NEW YORK, Jan. 22 -- Only a few weeks into the new year and
already business is booming for the cruise industry, according to executives
at several cruise lines who are members of Cruise Lines International
Association (CLIA).

Historically known as "wave week" in the industry, officials look at the
booking activity during the first two full weeks after the New Year holiday as
a forecaster of activity for the year to come.

So far, it's shaping up to be a record-breaking year.

At Carnival Cruise Lines, for example, 82,529 bookings came in during the
week of Jan. 6-12, representing the strongest week ever in the company's
25-year history. But that record didn't last long. Carnival set a new record
the following week, booking 87,573 guests.

Holland America Line also reports record bookings, in this case for the
first Monday in January, when the line took nearly 10,000 reservations.
Executives said bookings were especially strong for seven- and 10-day sailings
in the Caribbean, as well as for Panama Canal, Alaska, Canada/New England,
Europe and Hawaii. Holland America's sister company, Windstar Cruises, also
was faring well for all its 1997 itineraries.

Royal Caribbean International reported Jan. 4-10 as the best booking week in
its history. The line took reservations for 102,430 cruisers -- about one
passenger every 2.5 seconds -- compared to the 87,056 reservations taken
during the first week of January 1996.

And, Princess Cruises reported that phone traffic was 20 percent ahead of
where it was in 1996, with Alaska and Europe cruises the most popular.
Executives at the line expect the frenzy to build until Valentine's Day, which
will be celebrated fleetwide as the "Love Boat National Holiday."

"1997 is off to an invigorating start, and from all indications, the growth
will continue," says James G. Godsman, president of CLIA. The association
predicts a 6-8 percent net capacity increase in 1997, with a commensurate
increase in passenger carryings. It estimates that some 4.6 million people
took cruises in 1996.