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This year was another record one for the cruise business, as more people are taking cruises than ever before. In response, more ships are being built, big and small ones, and new onboard activities are being offered. In 1980 only 1.4 million North Americans had ever been on a cruise. In 2007 more than 12.6 million Americans set sail on cruise ships, an increase of almost a million passengers from 2006. In fact, passenger growth is averaging more than 8 percent a year, and 2008 is expected to be another record year, with cruise ships sailing out of about 17 ports in the United States.
This increasing number of cruise goers is good news for cruise companies. In 2005 Carnival Corporation generated a billion-dollar profit in a single quarter, and in 2006 the company broke that record with a $1.23 billion profit in the third quarter. And that's just one cruise company’s profits!
To keep up with this demand, there are more than 375 cruise ships out on the oceans. And more vessels are on the way — more than 35 ships are expected to be launched within the next three years. Most of these boats are small, but the biggest ships ever built will be introduced later in 2008. Two new ships were actually launched in the last two weeks, the 90,000-ton Queen Victoria and the Norwegian Gem.
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