p20 Cruise Sept18 15/9/09 17:45 Page 20
Cruise
Lee Hayhurst
020 7921 8001
lhayhurst@ttglive.com
For the latest cruise news, visit ttglive.com/cruise
Agents gear up
for Cruise Week
AGENTS are gearing up for the second National
Cruise Week next week by setting up events rang-
ing from beach parties to champagne receptions.
The Association of Cruise Experts is organising
the campaign, which runs from September 20 to
27, to help agents boost sales by running events
promoting the benefits of cruise.
The Thomson shop in Moreton, Liverpool, is
staging a weekend-long beach party at which
customers will be offered rum punch and offers.
Purser’s Travel is hosting an afternoon tea
session at which customers can meet Matthew
Foxcroft, sales executive
from Fred Olsen Cruise
Lines, and a coffee
morning with Simon
McDermott, sales man- Silver Shadow: Silversea is introducing a pricing policy that will see the lowest fares offered to the earliest bookers
ager at Hurtigruten.
■ TTG will be sending
out two email alerts
Silversea revises
next week for opera-
tors to promote their
Cruise Week offers.
To be included, email pricing structure
rwilkes@ttglive.com
Rob Gill.
an expanded butler service, 10 cruises from the
UPMARKET cruise line Silversea has introduced a UK, including three around-Britain itineraries,
Balmoral cleaned
new pricing structure for its 2010 brochure after and a wider choice of shore excursions.
the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) banned Fellow luxury line Crystal has also held back
after virus scare
so-called big discounts. publication of its 2010 brochure to assess the
Silversea delayed releasing the brochure, market, although it said it had not been affected
normally out in March, while it developed the by the ASA ruling because of its no-discounts
FRED OLSEN ship Balmoral, which was hit by a Silver Savings strategy, which offers the lowest policy.
vomiting bug last week, returned to Dover a day prices for the earliest bookers, with fares rising Crystal is considering various incentives such
early to undergo a deep clean before departing as the departure date approaches. as onboard credit and free shore excursions or
on a 12-night Baltic cruise. The ASA’s ruling prevents operators from flights. It will publish its brochure this month.
The norovirus bug struck passengers onboard offering a large percentage discount on original Philip Ordever, Crystal’s sales and marketing
the ship early last week as it sailed around the brochure prices that were never achieved by vice-president, said the line was still working on
Scottish islands. Balmoral had been due to call the company – making it a misleading saving its pricing strategy.
at Guernsey on Sunday, but sailed direct from for consumers. “We are not a discounting brand,” he said.
Falmouth to Dover. This means that Silversea cannot use its 60% “Once you discount, you can’t go back. It’s a
About 100 of the 1,200 passengers and several discount message, which it is promoting in the difficult one for us when you compete against
of the 540 crew were affected by the virus, which US, in its UK brochure. competitors that discount. We are looking at
is believed to have originated with a passenger A Silversea spokeswoman said: “The message what all our competition is doing.”
who fell ill shortly after the cruise left Dover on is to book early for the best available prices. As Ordever said the line also offered guests
a nine-night cruise around the UK on September demand increases, the fares will increase.” money back if the price of the cruise had fallen
5. Infected passengers were confined to their Other developments for 2010 include the first as a result of changes in the exchange rate
cabins. voyages of Silversea’s new ship, Silver Spirit, plus between the dollar and pound.
20 18.09.2009
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