总统小组:Cruise Lines Talk 2019成功,趋势等在Cruise 360上
经过丹尼尔·麦卡锡(Daniel McCarthy)/
There are high hopes for the future of the travel advisor profession, and that optimism was clearly on-hand at Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) Cruise 360 Conference in Fort Lauderdale this week.
The industry is “poised for growth at an unprecedented rate, [with] 68 billion dollars of new ships entering the market in the next eight years,” and there’s a bigger need for advisors than ever, Charles Sylvia, CLIA’s vice president of membership and trade relations, said.
In a panel led by Becky Powell, CEO of Protravel, presidents from six of the industry’s major cruise lines gathered to talk to advisor-attendees about how 2019 is shaping up, what they’re doing to improve both the onboard and onshore experience, and the importance of their advisor partners.
2019 progress
由于政府关闭,大多数人都同意2019年在整个行业的一年中,大多数人都同意。
“Bookings are doing extremely well,” Crystal Cruises’ Tom Wobler said. “The trend is still to book it a little closer, but further out bookings are performing very well.”
Norwegian Cruise Line, according to Andy Stuart, has seen more bookings in 2019 than it has in the history of the company, including more bookings farther out, a trend that’s continuing into 2020.
For Celebrity Cruises and Lisa Lutoff-Perlo,Edge的首次亮相,加上峰会的重新出现她说,即将到来的植物群和顶点的需求比以往任何时候都更大,并且预订也遵循了相同的套房:“感谢这个房间里的每个人,我们欠您所有的感谢债务,”她说。
狂欢节巡航系列和克里斯汀·达菲(Christine Duffy)也在为这条线迈出重要的一年。“我们有狂欢节全景that is going to be delivered to the West Coast and Carnival Mardi Gras, which will have the first roller coaster on a cruise ship,” she said.
另一方面,Virgin Voyages仍处于发射的进展中,但今年早些时候确实开了第一艘船Scarlet Lady进行预订。汤姆·麦卡平(Tom McAlpin)说,到目前为止,该品牌正在看到“大量预订”。剩下的一年是关于获得的Scarlet Lady ready for its 2020 debut。
“This is about execution and operational readiness and also about filling the ship — we need all you out there spreading the word,” he said.
维珍航空在Cruise 360上销售其“不可罚款”政策。
体验旅行
Lutoff-Perlo说,名人巡游正在“与我们的土地目的地团队一起花费大量时间和精力来思考我们的土地之旅如何变小”。名人的探索收藏之旅将带来小型,亲密团体陆上的客人,源于这种愿望。
“We continue to think about how you go from luxury to ownership to experiences to now seeing people care about what those experiences help you become and how they change you. They're more enriched when they come home,” she added.
对MSC邮轮,experiential travel means giving guests the opportunity to be fulfilled onshore by offering extended stays in overnight destinations including Havana.
MSC Cruises USA总裁Roberto Fusaro说:“它已经知道了一些事情,得到了巡航的丰富。”除了哈瓦那,MSC还将推出Ocean Cay,这是其在距离迈阿密90英里的新私人目的地。Ocean Cay将有助于增强该线的加勒比海航行,为其产品增加一个全新的独特目的地。
他说:“客人总是在要求新的目的地。”beplay银行卡“当我们计划行程时,我们确保围绕它进行计划。”
Like MSC, other lines are deploying overnight and late-night experiences to give guests the opportunity to stay onshore throughout the evening and see a different side to the destinations.
“Our guests are telling us they want to be able to immerse with the locals and feel the culture,” Virgin’s McAlpin said, explaining that its debut itineraries will include an overnight stay on all sailings, including late night stays at its own private beach club experience in Bimini.
“What our passengers are telling us, what the luxury travelers are telling us. They want exclusive experience and they want access to those experiences,” Crystal’s Wobler said. Crystal, for its part, is pairing the extended or late night stays with signature events, like a visit to Monaco Grand Prix.
旅行技术
For technology on the trade side, Crystal Cruises has “invested a lot in our systems over the last 18 months,” Wobler said. All of Crystal’s trade tools are now in one place, something that it believes will “make all of you better ambassadors for the Crystal brand experience but also make Crystal an easier partner to do business with. It is making things simpler, easier and more accessible.”
麦卡平和维珍今年早些时候揭幕firstmates.com,其独家旅行顾问合作伙伴的独家住所,该伙伴称其为第一位伴侣。维尔京已经花了很多钱和时间来建设firstmates.comas it had for its consumer facing website,VirginVoyages.com。
斯图尔特(Stuart)和挪威人(Norwegian)也将资源投资到其顾问门户网站(Norwegian Central)。斯图尔特说,它的升级已推出“让您有机会更有效地将我们的产品放在客人面前。”
Advisor attention
为了整理小组,鲍威尔要求每位总统对旅行顾问在一两个句子中对他们的重要性。他们说的是:
“旅行社摇滚,谢谢大家,”达菲说。
“Travel advisors are essential to our growth strategy, we rely on you because we don’t have the same brand recognition as the other lines in North America,” Fusaro said.
“我认为我们的声誉自言自语。我最初是一名旅行顾问,我们做出的每一个决定都考虑到旅行顾问。”卢托夫·佩洛说。
麦卡平说:“第一伙伴对我们的成功至关重要……我们说NCFS NFW。”
“It’s two words - Partners First,” said Stuart.
沃伯勒说:“ 29年来,水晶一直使旅行顾问成为水晶一家的一部分,我们共同建立了终身伙伴关系,为我们的客人提供了伙伴关系。”