For one of Ireland’s leading US operators and cruise specialists, having such a pivotal market back on the map comes as “a huge boost” for more than one reason. “It’s also stopped customers asking us when it was going to happen. We must have had hundreds of calls since the borders have been closed,” Bond says. “Everyone is so excited.”
Her reaction, and that of colleagues and customers, is amplified across the UK cruise sector, with bosses buoyant. Princess Cruises’ Tony Roberts told TTG the reopening was “great news” for his line “and the whole cruise industry”, while Virgin Voyages’ Shane Riley said it marks “a significant milestone in the public’s perception of travel”.
The news will be just as welcome in the US itself, where there has at times been intense collaboration between government, health authorities and US lines. After US-based ships were given the green light to return to service in June, more than 80 vessels have since sailed in US waters.
The importance of overseas guests to the US and the wider economy was recently highlighted by industry association Clia in its reopening statement, which reported 2.5 million international visitors, including nearly 360,000 British and Irish guests, travelled to the US in 2019 to sail a cruise – almost 20% of overall passenger embarkations. Cruise visitors to the US also spend $4.5 billion annually on hotel stays, transportation and retail.
With US cruising now a genuine sales opportunity, the trade is ready to capitalise. Tony Andrews, deputy managing director at Cruise.co.uk, reveals to TTG how North America bookings equated to “nearly 60%” of the agency’s future package business the weekend following the reopening announcement on 20 September.
Andrews says most customers requesting the US are booking for the second half of 2022 and first half of 2023, while the agency had seen “decent pick-up” in Caribbean bookings for Q1 2022.
“Everything went through the roof,” recalls Bond after the initial reopening news broke, as customers rushed to book for November and December, although she says limited air capacity hampered those wanting immediate getaways. “We managed to book a fair few for then, but others were looking at Easter and summer next year.”
Riley, Virgin Voyages’ vice-president international sales, says the line saw a “notable increase” in US enquiries and sales after the announcement, with cruisers looking to head to its Miami homeport to sail on the line’s first vessel, Scarlet Lady, in the Caribbean.
According to Andrews, Cruise.co.uk had seen most of its demand focused on the east and west coasts, with “big demand” for Mexico cruises packaged with Los Angeles and Las Vegas trips.
Similarly, Roberts, Princess vice-president UK and Europe, highlighted interest for Mexico, the US east coast and Canada, saying US itineraries were “proving popular across the board”. “We’ve also got a good number of Alaska bookings coming in now, which is great to see,” adds Bond.
A strong trend for cruise-and- stay holidays has been reported, with cruisers no doubt looking to make the most of their stateside return after almost two years away. “We knew there was a lot of pent-up demand for US travel, and early indications show our sailors [guests] are looking to travel longer on multi-centre trips,” says Riley, noting “increased interest” for New York, Las Vegas and Miami packages.
Guests, he says, are “prepared to splurge”, opting for the line’s highest suite classes. “Not only are they travelling for longer, they are spending more too,” he adds. Andrews agrees: “Shorter cruises of seven nights and a land stay – that’s where we’re predominantly seeing the biggest pick-up.”
In Florida’s Port Canaveral, agents have a ready-made cruise-and-stay option, with theme park favourite Orlando under an hour away. This year, the port has welcomed MSC Cruises for the first time. As well as basing its new flagship, MSC Seashore, in Miami until next summer, MSC has also sailed its first Port Canaveral cruises with MSC Divina, while MSC Meraviglia is set to be redeployed to Port Canaveral when Seashore arrives in the US from Europe.
“Port Canaveral is incredibly exciting for us – it opens up the opportunity for the British and Irish market to do Orlando cruise-and- stay with MSC,” UK and Ireland sales director Steve Williams tells TTG. “We had announced plans to operate there just before the pandemic, and then it all shut down, so we’ve never had the chance to sail. Now we’ve got the [US] reopening date set, we’re definitely seeing demand picking up.”
Until very recently, a sticking point for families looking to holiday in the US was the lack of clarity around entry requirements relating to children. Confirmation, though, came just days before TTG went to press that unvaccinated under-18s would be exempted when travelling with vaccinated adults.
’Halo effect’
Reacting to the news, Bond said the decision was a “fantastic step” towards enabling Tour America’s predominantly family-focused client base to travel. “We sell such a large percentage of family holidays, clients have been very cautious, but knowing [the rules for under-18s] gives our clients the flexibility they need,” she says.
And the positives could continue, as Andrews believes other key cruising regions may well follow the US. “Now the US has opened up to international guests, you’d want there to be more talk around Australia and Asia.”
Andrews says that not only has the reopening driven greater consumer confidence, it has also helped stimulate bookings away from the US, and cites “a real halo effect” for European business this winter. “We’re seeing an impact on the rest of the market,” he says. “Not only did we get demand for North America, but also for winter Med cruises. Bookings for April, May and June 2022 have picked up as well.
“If you’re British and you see you can now go to cruise in America, it does give you more confidence about taking a winter Med cruise. As funny as it sounds, there is a connection.”
