FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CruiseCompete Publishes November 2011 CruiseTrends™ Report. Adding New Cruise Index Providing Snapshot of Cruise Price Fluctuations

DETROIT (Nov. 1, 2011) – CruiseCompete today announced that it will be including a new statistical tool, the CruiseCompete Cruise Index™, in its monthly CruiseTrends™ reports.

Each month, CruiseTrends™ calculates the average per-night price to sail on a seven-night cruise departing any time in the next 12 months. The index focuses on the six major North American cruise lines and uses data supplied by partner Cayole.com. Regional cruise indices as well as historical cruise prices are also available from CruiseCompete.com.

"Until now, there has been no definitive answer to the question 'What is the state of the cruise market?" says Bob Levinstein, CruiseCompete's CEO. "Now we can look at a single number and get an overall view of current market conditions, as well as compare that number to previous months to evaluate and understand changes in pricing.”

"Additionally, the data provided shows similar information for how regional markets – such as the Caribbean, Europe and Alaska – are faring. The report provides very detailed historical pricing based on region and sailing month, which will help consumers as well industry professionals get a sense of how prices have changed over time," he added.

The CruiseCompete Cruise Index™ for November was 146, a 0.7% decrease from October, and up 10% compared to November 2010. Cruise prices had remained stable since mid-summer, but dipped slightly in recent days. Still, prices continue to be significantly higher than they were at this time last year. On a regional basis, Alaska and Bahamas prices stayed level, while the other regions saw small dips. Europe prices were down the furthest at 2.8%. (See link above for details).

CruiseTrends™ statistics are compiled based on actual consumer quote requests on CruiseCompete, the highly acclaimed website where travel agents compete to offer best cruise deals to consumers.

The following comprises a sampling of trends for November. To see more topics and data, please visit CruiseCompete’s Press Room or click on November 2011.

For purposes of the CruiseTrends™ report, cruise lines recognized as premium or contemporary are grouped together as premium/contemporary.

Most Popular Cruise Lines
(Ranked by the total number of quote requests for each line in the given month)
1. Premium/Contemporary: Carnival Cruise Line
2. Luxury: Oceania Cruises
3. River Cruises: Viking River Cruises

In second place are Royal Caribbean International for premium/contemporary, Cunard for luxury and Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection for river cruises. More…

Most Popular Cruise Ships
(Ranked by the total number of quote requests for each ship)
1. Premium/Contemporary: Crown Princess (Changed from Ruby Princess last month)
2. Luxury: Oceania Marina (Replacing Queen Mary 2 from last month)
3. River: MS Amalegro (Replacing SS Antoinette from last month)

Next in popularity are the Ruby Princess for premium/contemporary, Queen Mary 2 for luxury, and the M/V Santa Cruz for river. More…

Most Popular Cruise Regions
(Ranked by 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, Caribbean for luxury, and Asia/Far East for river cruises. More…

Most Popular Cruise Departure Ports
(Ranked by the total number of quote requests for each departure port)
1. Premium/Contemporary: Fort Lauderdale, FL
2. Luxury: Los Angeles, CA (Changed from Fort Lauderdale, FL last month)
3. River: Budapest, Hungary (Changed from Amsterdam, Netherlands last month)

Next in popularity are Miami, FL for premium/contemporary, Fort Lauderdale, FL for luxury, and Prague, Czech Republic for river cruises. More…

Most Popular Cruise Ports Visited
(Ranked by the total number of quote requests for each port visited during cruise itineraries, excluding departure ports)
1. Premium/Contemporary: Cozumel, Mexico
2. Luxury: Gustavia, St. Bart’s (Replacing Kusadasi, Turkey from last month)
3. River: Vienna , Austria

Next in popularity are Nassau, Bahamas for premium/contemporary, Dubrovnik, Croatia for luxury, and Cologne, Germany for river cruises. More…

Most Popular Countries Visited
(Ranked by the total number of quote requests for each country visited during cruise itineraries, excluding countries of departure)
1. Premium/Contemporary: Bahamas
2. Luxury: United States (Replacing Greece from last month)
3. River: Germany

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

Most Popular Cabin Types
(Ranked by the total number of quote requests for each cabin type)
4. Premium/Contemporary: Inside Cabin
5. Luxury: Balcony Cabin
6. River: Outside Cabin (overtaking Balcony Cabin from last month)
More…

Hottest Months for Cruising
(Ranked by the most requested months)
1. Premium/Contemporary: December 2011
2. Luxury: December 2011
3. River: December 2011 (replacing April 2012 last month)
More…

Other interesting data available at the November 2011 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 travel writers. To see 12-months’ of cruise trend data, please click here: Cruise Trends

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About CruiseCompete:

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 Kiplinger’s, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal. The Street says "Score Luxury Cruises at Bargain Prices."

Since 2003, over 1,700 cruise experts have provided more than 8.5 million quotes in response to over 2 million consumer quote requests.

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
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