WHAT THE TRADE SAYS
Geoff Ridgeon, head of cruise, Fred Olsen Travel “Royal
Caribbean has always been
Captain Gus Andersson, Royal Caribbean’s Michael Bayley and godmother Brittany Affolter
The tallest slide at sea, the Ultimate Abyss
Royal pushes fly-cruises to promote further UK growth
Royal Caribbean will place a renewed focus on fly-cruises for UK customers as it continues to work closely with the trade in 2017.
Stuart Leven, managing
director for the UK and Ireland, said growth in the British market was not dependent on ships in Southampton. “We are seeing a really quite
fascinating trend of growth from the UK market for cruise but I don’t think they are getting on ships in Southampton. “Our biggest goal is to grow
our presence with the fly-cruise market down to Europe and the Mediterranean. People want sunshine and that extends to our cruises in the Caribbean too. “We’ll also continue with
our refurbished ships going to destinations such as Alaska and Dubai.” This year is the first in 11
years that Royal Caribbean is not launching a ship, but sales director
Agents with Ben Bouldin (front middle) and Stuart Leven (second left) join chef Travis Kamiyama in Japanese restaurant Izumi
“80% of bookings are through the trade and it is at the forefront of what we do”
Ben Bouldin said this is not an issue for its sales team. “Getting the right sales team
in place doesn’t just happen over night, but now we have a team
that we really believe can take us onwards and upwards. “With new additions such
as Adam Sharp [head of cruise specialists] joining existing team members, we have a wealth of knowledge and experience. “There is not another cruise line
that has consistently worked with the trade for as long and loyally as we do. Eight out of 10 bookings are through the trade and the trade is at the forefront of what we do.”
known for its innovation but this ship is on another level. The technology throughout the ship is incredible and the amount of activities available, from rock climbing to the Ultimate Abyss slide, is something else. It’s a great honour to be able to see it in its home port as it is definitely a fair-weather ship.”
Alison Earnshaw, product and commercial director, Cruise118 “I went on
holiday on Harmony in September and it has to be one of the best cruises I have ever been on. I upgraded to a grand suite and it was absolutely worth it. Harmony offers so much, especially an exceptional choice of food, to suit everyone, in every neighbourhood on the ship.”
Simone Clark, managing director, Iglu “I saw Harmony when it was in the shipyard and then in
Southampton, but this is my first time cruising on it and also cruising around the Caribbean. This is the destination this ship was built for as it has a lot of outdoor areas and things to do. The entertainment, such as the Grease show and Aqua Theatre, is just outstanding.”
24 November 2016
travelweekly.co.uk 19
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