Cruises get cool as young people take to the seas to get away from it all | Travel | The Observer

It might be hard to think of anything less conventionally “cool”, but according to Abta, the travel industry body, a record number of young people want to go on a cruise. The average age of British cruisers is 56 – the highest it has been for a decade – but Abta reports a surprising leap in the number of 16- to 24-year-olds who are considering cruising instead of larging it in Ibiza or Malia.

The trade body, which represents more than 5,000 travel agencies, says that one in five under-25s are considering a holiday on the high seas this year – nearly three times the number that went cruising last year.

Cruise ships, say the travel experts, have finally “shaken off their old, staid image” and now many are “like floating theme parks, perfect for party animals”. Many have ditched cabarets and black-tie dinners at the captain’s table in favour of all-night parties, rock climbing, assault courses and surfing lessons in on-board simulators.

via Cruises get cool as young people take to the seas to get away from it all | Travel | The Observer.