New trends Cruise expert reveals his insider tips

Are cruises only for senior citizens? Not in the eyes of Dario Cremona. The 24-year-old from Aargau wants to show that young people can also enjoy life at sea. The cruise expert reveals his tips.

Dario Cremona (24) from Aargau now has 60 cruises to his name.

Cremona still remembers the moment when the MSC Fantasia loomed up in front of him at the port of Genoa: "When I stood in front of this huge ship as a young boy, I was bitten by the cruise bug."

The Mediterranean trip was the starting signal for Cremona's passion and vocation. He never lets go of cruises. Privately, he writes about news, trends and background information on the industry on his travel blog "cruise-experience"; professionally, he is Product Manager Ship Travel at Knecht Reisen.

Dario Cremona has set himself a goal: To make cruises appealing to a younger target group. blue News met the cruise ship expert in Zurich for an interview.

What fascinates you about cruise vacations?

On the one hand, it's the size of the ships and the nautical aspect. It's absolutely fascinating that such a gigantic ship physically floats. You travel from port to port and there is always a lot to see and discover. Life on board is also very different to a hotel or a city break, with up to 100 nationalities coming together on the ship with guests and crew. You come into contact with all these people and can make friends.

You have a mission: you want to get younger travelers excited about cruises. Why is that?

In general, cruises are burdened with many prejudices. These range from the issue of environmental protection to the misconception that cruises are only of interest to older people. With all the innovations from the industry, I would like to form a counterbalance and claim that cruises can definitely be attractive to young people, for example through new entertainment options and the interaction of guests on board. Younger people in particular can travel the world for a reasonable price and afford a trip to Asia or the Caribbean, even if they have a smaller wallet.

What new attractions are there?

The MSC World Europa, the largest ship in the MSC fleet, is the shipping company's first LNG-powered(liquefied natural gas) ship and offers extensive entertainment options, including an aqua park and seven pools. The "Icon of the Seas", the world's largest cruise ship, impresses with the largest water park at sea, a surf simulator, an ice skating rink and a replica of Central Park. Both ships offer innovative experiences that go beyond the traditional cruise experience and are particularly attractive to young adventure seekers.

Climate activists criticize cruise ships, saying they are unsustainable for the environment. How do you counter this?

This is clearly a difficult issue. Other means of transport are also confronted with this criticism, which have not yet reached their destination and have not yet met the requirements. In the cruise sector, it has to be said that they use the most advanced technology in the entire shipping industry.

What does that mean in concrete terms?

New ships are being equipped with LNG tanks that can also use bio-LNG - from organic waste. There are now also hybrid cruise ships that are also powered by electricity. Artificial intelligence is also already being used, for example to optimize routes. Currents are taken into account to determine the optimal route, which saves fuel. In addition, scrubbers, i.e. special filters, are installed in the ship's funnels to filter out soot particles.

Interesting, I didn't know that.

If you calculate these efforts down to the individual passenger, the footprint is smaller than that of a merchant ship that ships our goods around the world. This industry is not yet as advanced as the cruise ship industry in terms of environmental protection measures. You can put it into perspective: We have 350 cruise ships worldwide and around 40,000 merchant ships that transport our goods from A to B. In other words, cruise ships make up one percent of all ships.

Only recently, locals in Spain, Italy and Malta protested against mass and cruise tourism. Are there any new efforts by the shipping companies?

It is regrettable that locals in cities such as Venice or Malta are being displaced by mass tourism. But who should bear the responsibility for regulation - the shipping companies or the state? Opinions differ here. The shipping companies could plan their routes better, but when popular destinations such as Santorini allow up to eight cruise ships a day, the shipping companies rarely say no. This is where state authorities are called upon to set new standards, as is the case in Dubrovnik, where only two ships a day with a maximum of 5,000 passengers each are allowed to dock.

What does this mean?

This regulation forces shipping companies to look for alternative routes, which leads to a better distribution of tourism - a development that would also be necessary for low-cost airlines, some of which land at these destinations every minute.

What are the new trends in the industry? What are your tips?

The trend in the cruise industry is towards smaller ships with fewer passengers, as many customers have learned to appreciate quieter and more personal experiences during the pandemic. More and more travelers prefer immersive journeys with longer stays in places like Istanbul or choose sailing ships and yachts for a more exclusive experience, for example along the Amalfi Coast. And until ten years ago, I would never have thought that cruises from South Africa were technically possible. Today, there are not only cruises from South Africa, but also to destinations in the Indian Ocean such as the Seychelles and in Asia, including Singapore, Hong Kong and Tokyo. Itineraries such as Singapore to Bali with a side trip to the Komodo Islands allow for experiences that would otherwise be difficult to access.

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