Cruise Ships on Steroids

When Manuel Frazao climbed aboard his most recent cruise, the first thing he did was take off his shoes. But the New Britain, Conn., retiree wasn’t prepping for the pool or testing a new seasickness remedy. He just wanted to feel the grass between his toes.

Frazao’s feet were planted in the “Lawn Club,” a half-acre of living grass growing atop the Celebrity Solstice—which, with its $700 million price tag, is one of the most expensive and biggest cruise ships on record. Complete with its own irrigation system and full-time groundskeeper, this perfectly manicured carpet is being touted as a prime spot for passengers to spend an afternoon picnicking, playing croquet or just lying around, watching the waves—that is, when it’s not being mowed.

Looks like somebody forgot to tell the cruise companies about the recession. While the rest of the travel industry struggles to keep its head above water, the cruise lines keep cramming those big boats with so many over-the-top extras, it’s a wonder they stay afloat. Sayonara, shuffleboard—the latest onboard diversions include Scandinavian-style ice bars and zip lines, while foodies can pick from 24 dining options on a single ship. Not enough wow factor? How about the world’s first “moving bar at sea,” which pogos back and forth between three decks like a booze-slinging elevator. And to hold all these frills, the ships themselves are bigger than ever; Royal Caribbean leads the size wars with a trio of 3,600-passenger ships but will top itself this year with Oasis of the Seas, a 5,400-passenger behemoth just launched on its maiden voyage.

A travel slump might seem like a strange time to supersize. After all, Royal Caribbean [RCL] and Carnival Cruise Lines [CCL], which together command 75 percent of the market, foresee per-cabin revenue drops of 14 for 2009. To fill cabins, the industry has cut fares by about 20 percent this year. But companies ordered these colossal ships several years ago, when the $25 billion vacation-at-sea business was still one of the fastest-growing stars in the travel universe. Cruise lines assumed they’d be profit machines—providing economies of scale while accommodating thousands more free-spending cruisers.

Now it’s far from clear how well the new giants will fare with consumers. Their efforts to one-up each other with splashy features, for example, have hit some choppy waters. (One ship tried towing a blimp behind it—and lost the blimp at sea.) Those lawns and water parks can mean less space for traditional amenities. And passengers wonder just how often they’ll be pulling out their wallets as cruise lines significantly expand onboard charges (typically about a quarter of their total revenue) to boost their bottom line. Indeed, the new boats are packed with pay-to-play options like specialty restaurants, adult-only pools and even once-gratis items like late-night room service. “They’re creating more opportunities for you to spend money,” says Ross Klein, author of Paradise Lost at Sea: Rethinking Cruise Vacations.

As the number of annual cruisers has more than tripled over the past two decades, ships have grown almost as dramatically. In 2004, Cunard Cruise Line launched the then-biggest-ever Queen Mary 2 (capacity: 2,600), whose many luxuries include a Canyon Ranch spa. That ship surrendered her top-dog tiara two years later to Royal Caribbean’s three 3,600-passenger Freedom-class vessels. At over 160,000 gross tons, each boasts more than triple the mass of the Titanic and includes entertainment like ice rinks, wave simulators for surfing and boxing rings.