It seems the long transatlantic flight has taken the zest out of most of these ladies and gentlemen. This might also explain why major cruise lines are beginning to scale down their Mediterranean cruise programmes.

Royal Caribbean will only have half its fleet of 22 ships in Europe during the upcoming summer season. Carnival Cruises plans to have 25% of their ships on the European side of the Atlantic.

There seems to be a couple of reasons for the drop in the number of American cruisers in the European market. In the first place the transatlantic flight has become more and more expensive over time. The current high oil price will not help this situation much.

Secondly Americans are apparently worried that the political unrest in the Middle East and North Africa will spread to Europe. The killing of Osama Bin Laden has exacerbated these fears. Royal Caribbean is also blaming the earthquake/tsunami in Japan for a drop in passenger numbers.

The situation has forced nearly all cruise lines to offer substantial discounts on their cruises.

Savvy British travellers will of course also benefit from these price reductions. Unlike their U.S. counterparts, they do not have to fly across the Atlantic to enjoy a Mediterranean cruise. Being closer to the MENA region, they most likely also have a more realistic view about the political situation in the area.