In 2006, passengers on the big three cruise lines — Carnival Cruise Lines, Royal Caribbean International and Norwegian Cruise Line — spent $4.4 billion for onboard extras like premium wines, gourmet dining, enrichment classes and spa treatments. That’s approximately $43 per passenger a day. Clearly, onboard spending has become a big profit center for cruise lines, and it got a lot of attention from the industry insiders who met to discuss the future of cruising at the annual Seatrade Cruise Shipping Convention in Miami in March.

Here are some highlights from the discussions.

“Less-inclusive” cruising

People still think of cruising as an “all-inclusive” vacation. Certainly, that is no longer true. Sure, meals, accommodations and entertainment are included in the cruise fare, but you’ll have to pay extra for things like soft drinks, bottled water and alcoholic beverages — not to mention “special-venue dining,” spa and salon treatments, shore excursions and tips.

Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, vice president of onboard revenue and entertainment for Celebrity Cruises, recognizes the misconception and tried to set people straight. “We are not all-inclusive unless we specifically say we are,” she told the audience. “We do include a lot and cruising is a tremendous value. But when people go on vacation, they want to spend money.”

Well, I don’t know about that last statement, but Lutoff-Perlo is right when she says that shipboard offerings must continue to evolve to stay competitive with options available at shoreside hotels and resorts. In her view, this means that cruise ships will soon be offering more “lifestyle-oriented” activities like educational food-and-wine seminars — which, not coincidentally, would encourage wine sales at dinner. She also sees shipboard offerings becoming more differentiated by cruise-line brand, as we are already seeing with cruise lines hiring celebrity chefs on exclusive contract to come up with unique gastronomic events.

Mining passenger data

With the advent of larger and larger ships carrying more and more passengers, cruise lines are looking for ways to maximize shipboard sales efficiently. Tony Heuer, president of Fidelio Cruise Software, reported that his company now offers a data-mining program that can scan a ship’s inventory databases by key revenue sectors (e.g., shore excursions, spa services and retail shops) to detect unsold items, and then send promotions to passengers via the ship’s stateroom televisions. For example, the software could detect a passenger who often orders cognac in the ship’s bars but hasn’t bought a bottle of cognac in the duty-free shop; that passenger could then be targeted with a promotion.

Smart cards and Botox

Discussing the future of onboard gambling, independent cruise industry consultant David Stanley foresaw more cashless slots using smart cards for both play and winnings. He also predicted that new technologies would benefit older revenue centers like photography by enabling after-cruise Web sales. As for spa services — a big moneymaker for cruise lines in the last few years, when many cruise lines added tooth bleaching and acupuncture to their list of spa services — Stanley had some other predictions. Think “dermabrasion,” he said. And “Botox.”

Botox? That raised some eyebrows (or maybe not). Is Botox-at-sea a good idea?

I spoke with Pittsburgh plastic surgeon and anti-aging expert Dr. James J. Barber, the author of “The Forever Factor”. Barber, who has worked with Botox since it was first approved by the Food and Drug Administration, acknowledged that there has been a lot of abuse of the product by unscrupulous doctors who dilute the drug with more saline than is recommended. Nevertheless, Barber feels that Botox can be safely offered on cruise ships so long as it is administered by an experienced, board-certified plastic surgeon or dermatologist, in a sterile environment and at recommended doses.

In fact, Barber thinks cruise lines could be very successful with “Botox cruises” if they were organized specifically for individuals looking for products, services and advice on living a healthy lifestyle. Such cruises could attract top-notch doctors with whom the passengers would feel comfortable, and they could create an effective learning environment. “Teaching and evaluating individuals before getting Botox on how to make healthy lifestyle changes that really matter — that’s what’s most important,” Barber said.

It’s clear the face of cruising is about to change. Keep your eyes open.

Again, it’s blistering hot in Rhodes, Greece – 108 degrees! Sunscreen and hats are a must. The Freedom is docked right next to the town’s scenic fortress wall and white houses are mixed with older red tiled ones – very Greek.

We’re off to tour Lindros with its citadel and acropolis. The town of Lindros is very quaint and full of fun shopping opportunities. But, that’s not what we were here for. We are here to hike up to the top of the acropolis and this is no easy feat on a hot day. As we hike along less fit people are dropping out like flies. It’s simply too hot and too steep for a lot of very overweight passengers. I don’t think they realized the tour had this strenuous climb. A lot were mad and angry at Carnival and were whining that they hadn’t been told. I told one woman it’s right there in the brochure it has the symbols for strenuous activity. She wasn’t buying it. Apparently, those Krispy Kremes clogged her brain as well. I simply cannot stand people that blame everyone else for their own shortcomings – no sympathy here.

The view from the acropolis is amazing – the turquoise water against the pale sandstone rocks make for dramatic scenery. The climbing took its toll on my ten year old – she didn’t drink enough water. A bottle later and she was back to herself. It’s so important to keep hydrated and it’s easy to get heat exhaustion quite quickly.

I also can’t stand ignorant (sorry mostly fat people) that push past children standing in line to get on an air conditioned bus. I also can’t stand ignorant people who decide to take your seats that you rode in on the way to the destination on the beginning part of the tour and where my bag was stowed – aka “Texas woman.” This put the girls and me all over the place on the bus. I guess the heat is getting to my temper. I gave “Texas woman” a mean look and she didn’t like it. She asked what my problem was and I told her you took our seats now my family can’t sit near each other. She didn’t budge. Jerk!

I need a drink!

Wow, we slept until 11 AM! I must admit this sea day could not have come at a better time. Five days of heavy touring has taken its toll on us. I am just dragging today. If I didn’t awake before them the girls would have slept all day.

We went to the buffet for breakfast – it wasn’t crowded at all. The sun worshipers came to breakfast early and that made the buffet a joy to eat at. Normally, I hate buffets – they are crowded, noisy, and no fun. My theory is I am on vacation why serve myself, so I usually head to the dining room.

The girls went to the pool and slide while I indulged in a blissful hot stone massage. Then it was off to meet the famous John Heald. He’s the best cruise director on the high seas.

It was 95 degrees when we toured Pompeii – record highs for this time of year all around the Mediterranean. I am told our entire cruise will more than likely be bathed in a heat wave temperatures. The locals are complaining it feels like August. I have to say Pompeii is much prettier than when I toured eight years ago in the month of November. The flowers are blooming and the grass is green – even Vesuvius is emerald-esque.

There were 16 of us on a small tour bus and we had a terrific guide named Elizabetta who works for Aloschi Brothers Tour Company. We did an abbreviated two hour tour – my last tour was four hours which allowed for viewing the Villa – the best preserved section of Pompeii. While I was disappointed I did see the new sections and the auditoriums – very interesting. When we visited the “brothels” I had some ’splaining to do. There nothing like having a 10-year-old say why are those people in the painting playing leapfrog naked?

I wish we could have spent more time in Sorrento – it was full of ‘touristas.’ But the smell of lemons is entoxicating. Who cares about tourists you feel lemony fresh here. A Sorrento lemon is a must-see they are the size of grapefruits – stop by and have some granache from the street vendor for 1.50 euros.

Postitano is everything you hear about. This charming town is a place you just want to sit down and slowly sip an espresso – except its too damn hot! It’s limoncello for me; lemon granache for the kids.

Paul Allen’s yacht “Octopus” is moored off the coast. He sure knows how to live it up. I wish I had my Steelers hat on along with Terrible Towel – rub in the Super Bowl victory from two years ago. Then again, it’s too hot to wear that stuff.

When we returned to the ship things seemed normal until we did a big U-turn at dinner time. Unfortunately, we had to divert to the Salerno to take off an ill German man. He had a heart attack onboard. An Italian Coast Guard cutter came to the side of the ship where the passenger would be transferred. I hope he’s okay.