Cruise specialists have reported a “very encouraging” start to the wave booking period.

A mix of competitive deals from lines, already-established cruisers choosing to book earlier and capacity for 2020 itineraries readily available has boosted business, according to a number of leading agents.

Rachel Wright, owner and managing director of Cruise Select, told TTG her business had seen “a much brighter start” to wave than last year, with sales 47% up year-on-year in November and rising 25% in December.

“We’re finding that customers are booking earlier and earlier, so this year we sent out our magazine earlier to capitalise – it’s had a great response,” she said.

“We’ve had a nice little flurry [of bookings] coming in between Christmas and New Year, and the shop’s been full most days. Bookings-wise, it’s been a mixed bag with a lot of luxury in December as well as Christmas markets river cruises and some expedition too.”

Ponders Travel owner Clare Dudley also reported a strong December, describing it as “much busier than we were expecting”.

“Usually we tend to pick up most of our business later in January and in February, once the schools have gone back, so December has been very welcome,” she said.

Ponders opened its first retail store this week, with Dudley expecting the shop to drive more local sales throughout wave.

In Northern Ireland, Oasis Travel managing director Sandra Corkin said she was “delighted” with how her six-agency chain had performed so far.

“We’ve had a strong start with customers responding to the good campaigns, with the Med leading the way,” she said.

Phil Nuttall, chief executive of The Travel Village Group, which owns The Cruise Village and Rivercruising.co.uk, said he believed “early signs for wave are positive”. “I’m very encouraged,” he added.