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The way clients choose, book, prepare for and take a cruise has changed dramatically over the past 15 months. Madeleine Barber looks at what agents need to consider when marketing and selling summer sailings
Between new embarkation requirements, altered itineraries and enhanced rules and regulations onboard, the cruise landscape looks very different from how it did pre-pandemic. But what does this mean when it comes to selling sailings to customers? With many cruise lines scheduled to restart operations this summer, we speak to some of the big players in the industry to find out what agents need to know about the new customer journey in order to adapt.
“Seacations” seems to be the buzzword as demand for domestic cruises soars. Instead of abandoning sailing, avid cruisers are choosing to stay close to home for their summer trips, with many cruise lines adding new or amending existing product to meet the demand. Saga reported all but one of its summer round-Britain cruises sold out within two weeks, while Riviera Travel recently added two sailings to its Cruising Scotland’s Highlands & Islands programme after selling out the original four departures last month.
That said, customer appetite for international cruise remains steady, with Royal Caribbean International seeing strong demand from the UK and Ireland for 2022 sailings in the Mediterranean and Caribbean. Saga has also seen the Canary Islands re-emerging as a cruise destination for the coming autumn and winter.
“I expect cruising to return to ‘normal’ and that we will begin seeing European favourites re-emerge as regular ports, particularly through the winter months when we need to find better weather,” says Iain Powell, head of trade sales for Saga.
In river cruising, A-Rosa has reported a surge in interest for rail-and-sail itineraries, which could be an indication that this market has lost some confidence in air travel.
Of course, customers will also now need to consider the embarkation requirements when choosing a cruise, with lines requiring customers to be fully vaccinated or PCR-tested before travel (more on this later).
Offering flexible booking policies has never been more important in travel, with the cruise industry being no exception, and many customers are now expecting this as a default.
“Customers are concerned about potential future changes to their booking,” says Powell, crediting the line’s flexible balance payments, included insurance with Covid cover and cancellation promises as “key drivers in both our retention figures and new booking sales”.
Meanwhile, Royal Caribbean International has enhanced its Cruise with Confidence programme to give clients the option to make last-minute cancellations, and Fred Olsen Cruise Lines has introduced no-risk deposits, which allow fee-free refunds or amendments before the final payment date.
Customers are still following early-booking trends, and the majority of cruise lines are currently reporting 2022 as their most popular year, but some are expecting a surge later in 2021.
“We know that many of our customers are ready to travel just as soon as they safely can and as we progress through the year and borders open, we could see an influx of late 2021 bookings,” says Lucia Rowe, managing director of A-Rosa River Cruises UK & Ireland. Royal Caribbean International is also expecting a late summer surge as cruisers are driven to make last-minute bookings by the evolving travel situation and an enduring desire for summer holidays.
Pre-travel preparation has taken a turn, with nearly all cruise lines now requiring passengers to have received a negative PCR test result prior to boarding as well as the Day 2 PCR test required on return to the UK, which Riviera Travel last month announced it will cover the cost of this summer. But some companies have gone one step further and imposed a rule whereby they will only welcome fully vaccinated guests onboard.
These include Azamara, Crystal Cruises, Cunard, Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises, P&O Cruises, Regent Seven Seas, Silversea, Viking Cruises and Virgin Voyages, with Saga being the first to implement this policy at the beginning of the year. The over-50s specialist is also operating private transfers and sending pre-travel packs closer to departure dates to allow for the inclusion of the most up-to-date information. This means agents should always check how the ever-evolving pre-travel protocols have changed in order to feed cruise clients the correct information consistently.
While the specific onboard health and safety protocols vary from line to line, non-exempt passengers on most voyages must be prepared to wear face coverings in some public areas, as well as sanitise their hands regularly and adhere to social distancing measures throughout the ships.
A-Rosa’s Rowe says the implementation of these policies plus enhanced cleaning procedures, screening and temperature checks prior to embarkation, meals served at tables at set times and reduced group sizes on excursions “enabled us to sail successfully for five months without a single case of Covid-19 onboard our ships last season”.
Saga has also been recognised for its health and safety protocols and is operating with a reduced number of guests, an increased crew-to-guest ratio to allow for enhanced cleaning regimes and a larger onboard medical team and facility.
Many cruise lines, such as Royal Caribbean International, Norwegian Cruise Line and Oceania Cruises, have also taken this opportunity to update their air filtration systems to keep the air onboard as fresh as possible and implement regular health screenings for their crew – a valuable selling point to use when talking to potential and concerned clients.
It’s unclear just how long these embarkation requirements, altered itineraries and enhanced rules and regulations will remain, but it is clear that selling cruise has become more complex as a result of this shift in the sector. Until cruise can return to what the travel industry deems “normal”, agents will benefit from staying up to date with cruise line policies, as well as booking and enquiries trends, in order to implement smart marketing campaigns and make sensible, successful sales. While clients’ demand for cruise clearly remains strong, the new cruise customer journey is well worth getting onboard with.
“The UK cruise industry has developed a Framework document collaboratively with the UK government, which is in line with the Clia Member Policy for Covid-19 and covers the entirety of the cruise experience. Plus, cruise lines may adopt supplemental measures and processes in accordance with their individual brand requirements, such as ship or fleet specification.
“Vaccines are restoring confidence that the world will overcome Covid-19. Importantly, cruise lines are adopting a ‘multi-layered’ approach, with multiple measures in place. For instance, Clia ocean-going cruise line members have agreed to 100% testing of passengers and crew, with a requirement for a negative test, prior to boarding. This policy is mandatory for all members and is applicable to vessels capable of carrying 250 or more persons.
“All cruise lines are required to align with physical distance guidelines consistent with shore-side health authority requirements, while guests are required to adhere to the rules of the ship they are on, which will include social distancing and face coverings in some areas.
“The industry’s protocols have already been tried and tested as, since last summer, almost 400,000 people have sailed on cruises around the globe.”
