Why has the growth in UK cruise passengers slowed to a crawl?

Confirming a slowdown in the spectacular growth in popularity of cruise holidays, industry body CLIA has pushed back the date when it believes UK passengers will top two million for the first time.
Latest estimates calculate the market at 1.72 million, with many of those taking several cruises a year.
The new target is 2020, but there was confusion at a press briefing ahead of the association’s annual Selling Cruise seminar for travel agents, with one executive announcing 2018 before consensus was reached.
Previous estimates anticipated the figure being reached much earlier.
The latest forecast expects the total to increase by 16.3% or at the rate of 40,000 passengers a year. That’s an annual growth rate of only 2.7% compared to the double digit figures achieved throughout the last decade.
Several new ships will help achieve the target.
P&O launch the 3,600-passenger Britannia next March and Princess Cruises have decided to base the similar-sized Royal Princess In Southampton.
Royal Caribbean will increase its UK capacity by bringing in 4,180-passenger Anthem of the Seas to carry 550 more than Independence.
MSC has four new ships on order and hopes to base a Fantasia-class vessel or one of the revolutionary new Project Seaside designs in the UK.
MSC’s planned growth has some of its rivals running scared.
Having seen what happened when MSC Divina was deployed to Miami, Carnival Corporation – parent company of P&O, Cunard and Princess among others – fears prices will be driven down.
Those two million British passengers are unlikely to share that concern.