Norwegian Bliss


People are wanting more choices and to be able


to choose what they do on a holiday...it’s one of the reasons cruises can be so good


State of the nation


Ahead of Travel Weekly’s Northern Ball in Manchester, Norwegian Cruise Line gathered a group of agents to gauge their views about their jobs, customers and the holiday and cruise markets


Travel Weekly’s flagship Cover Stars competition has been running for nearly a decade, and in 2015 Norwegian Cruise Line hosted 12 winners on Norwegian Escape. Some of those winners gathered in Manchester before Travel Weekly’s recent Northern Ball – and three years on are still full of enthusiasm for their chosen careers. The agents present, representing multiples


and independent high street agents, agreed that they needed to be ready to deal with a wide cross-section of customers – both socially and demographically. However, despite


there being no ‘typical’ customer for any of them, the agents identified certain trends common to them all. One was enquiries


I always spend the first


from customers who were dealing with complex itineraries or were booking for a group that didn’t fit a typical family room for four. These customers expected agents to be knowledgeable, honest and friendly, and were


10 minutes getting to know a customer so I know what questions to ask. You have to be knowledgeable but also show a real interest in the customer


often looking for reassurance if they were visiting a new resort or heading to a destination for the first time. The agents said customers would often go to them when confused by the options available online or when they weren’t confident booking online. However, they said a recurring problem was feeling pressure to sacrifice commission to


price-match. While destination, date,


duration and interest were


still the most important factors in booking enquiries, members of the panel said it was increasingly important to go


30 travelweekly.co.uk 11 October 2018


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