The appointment of Ryan Readman in a new sales support role sees the company now boast a restructured 10-strong trade team with Jonathan Davies (sales manager North), Louise Tansey (sales manager Central) Christina Cooper (trade marketing executive) and Jonathan Edwards (trade support) all joining this year. 

Director of sales Andrea Stafford, who arrived from MSC Cruises in March, said the “priority” for Scenic’s new team was “deepening” existing relationship with agents – with an emphasis on upping store visits – boosting product knowledge and forming fresh relationships with the homeworking sector.

“What’s really exciting for me is the fact that we now have one of the biggest sales teams out on the road, and I am committed to making sure that we talk to as many agents as possible to spread our message far and wide,” said Stafford.

“We’ve already got great plans underway to improve and streamline our marketing information so it gives agents exactly what they need to sell Scenic and Emerald Cruises holidays. We are also looking at how we can effectively train agents to help transform the sales process.”

Scenic hosted more than 50 agents onboard Scenic Eclipse in Cornwall last month and has launched a new competition to win a place onboard superyacht Emerald Azzurra in the Red Sea in December. 

In March, Scenic suffered a cyber security which impacted IT systems for a number of weeks. Stafford thanked the trade partners for their “goodwill and understanding” as the incident affected the operator’s response time to agents.

“Most importantly, no personal information was accessed and no sailings were affected by the incident. I know some of our agent partners did find it a little more testing to deal with us during that period as we rebuilt systems and got back to running at full capacity,” added Stafford.

“Agents have on the whole been very understanding and supportive of us as we return to full capacity. Getting out to develop relationships with the trade feels especially important in light of this and I am committed to saying ‘thank you’ by helping as many as possible grow their business with us.”

Scenic’s renewed pledge to engage with the trade came as the company’s second luxury discovery yacht Scenic Eclipse II was floated out in Croatia.

Eclipse II is due to launch in April 2023, with her maiden voyage sailing from Lisbon to Barcelona. 

The vessel will sail itineraries taking in the Mediterranean, Scotland, the Americas, Caribbean and both Polar regions and, in 2024, Eclipse II will also visit Polynesia and Indonesia and Australia, where Scenic was founded 37 years ago.

The ship has undergone “several enhancements” following guest and crew feedback who sailed onboard Eclipse. 

In addition to the new features in the Senses Spa, Eclipse II will have a newly designed outdoor pool and Panorama Bar on its top deck and will be equipped with a “next generation” custom-made submarine, Scenic Neptune II, that can dive down to a depth of up to 200 metres.