Cruise companies must do all that they can to ensure that first-time passengers don't end up falling into the 'one and done' category.

That was one of the main messages to come out of the recent CLIA UK gathering in Southampton, with Travel Weekly reporting that the industry was also told to continue focusing on passenger growth.

While the mood was upbeat, the business of cruising demands that these lines are always looking at the future of the industry. And according to the experts, it will become increasingly important in the future to ensure that new repeat customers are being created.

"The lines are desperate to ensure that new capacity and competitive pricing don't have a negative impact on yields which, for many, are already much lower than they would like," the news company stated.

And when it comes to convincing first-time passengers to become repeat customers, the conference heard that the key is to make it clear to them just how diverse a cruise can be.