Travel Advisors from all over the country just took part in a fantastic virtual conference with the cruise industry called CruiseWorld. This annual meeting, usually held in South Florida and hosted by Northstar Travel Group and Travel Weekly, is attended by thousands who want to have candid conversations with executives in the cruise industry. Professional development, virtual ship visits, general sessions with the C-suite leaders, and after-hours social opportunities are offered, and even though we were confined to our home offices, participating virtually, this year did not disappoint.
After a particularly challenging 2020, the cruise industry finally had the no-sail order lifted by the CDC, providing they comply with approximately 40 pages of regulations and safety precautions designed to keep their guests and crew safe. These kinds of protocols are nothing new to the one industry that has been self-reporting for decades. The cleanliness standards that the cruise industry holds to have always been far more stringent than any restaurant or hotel anywhere. My takeaway? The cruise industry is excited about implementing the recommendations and getting back to what the SVP of Crystal Cruises, Carmen Roig, says, the “happiness business.” And we are ready too!
What have we all been up to?
During this “pause” in travel, my colleagues and I have been using the time (after all the cancelations and rescheduling of trips) to take deep dives into our business models, revamping, rebranding, or incorporating new tools and systems to assist in our day to day operations. When the time comes that travel opens up and pent up demand is released, we will be ready! And, the cruise industry has been doing the same.
Many of the cruise lines worked with specialists in a myriad of fields to assist with designing protocols that would aid in getting everyone back up and running. Royal Caribbean Group in conjunction with Norwegian Cruise Holdings created a panel of experts (the Healthy Sail Panel) to help develop cruise ship health policies and invited other cruise lines to share in the information. It was proactive and beneficial to the cruise industry as a whole. And while many may view them as competing for each other’s business, cruise lines are very diverse, each brand offering something unique and special. They are a tight-knit industry and they know that implementing best practices across all brands will enable the cruise industry to come back better than ever. In addition to the focus on safety, other cruise lines evaluated their brands and even worked on their brand positioning.
Exciting news from Celebrity is that after engaging a consulting company to evaluate their position in the industry, they are moving from a premium market into a “new luxury” space with a more inclusive product. Moving forward, gratuities, Wifi, and a Classic Beverage Package will be part of the base price for all cruises with the option to upgrade to an “elevate” or “ indulge” package, including shore excursions and even onboard credits. With the introduction of the Retreat, Celebrity’s “ship within a ship,” they are offering a luxury cruiser the upscale amenities of small ship cruising with the dining and entertainment options of a bigger ship. Whether that will truly compete with the luxury products of Seabourn, Silversea or Regent remains to be seen, but it is possible that they will find a brand new luxury client that appreciates the many offerings of a big ship.
Oceania Cruises has implemented a “Best Price Guarantee” that should give all cruisers peace of mind. They will guarantee that no matter when the cruise was booked, should the cruise line come out with a better program, the guest will be protected.
Crystal Cruises continues with its program (Crystal Confidence 2.0) of delayed deposits allowing travelers to book now and not make a deposit until January 2021, and that is extended to all of their offerings, Ocean, River, and Yacht.
I loved hearing from the teams at AmaWaterways, Crystal River Cruises, Amadeus River Cruises, Avalon Waterways, and Riviera River Cruises, and how 2021 is looking to be a stellar year for the brands. Due to the small size of river ships, healthy protocols such as individual air systems in each room, and the ability to social distance with a limited number of guests, is a wonderful alternative to the larger ocean ships. Who knew that there was no recirculated air on river ships?
It was an amazing week…
… with so much information, interaction, and inspiration as we look toward the future. With exciting announcements from Pfizer and Moderna that they will soon have vaccines that are 90-94% effective, we are encouraged that not only will cruising be back, but we will once again feel safe to travel and explore this amazing planet!
