One year on, and Scott is “pleasantly surprised” with how the line’s latest ship, Arvia, and its sister vessel, Iona, have performed, and how agents have driven the higher booking volumes required.

This is despite Arvia launching under something of a cloud after some passengers reported long queues and lost dinner reservations during its two-week debut voyage last December. It was far from the start to an exciting new chapter P&O Cruises had hoped for.

“Any business with a 40% capacity increase over a 12- to 18-month period has to push hard to secure that volume,” P&O Cruises vice-president brand, marketing and sales Scott tells TTG. “Fortunately, I’m a glass half full kind of person – we would never have anticipated being booked so well for 2024, and for future years.”

Scott reveals the brand has seen “a record number of new customers” sail with the line this year. “That’s all down to agents,” he says. He hails, in particular, the line’s partnerships with Gary Barlow, Nicole Scherzinger and, most recently, Bafta.

“We’re using partnerships to reach new audiences and disrupt the market,” Scott explains. “We’ve had great results so far. By partnering with Bafta, we’ve proven how to leverage the brand effectively. Bafta has definitely opened doors for us as a brand.”

Scott points out how a group of agents were invited to the Bafta ceremony, prompting a lot of trade and customer engagement with the line after the event last May. “Whenever we do things, we get agents involved,” Scott says. “Last year, we had five ‘Arvia Insiders’ [agents] at the [Meyer Werft] shipyard,” he adds. “We’ll always create spaces for agents through competitions.”

Scott highlights how agents who join the line at partnership events soon become advocates for P&O Cruises. “It’s all about having a strong relationship with an agency’s head office, as well as their frontline agents,” he says.

Scott reveals an “impressive” 100 agents have sailed with P&O Cruises on their own holidays this year. “That’s a really positive number,” he adds.

Pricing ambitions

Just over a year ago, P&O Cruises president Paul Ludlow outlined his intention to hike fares after he was asked about lead-in prices for the line’s two Excel-class ships – Iona and Arvia.

However, in P&O Cruises’ current wave offer, the line is advertising cruises for less than £100pp per day, with prices for a 14-night Mediterranean sailing onboard 5,200-passenger Arvia, departing 30 March 2025, starting from £899pp.

A seven-night Norwegian Fjords round-trip sailing on Iona, meanwhile, departing from Southampton on 30 August 2025, is priced from £699pp.

Scott insists pricing has “started to creep back up” this year, despite the latest wave offer. “Our ambition is to keep pushing pricing back up,” he insists.

“Overall, it’s about providing strong value for money. We’re a premium mainstream brand – that [brand position] is really important to us. It’s all about breaking into new markets where customers have a different mindset.”

Scott says P&O Cruises does “a lot of research” around itineraries that appeal to UK holidaymakers. “We know what works well for our guests – we offer a mix of ex-UK and fly-cruise itineraries,” he explains.

“We’ve got newcomers in the cruise market who have not cruised before and are just looking for value, and then we’ve got experienced guests who are enjoying this.”

Wave campaign

The line’s ongoing Holiday Like Never Before campaign has been designed to attract more new customers. “Offering 10% deposits can bring people into the market,” Scott says. It is the first time a low-deposit offer and a drinks package discount have been bundled up together by the line, Scott highlights.

In addition, P&O Cruises is offering guests extra onboard spending money when they book an applicable Select Price holiday by 4 March 2024. “It’s a competitive market out there, but competition is a good thing,” Scott adds. “It keeps you on your toes.”