33 ships carrying more than 2,500 passengers each, with an equal number carrying 1,750 to 2,500 passengers. Each of 29 ships will have capacity for 1,000 to 1,750 cruisers. Thirty-one will accommodate 500 to 1,000 passengers, while 80 ships will carry fewer than 500. The total capacity of vessels redeploying from other regions to Europe is 138,368 passengers, according to GP Wild. New ports in 2012 are Brac and Makarska in Croatia, Lyme Regis in the UK, and Vlissingen in the Netherlands. The CLIA/ECC data does not include some ports serving ships of fewer than 50 passengers.