If you were among the nearly one quarter (23%) of agents at the 2025 Clia Conference this week who had never even seen a cruise ship before, then you would likely have taken away a lot from the annual get-together in Southampton.
The cruise sector gathered in Southampton this week to pool and share its insights with the trade
And even if you are an experienced cruise agent, there was no shortage of updates during Thursday’s sessions (22 May) to help you expand your knowledge of the sector that little bit further.
These included Carnival UK and P&O Cruises president Paul Ludlow laying bare exactly how much of a foothold Carnival Corporation’s brands have in the UK market, while Ponant Group’s chief executive made a worrying admission about sustainability.
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If you were among the nearly one quarter (23%) of agents at the 2025 Clia Conference this week who had never even seen a cruise ship before, then you would likely have taken away a lot from the annual get-together in Southampton.
The cruise sector gathered in Southampton this week to pool and share its insights with the trade
And even if you are an experienced cruise agent, there was no shortage of updates during Thursday’s sessions (22 May) to help you expand your knowledge of the sector that little bit further.
These included Carnival UK and P&O Cruises president Paul Ludlow laying bare exactly how much of a foothold Carnival Corporation’s brands have in the UK market, while Ponant Group’s chief executive made a worrying admission about sustainability.
Azamara, meanwhile, is planning to allocate more capacity the UK market – and there was discussion too about how the luxury cruising space is in a state of flux.
TTG was in the room to take in everything that was said up on stage at the city’s Guildhall – just a few hundred yards from the cruise port – and the trade fair at Horizon Terminal, which closed out first day of the conference.
So here’s everything you need to know from the Clia conference.
Ludlow (pictured right in conversation with the BBC's Ben Thompson) told delegates how the lines he oversees would soon release an economic contribution report, which will reveal just how much the cruise sector contributes to Southampton’s economy.
Ludlow claimed Southampton receives a £2.5 million boost every time a ship arrives into the city’s port. “We’re a massive economic contributor,” he said. “Holidays are not an option for people, they’re a necessity.”
Following “a few years of stability” coming out of the pandemic, Ludlow said he and his team are working out “how we can take our proposition to the next level”.
“We need to predict what is going to be hot before people experience them,” he continued. “Food, hospitality, entertainment, hospitality, destinations and service. We’re constantly looking for the trends of tomorrow.
“It’s a privilege to deliver people’s holidays. We’re the custodians of people’s holidays.”
Perhaps more tellingly, he further claimed some two-thirds of every cruise booking made in the UK market is for one of Carnival’s nine brands. Ludlow said in 2024, Carnival Corporation paid out more than £100 million in commission to agents around the world.
“Travel agents are vital for our business,” he added. Addressing agents directly, he said: “The best thing that you can do for us is stay current and understand what is on our ships. I’m sure with your support we can continue to do very well together.”
Azamara chief executive Dondra Ritzenthaler blew agents away with a typically robust pitch that hit all the right notes. If you are a new-to-cruise agent and you were in the room on Thursday, Ritzenthaler’s appearance will undoubtedly linger in the mind.
She told agents 86% of Azamara’s bookings came via the trade and revealed the four-ship boutique line plans to soon “shift share sourcing” to the UK. “We’re going to shift share sourcing in 2026,” she said. “You deliver great guests who really understand and get us as a brand.”
When Ritzenthaler joined the line last year, she outlined fleet expansion plans that were linked to sales performance. Ritzenthaler admitted Azamara is “not quite there yet” in terms of booking levels needed to persuade its board to buy more ships or invest in new ones.
“We need you all to know us, love us and book us,” she continued. Ritzenthaler urged agents to try “not to be all things to all people” and to “pick your partners [cruise lines] and then really know them and take their training”.
“There are Azamara executives and sales guys here [at the conference] so introduce yourself to them – that is having a lion’s mentality,” she explained.
Ponant Group (pictured: Ponant's Le Commandant Charcot) chief executive Belinda Hindmarsh argued while customers care about the environment, they “are not willing to pay for it”.
Speaking as part of panel of expedition cruise leaders, Hindmarsh said this would inevitably change: “It will shift eventually because fewer ships will be able to visit the bio-rich areas of the world.”
She conceded her attitude towards cruise holidays had once been “no cruise, no”, but told delegates she changed her mind once she learnt about the sector's varied offering.
“I grew up in New Zealand where basically you’re bombarded from the day you are born that you have to protect the planet,” she added.
She urged agent delegates to “do your research” before trying to sell an expedition cruise because there “different options out there”. “Do reach out to us, we’re happy to discuss options,” Hindmarsh noted.
Steve Odell, Regent Seven Seas Cruises and Oceania Cruises senior vice-president international and consumer sales, highlighted how high-end hotel brands like Ritz-Carlton and Four Seasons are introducing their customers to luxury cruises – and the opportunities this is creating for agents.
"I personally think what Ritz-Carlton is doing is one of the best things to have happened in cruise for a long time,” Odell explained. “New people are being introduced to cruise, thanks to Ritz-Carlton and Four Seasons.”
Four Seasons has just secured more funding to build a second luxury yacht – seven months before its first leaves the shipyard. Ritz-Carlton, meanwhile, launched its 298-passenger Evrima vessel in 2022 and 456-passenger IIma in 2024. Another vessel is launching this year.
To illustrate how lucrative an ultra-luxury cruise booking can be for agent, Odell said the average value of a UK booking for Regent is £15,000. “That is a huge return on investment,” he added. “We feel there are 430,000 people that fall into the ultra-luxury cruise market in the UK. There are 56 ships launching in the next four years.”
In March 2025, Jason Montague returned to Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings as chief luxury officer, overseeing its Oceania Cruises (pictured: Oceania Sirena) and Regent Seven Seas brands.
It was at this point some key decisions were made, said Odell, including marketing Oceania as a luxury brand again rather than “an ultra-premium one”.
Explaining the move to TTG, Odell said: “The word ‘luxury’ is a bit overused and is not always used in the right context. Regent is very firmly in the ultra-luxury space, while Oceania is in the middle between Regent and the premium space. It has quality hardware, fantastic food but is the unbundled version. You do not get all the inclusions.
"Oceania was probably falling out of the premium category at the stage, so we moved it back up to luxury.”
Odell said Oceania is now going through “a rebranding exercise”. “It’s only just started. It will be done in the next three to four months then we will be making some announcements,” he explained.
Mark Tamis rejoined Carnival Corporation last year when he took up the role of Seabourn president after leading hotel and onboard operations for Royal Caribbean International.
His first job? Tamis sailed on the entire Seabourn fleet to hear what guests liked about the product and what was “a bit broken”. “It’s always about elevating your product because guests’ expectations are always elevating,” he noted.
Tamis explained that mission when he started was in support of an effort to establish why guests had chosen to cruise with Seabourn, which said most commonly came down to regular Seabourn guests feeling like they were part of a "family" with the line.
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