Mary McKenna: 'Prioritise cruise knowledge to see swell in sales'

More diverse itineraries are also available, with ships stopping at lesser- known ports in the Mediterranean and the Caribbean, and exploring the Pacific Coast – an unrivalled way of doing this.

Creative promotions from the cruise lines are working too, and cruise packages are becoming much more inclusive, making the whole experience easier for the passenger.

For one price, they can now get flights, drinks, gratuities, speciality dining and additional onboard spend included, so spending money is never a concern. Some cruise lines are also including shore excursions in their pricing.

The introduction of mini sailing has also helped to boost cruise’s popularity, especially among the all-important new-to-cruise sector, giving them the opportunity to experience the product for a couple of days at very affordable prices. More often than not, they return to book a cruise as their main holiday for the year.

Cruise lines have invested heavily in the launch of their new ships too, and marketing the events throughout social media has had a huge impact on growth.

This, as well as lines inviting the travel trade onboard new ships, has educated everyone better on new products and innovation.

At Tour America and Cruise Holidays, we have found cruising often even exceeds clients’ expectations, resulting in a perfect 10 net promoter score.

We are getting a higher number of repeat customers as well, and they’re wanting to try different ships, with the standard of ships increasing all the time.

But consumer confidence in cruise is the key here. All the promotions and inclusions in the world can completely bypass a consumer if they’re not targeted correctly.

We have done a huge amount of training around discovery and finding the right ship for the right customer. Prioritise this and you’ll see a swell of sales, I’m sure.