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In this video you’ll hear from Viking’s sales, training and events executive, Sabrina Piscioneri.
Further information
Learn more about Viking’s river, ocean and expedition cruises at vikingcruises.com
Video transcript
With Viking’s sales, training and events executive, Sabrina Piscioneri, and TTG Media’s Charlotte Cullinan.
Charlotte: Welcome to our In The Spotlight video with Viking. Now, Sabrina, let’s start with an introduction to Viking. Could you tell us what you can offer travellers?
Sabrina: Yes, of course. So at Viking – and this is something that is really important – we put the guest at the heart of everything that we do.
We create meaningful experiences for those who are curious about the world around us. We often say that we are the thinking person’s cruise, a cruise created for the curious traveller. And we do this by offering our guests a real consistent and unique experience with everything that they need to enjoy their journey around the world, included in the cost of their Viking cruise.
Charlotte: Fabulous. Thank you. And you have an impressive destination offering for your guests, don’t you? Talk us through what this includes.
Sabrina: If we were having this conversation, 15 years ago, it’d be a lot shorter. Because Viking was always known for river cruising, and a lot of our travel agents, especially those who’ve been in the industry a long time, will know that.
And that’s how we started back in 1997. But, nearly three decades later, we now visit every continent. Our European river destinations now sit alongside our river journeys in Egypt and Asia. Of course, not forgetting now that we travel along the Mississippi River in America.
And then of course, with our ocean ships, we cover so many incredible destinations now. From Scandinavia, the Caribbean, we do North and South America, we do the Mediterranean – not only in the winter months, but in the summer months as well – and we have a lot of offering there. And then of course we go further afield, Asia and Australia.
And then of course, our expedition ships, which are an incredible addition to our fleet. And we get to explore now these most incredible remote destinations. Antarctica, the Arctic, we go over to Canada in the Great Lakes in the summer. You can, quite literally now Charlotte, explore the world in Viking comfort.
And we do this alongside, our Viking Inclusive Value, which is something that we are very proud of.
Charlotte: Fabulous. And you mentioned your Viking Inclusive Value proposition there. So tell us about that and why it’s something that agents should focus on when they’re talking to their clients.
Sabrina: Yes, of course. We are so proud of it, because the Viking Inclusive Value allows our guests to have everything that they need and nothing that they do not, so we take care of their flights, we’ll fly them from regional airports at no extra cost. Their transfers. In each port of call, the guests can wake up in the morning and explore and get insight into the destination without having to spend a penny on excursions if they don’t want to. Of course, there are optional ones that they can pay for in addition. But it’s things like all their meals onboard, beer, wine, and soft drinks with lunch and dinner. Even on our ocean ships and on our expedition ships, there is absolutely no charge to dine in any of our alternative restaurants.
And things like WiFi, gratuities on board, tea, coffees, bottled water. We know that all of that stuff can add up, and it can be quite costly. But with Viking, it’s all included and we are very proud of that.
But I also think it’s important Charlotte, to note what we are not as well. We don’t try to be everything to everyone and we are okay with that. We’re adult-only. There are no formal nights on board. No white gloves or butler service. No big West-End style acrobatic shows. We are not about the big casinos or the art auctions. We want them to just explore, the Viking way and explore how they want to we have no corkage fee on board.
If you’ve been sampling, local wine in a Spanish vineyard or a vineyard in France, you know you can bring that bottle of wine onboard. Enjoy it in the comfort of your own state room. Or take it and have it for dinner, with your dinner. So it’s all of these aspects that really bring the Viking Inclusive Value together.
Charlotte: Thank you. And why should agents be promoting Viking to their clients? What are the key reasons that you should be top of their list of recommendations?
Sabrina: Do you know Charlotte, Viking has grown significantly in the last 27, almost 28 years. And the extensive fleet of ships that we have now is, extraordinary. We’ve got over 80 river ships now in our fleet. We’ve got our 10 ocean ships more that are being built, two expedition ships.
Obviously, naturally more ships, means more destinations that we can visit and we can explore. And the fact that there is a consistency in our offering, and what I mean by that is, pretty much, more or less our river ships in Europe are identical. Our ocean ships are identical sister ships. And it makes it so much easier for our trade partners, as it allows our travel agents to learn about the destination, about the ships, but know that there is more consistency there. So they’re not having to learn 20 million different deck plans, and it is something that, we hope our travel agents can appreciate.
Charlotte: Thank you. And finally, let’s talk about the ‘Viking Difference’. What makes your small ship cruises so different?
Sabrina: Our ships are designed to be able to take our guests on a journey of discovery. We want them to explore and come away from the Viking journey, having felt immersed in the destination. Our ships are elegant and small enough to get our guests closer to the destination. We can get our guests right into the heart of the cities and towns that we are visiting. And our ships have that elegant Scandinavian design, but we never try to upstage the destination. The places that we are visiting, the destinations that we’re exploring are the most important aspect of the journey. And that’s how we, that’s how we aim to provide a meaningful experience to our guests.
Charlotte: That’s wonderful. Thank you. Thank you so much for sharing all that fantastic knowledge, Sabrina and thank you for watching our In The Spotlight video with Viking.
