Royal Caribbean’s Quantum of the Seas
Royal Caribbean, the sponsor of this cruise special edition, is one of the lines launching a total of more than 30 vessels in 2015. UK boss Stuart Leven spoke to HOLLIE- RAE MERRICK about a year of huge opportunities
Royal rethinks excursion sales
Royal Caribbean is likely to make changes to the way it sells shore excursions in the UK in the coming months. Over the past year, several lines have been looking at how tours are sold. MSC Cruises increased commission on tours to 15%, while Carnival UK’s chief marketing officer Gerard Tempest said the industry needed to look at the issue due to the rise in third-party suppliers. Stuart Leven has admitted
that Royal Caribbean was looking at opportunities of selling shore excursions in “new ways”, but wouldn’t be drawn on whether tours would become commissionable if sold through agents. “We need to make it easier and more attractive for agents to sell shore excursions on our behalf,” he said. “We want people to take our shore excursions and it is better that customers do because we make sure they are back to the ship on time. But something needs to change in the way they are sold.” ❯ Letters, page 40
For the cruise industry, much of the past 12 months has been about preparing for what is to come, with new ships set to enter service thick and fast in 2015. Last year, cruise capacity grew
as a result of the launch of ships such as Norwegian Getaway, Quantum of the Seas and Regal Princess. But that is nothing compared with what can be expected from 2015 – one that could reasonably be designated the ‘Year of Cruise’ for the increased capacity alone. Seven ocean ships and more than 25 river ships will enter service this year, and two of the former – Carnival-owned P&O Cruises’ 3,600-berth Britannia and Royal Caribbean International’s
4,180-passenger Anthem of the Seas – will go head to head in Southampton.
Unparalleled potential The opportunities that cruising affords to the trade this year are unparalleled, according to Royal Caribbean’s UK and Ireland managing director, Stuart Leven. But he insisted that for the year to be a success, the trade needs to jump on board and support cruise bookings. Many have recognised the
potential of cruise and have forged stronger ties with lines. Barrhead Travel, for example, has created a Royal Caribbean pod in its Braehead store. Thomas Cook has launched 11 cruise specialist stores, five in partnership with Carnival UK brands P&O Cruises, Cunard and Princess Cruises, and six with Royal Caribbean. Leven, who is 14 months into
his role, said the line had enjoyed a strong start to the year. “We brought out our wave
Royal boss Stuart Leven
14 •
travelweekly.co.uk — 15 January 2015
campaign in November, so we had a very strong end to the year,” he said. “We have had some strong figures coming into 2015 and are ahead of the same time last year. We needed that to happen because of the extra capacity. I am comfortable about where we are.” Following a year when the industry enjoyed marginal growth
from the UK market, and looking ahead to what is to come in 2015, Leven said it would be the “year to beat all years for Royal Caribbean”.
He added: “The industry in the
UK grew slightly last year. This year, however, there is a much greater opportunity for it to grow faster because of the new ships. “The UK economy is one of the
strongest in the world and we are expecting that to have an impact.
‘Experiencing
Royal Caribbean is aiming to get more than 2,000 agents on board new vessel Anthem of the Seas this year. Ben Bouldin, director of sales, said it was “vitally important” that agent partners “touch and feel the product, to help them sell more”. The line is hosting two sailings for its inaugural launch events. Agents will also be welcomed on board when the ship docks in Southampton. Bouldin said: “I don’t want to do the usual run-of-the-mill ship visits. We are looking at doing something very different.” With Anthem of the Seas entering service this year
SPECIAL REPORT
‘This is the year for cruise industry to prove itself’
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