Edwina Lonsdale, managing director of Mundy Cruising, told TTG her agency had seen a boost in not only new-to-cruise customers, but also an increase in new clients to the business.
"We have got that core base as well that we work all the time to retain and build on, but we have seen quite a high level of clients who are new to us and new to cruise, which is great," she continued.
Lonsdale reported the agency has seen an uptick in expedition cruise bookings over the past few weeks, as customers look to try new things and "go on new adventures".
"As a result of Covid, people want to grab those opportunities and do what they’ve never thought of doing before - expedition trips to Antarctica and the Galapagos for example.
"We have done a large amount of work in levelling that side of the business up over the past three years and it is really starting to pay off," she continued.
Mundy Cruising has also seen an increase in sailings "closer to home" as well as Caribbean bookings, Lonsdale added.
Owner of Cruise Select, Rachel Wright, also reported an uptick in new customers to the agency through client recommendations.
"We have definitely seen an increase in new customers to the agency, who have all been recommended to us by other customers which is nice to see," she told TTG.
"Cruise went really quiet when the Ukraine situation hit the headlines, but now it has really started to pick up.
"It’s a mixed bag at the moment, but cruise has definitely picked up over the last week or so. We have had a coupe of late bookings for May this year, some going into 2023, it’s been more high end bookings as well rather than the lower end."
Jason Daniels, managing director of Cruise Circle, said while customers are feeling confident about travelling, despite the conflict in Ukraine and the cost of living spike, some remain apprehensive over cruise companies’ Covid regulations.
"We saw a really strong finish to March when a lot of the cruise lines came out with new campaigns," Daniels told TTG.
"Since the Easter holidays kicked off, however, we have seen a downturn in trade across all channels. We are seeing early signs of Europe and Mediterranean doing well.
"People are still prepared to travel, despite some of the problems we have seen in Ukraine. When the news hit, we were already very busy. People are feeling confident about cruising close to home, and in the Eastern Mediterranean.
"We have seen a drop off in our further out departures, late 2022, 2023 and even into 2024, as bookings are quieter in the Easter months when there are school holidays. A late Easter always throws a spanner in the works."
