WHY CRUISE? For the incentive planner, organising a cruise has a high perceived value. When researches ask people what sort of holiday they would most like to take if they had unlimited budgets, cruises always rank as a top choice. Although the cruise industry is booming - over 500,000 British travellers took a holiday afloat in 2003 - there are still plenty of people who have not. Cruising retains an image of glamour, of a privilege enjoyed by the rich and famous. This is no longer the case, with more than 300 ships catering for all corners of the market. However, an incentive planner's target group, be it salespeople, supplies or an international delegation, will be highly motivated by the prospect of a cruise incentive.

TAKING THE STRAIN FROM ORGANISERS The mechanics of organising a cruise are simple. Most cruise lines offer 'one-stop-shops' for incentive buyers, whereby the client pays a prearranged price per head, inclusive of return flights and transfers. The package will be all meals and accommodation, all the entertainment, leisure facilities and meeting space on board, and whatever the organiser wishes to add on in advance. Unexpected last-minute changes are extremely rare. Once aboard, the group do not need to negotiate dozens of coach trips or flights. The cruise personnel take care of all housekeeping, food and entertainment as a matter of course, and can also take over the provision of extras such as exclusive shore excursions, presentations and private parties. Many cruise lines have now invested in personnel who are actively marketing their ships to group and incentive planners,and others on board whose responsibility is to make sure that the specific needs of groups are catered for. There is no extra cost to the organiser of having night-and day in-house expertise and support.

VALUE FOR MONEY For the budget conscious organisation, cruises offer very good value for money - not least because of the all-inclusive nature of the product. As a ball park figure, a seven-day Caribbean cruise on a five star product such as Celebrity Cruises starts at around $1,500 per head, including flights. The cruise-only rate is just $600. At the top end of the market, $2,600 per head will buy you a trip on the Orient Express to Southampton, six nights cruising in style on the QE2, two nights at the Waldorf Astoria and a return flight on Concorde. The 'extras' are available at much more reasonable prices than organisers may first expect. For example, a private cocktail party, with an open bar for an hour and hot and cold canapes would be about $15 a head. One would be hard pushed to match these prices, and the quality of service, in a land-based resort. The scenery is generally better, too. Despite this, the notion of a cruise as exclusive and expensive still remains, ensuring that incentive qualifiers will assume that their organisation has really gone to town in providing their reward whatever their final bill.

CONFERENCE AND MEETING FACILITIES Opportunities for unusual or exclusive meeting venues abound on board ship. Groups can lay claim to the ship's theatre and transform it by day into a lecture hall or presentation venue, or use a selection of the ship's smaller public rooms for meetings. As more ships are built to satisfy demand, so organisers are provided with a greater choice of purpose-built meeting facilities coupled with state-of-the-art audio visual equipment. Many of the new build projects are being done with the needs of the MC&I market in mind. Just one example is Royal CaribbeanÕs new ship Enchantment of the Seas which has a dedicated conference centre, seating up to 180 delegates. Features include flexible break-out rooms, electronic partitioning, a 42 decibel level of privacy and an on-board convention services coordinator.

ITINERARIES Whatever the extent or the modernity of the facilities, the real selling point of a cruise will always be the itinerary - the notion that a group can go to sleep overlooking St Tropez and wake up the breakfast in Portofino. Cruise lines are broaching more and more of the globe in an attempt to provide something different. Destinations as glamorous as Australasia, the Amazon and French Polynesia are well within reach for incentive groups. There are more than 500 destinations visited by cruise ships. A cruise can take incentive qualifiers to places inaccessible by any other means, such as Antarctica or the North Cape - or lay claim to a quieter Caribbean island than those "on the beaten track". For the organisations with limited time, there are short ex-UK cruises in northern Europe, or river cruisers along rivers such as the Rhine, Moselle, Elbe or Danube.