The growing trend of meetings at sea is keeping corporate event planners sailing away.

With a total of 38,500 new berths coming online this year, the cruise industry appears to be experiencing a new renaissance.

Now that the pandemic has waned and cruising is getting back to normal, more and more meeting planners are turning their sights to the horizon and considering hosting a corporate meeting or incentive trip on a cruise.

Three years ago, as the COVID-19 crisis brought meeting and incentive programs to a halt, the cruise industry was impacted dramatically. For 15 months, U.S.-based cruise companies shut down operation of all ships, and only slowly resumed cruising in summer 2021, with numerous pandemic-related hiccups along the way.

Cruising, whether it be on large-scale vessels traveling through oceans to exotic lands or more intimate river cruises for smaller gatherings, have been a favorite among meeting and event planners for years.

It hardly seems possible, but cruise ships recently reached the one-year anniversary of heading back to sea following 15 months of the pandemic-imposed shutdown.

Learning to navigate new COVID-19 norms and variants, while ensuring passenger trust in the safety of cruise travel after an unexpected, forced hiatus has been challenging at best.

Ships are also now sailing in the Caribbean, Asia, Europe and beyond. That’s not just critical for the cruise lines; it’s critical for all those ports and the small businesses within them that depend on tourism to survive and thrive.

While the global health crisis has “docked” the cruise industry for the last several months, the return to the high seas isn’t too far off…

Every incentive program needs a “selling point” to potential qualifiers, and for most, the prospect of a cruise with a captivating itinerary is a strong enough motivation.