FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CruiseCompete Releases September 2012 CruiseTrends™ Report and 2012 Cruise Index™

DETROIT (September 4, 2012) – CruiseCompete has released its CruiseTrends™ and Cruise Index™ reports for the month of September 2012. This report is sponsored by ©EyeforTravel Ltd.

The CruiseTrends™ report for September 2012 is detailed below. To see more topics and data, please visit CruiseCompete’s Press Room or click here to see the entire September 2012 report.

The CruiseCompete Cruise Index™ for September 2012 was 146, remaining the same as August 2012, and down one point from September of 2011. Regional pricing indices remained stable or saw an increase in all regions, except the Caribbean and Europe, from August 2012.

The CruiseCompete Cruise Index ™ is calculated based on the average daily per-passenger (double occupancy) cost for the lowest-priced oceanview cabin category on a seven-night cruise on the six largest North American cruise lines. See details and indices by region and Monthly Historical Cruise Prices.

Most Popular Cruise Lines
(Based on the total number of quote requests for each cruise line in the given month)
1. Premium/Contemporary: Carnival Cruise Line
2. Luxury: Seabourn (Changed from Oceania Cruises last month)
3. River Cruises: AmaWaterways (Changed from Viking River Cruises last month)

In second place is Royal Caribbean International for premium/contemporary, Oceania Cruises for luxury and Viking River for river cruises. More…

Most Popular Cruise Ships
(Based on the total number of quote requests for each ship)
1. Premium/Contemporary: Caribbean Princess (Replacing Carnival Dream from last month)
2. Luxury: Queen Mary 2
3. River: MS AmaCerto (Replacing American Queen-Great American Steamboat Company from last month)

Next in popularity are the Oasis of the Seas for premium/contemporary, Oceania Riviera for luxury, and the American Queen for river. More…

Most Popular Cruise Regions
(Based on the total number of quote requests for each region)
1. Premium/Contemporary: Caribbean
2. Luxury: Europe
3. River: Europe

Next in popularity are North America for premium/contemporary, Mediterranean for luxury, and Asia/Far East for river cruises. More…

Most Popular Cruise Departure Ports
(Based on the total number of quote requests for each departure port)
1. Premium/Contemporary: Fort Lauderdale, FL
2. Luxury: Miami, FL (Replacing New York, NY from last month)
3. River: Budapest, Hungary (Replacing Amsterdam, Netherlands from last month)

Next in popularity are Miami, FL for premium/contemporary, Southampton, U.K. for luxury, and Amsterdam, Netherlands for River. More…

Most Popular Cruise Ports Visited
(Based on the total number of quote requests for each port visited during cruise itineraries, excluding departure ports)
1. Premium/Contemporary: Nassau, Bahamas
2. Luxury: Kusadasi, Turkey
3. River: Vienna, Austria

Next in popularity are Cozumel, Mexico for premium/contemporary, Mykonos, Greece for luxury, and Passau, Germany for river cruises. More…

Most Popular Countries Visited
(Based on the total number of quote requests for each country visited during cruise itineraries, excluding countries of departure)
1. Premium/Contemporary: Bahamas
2. Luxury: Greece
3. River: Germany

Second are Mexico for premium/contemporary, Italy for luxury, and Austria for river cruises. More…

Most Popular Cabin Types
(Based on the total number of quote requests for each cabin type)
1. Premium/Contemporary: Balcony (Changed from Inside Cabin last month)
2. Luxury: Balcony Cabin
3. River: Outside Cabin

More…

Hottest Months for Cruising
(Based on the most requested months)
1. Premium/Contemporary: December 2012 (Changed from August 2012 last month)
2. Luxury: October 2012
3. River: December 2012 (Changed from October 2012)
More…

Other data available at the September 2012 CruiseTrends™ report.
• Number of cabins requested
• Most popular cruise itinerary lengths
• Travel insurance requested
• Cruise line past passenger status requested
• Booking window of time

This cruise trend information is available monthly from CruiseCompete and can be insightful, especially for financial analysts and travel writers. To see 12-months’ of cruise trend data, please click here: Cruise Trends.

For purposes of the CruiseTrends™ report, cruise lines recognized as premium or contemporary are grouped together as premium/contemporary. The CruiseCompete CruiseTrends™ report is sponsored by EyeForTravel Ltd.

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About CruiseCompete, Where Travel Agents Compete to Offer Consumers the Best Cruise Deals:

Since its launch in 2003, over 3,000 cruise experts have provided close to 10 million quotes to consumers seeking a cruise travel vacation.

CruiseCompete is the world's only competitive cruise pricing website, serving both experienced and first-time cruise vacationers, plus group requests. Pricing is not CruiseCompete's only focus. It also offers an array of services to its customers, including some of the most sophisticated cruise search tools anywhere on the Internet.

CruiseCompete continues to garner the highest praise from the media for its revolutionary premise that free-market competition provides the best pricing options for consumers.

The New York Times says, "…independent travel agents compete to offer you the best deal," and follows similar praise from Travel + Leisure, Kiplinger’s, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal. The Street says "Score Luxury Cruises at Bargain Prices."

For more information, please visit CruiseCompete.com or Cruise Compete Groups. CruiseCompete is an Iowa limited liability company and is not a travel agency or owned by a travel agency.

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Media Contact:
Heidi M. Allison
Allison and Taylor, Inc.
+1-248-651-4491 office
+1-248-935-3224 mobile