FEATURE CRUISE AND STAY


ON LOCATION WITH


SARA MACEFIELD "I was absolutely drenched, yet we were miles from the sea and there wasn’t a ship in sight! In fact, it was hard to believe this was the 'dry-land' part of our trip which comprised a three-night stay at Universal Orlando Resort in Florida and a week-long Caribbean sailing with Royal Caribbean International. But it was all part of the fun as we took cruises of a different sort on the various water rides at Universal’s Islands of Adventure park. The main attraction was undoubtedly the


Wizarding World of Harry Potter where fans flocked in their thousands and the narrow cobbled streets and olde worlde shops were packed to bursting. And don’t even mention the queues! However, as guests of the park’s Italianate-style Loews Portofino Bay hotel, there was the double benefit of early access, one hour before opening, and skipping long queues on selected rides thanks to the Universal Express Plus pass we automatically qualified for. Both are vital if you are planning to travel in school holidays, particularly in the summer peak. Thankfully, the queues aboard Freedom of


the Seas were tiny in comparison and I spent the first few hours wandering around the ship not believing that I was sharing it with more than 4,000 other passengers. Our Western Caribbean sailing departed


Alaska is the place where the highest


number of customers – between 80% and 90% –


supplement their sailings with a land tour or activity.


How Agents Can Benefi t As a sales tool, cruise-and-stay packages can help to reel in first-time cruisers wanting to try a cruise as part of a longer holiday. RCI’s Rzymowska claims the line’s


tie-up with Universal Orlando Resort, which sees three or four-night stays at the theme park twinned with RCI cruises, has been instrumental in attracting this market. “The lure of Universal, and


particularly the opening of Harry Potter World, is definitely pulling in first-timers,” she said. “In fact 35% of the business for this


package is coming from the UK.” The chance to add extra land-based options can give agents


an extra hook when trying to tempt more experienced cruise passengers with a more unusual package. The price of such cruise and stay


arrangements can be at least 20% higher, according to Crystal Cruises sales and marketing director Andy Harmer, inevitably leading to better earnings for agents. Yet this isn’t the case for all bookings. While lines generally pay commission on land tours, they don’t always pay commission on hotel stays. However, retailers who put such packages together themselves can generally reap more generous rewards. Cruise lines, including MSC Cruises


and Voyages to Antiquity, are also targeting the cruise-and-stay market


with more product, while premium lines such as Silversea and Seabourn already have well-established programmes enabling customers to book add-on hotel stays. Princess Cruises has also introduced


a Flight Select Programme giving agents and passengers more freedom to choose flights to suit their individual needs. Princess's Van Der Schee said the initiative had been rolled out in response to customer demand for more flexibility, making it ideal for cruise-and-stay arrangements. “Many traditional agents prefer to


sell cruise line packages, but Flight Select now also gives them the ability to go into the system and find flights and prices that suit them best,” he explained. “And as it is still a package, the agents are not responsible for it.”


Port Canaveral, just an hour’s drive from Orlando, and once aboard it was a case of exploring everything this vast ship had to offer – which was a lot! I’d originally thought that after two hectic


days at Universal I would relax, but my eight-year-old twin daughters had other ideas and I was soon dragged into the children’s H2O zone of fountains, water- spouts and sprays. It wasn’t long before I was drenched once again! The trip was only 11 days, but we packed


in so many different experiences it felt much longer – and for me that is the beauty of a cruise and stay."


Selling Tip


The mention of a special land-based package can be the hook that makes the sale


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