Crystal claims to be sector’s only ultra-luxury brand
Crystal Cruises is the “only ultra-luxury brand” on the river, according to the chief executive of Crystal Cruises. In a bullish keynote speech
Andy Harmer, director, Clia UK & Ireland, Steve Spivak, Tauck, and Lucy Huxley, Travel Weekly
Andy Harmer
Hawke urges river lines to highlight their differences
River cruise suppliers must promote their tangible differences to agents and customers if the sector is to catch up with ocean cruising.
Speaking at the Clia River Cruise
Convention on Sunday, Giles Hawke, chief executive of Avalon Waterways, said it was down to cruise lines to help agents know the difference between suppliers. Hawke believes river cruising is 10 years behind ocean cruising in
Giles Hawke, Avalon Waterways
“We need to explain our unique selling points, then you need to bring that to bear”
terms of consumer awareness but could be on the same level within five years. “There is a huge opportunity for
river cruise as a sector to catch up with ocean cruise,” he said. “We can learn so much from
what the ocean cruise lines have done. They have, just because of their scale and size, been able to invest a lot of money and make mistakes and learn things. “River cruise lines can now learn
very quickly the aspects which have worked for ocean cruises and those which haven’t. “I think each supplier must be
clear what their one or two or three brand pillars are and the tangible differences. “This is so travel agents can communicate to customers the key aspects of the river cruise lines,
[but] I don’t think anyone does that well and it all merges.” He also said there was a trend
for cruise lines to copy others, which made it difficult for agents to differentiate brands. “The challenge is that a lot of things can be copied, so you could do something and then the next year one of your competitors could copy that,” he said. “I think this demonstrates that
we could all be more unique and different but still be great in this growing sector.” The Avalon Waterways boss said this progression was a mutual process and more could be done for agents to understand the price differences between brands. “There is a lot of focus a lot of the time by agents on price and I think this is where agents need to do a bit more. “It’s a mutual piece of work. We
[river cruise operators] need to explain more about our unique selling points, but then travel agents need to bring that to bear when they’re thinking or talking about selling a particular cruise.”
24 November 2016
travelweekly.co.uk 13
at the Clia River Cruise Conference, Edie Rodriguez said the brand had no competitors and was not a cruise for “grandparents”. “We are the only true ultra- luxury river cruise brand. We sell experiences that create memories of a lifetime,” she told delegates. “It is not your grandparents’
river cruise. We don’t just attract ocean cruisers, we are attracting first-time cruisers. “We are delighted to lead in this genre of cruising. You will see that guests are attracted to the Crystal experience because there is finally a luxury river cruise line in the marketplace.” Rodriguez said because of the ultra-luxury on offer at Crystal, the average age of customers was in the mid-40s. She described Brexit as a “blip” and said the UK would continue to be among Crystal’s top markets. “While we have ocean
guests, I would say the world is your oyster in attracting river guests,” added Rodriguez. “It is not just trying to move
ocean guests to a river cruise. It is about painting them into the picture to understand what a river cruise experience delivers.”
Edie Rodriguez, Crystal Cruises
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