Royal APPROVAL


Royal Caribbean International’s Martin MacKinnon tells Harry Kemble about a year when the line, sponsor of this cruise-themed edition, will base some of its leading ships in Southampton and the Mediterranean


M


artin MacKinnon recalls how he was “staggered” when he stepped on Royal


Caribbean’s new Quantum Ultra- class ship Spectrum of the Seas for the first time in Malaga. Even though an onboard sales


conference was minutes away from starting, the line’s new sales director found himself sharing photos with friends back home. He had only been in the job for two days. “Believe it or not, I had not


been on a cruise ship before,” says MacKinnon, who took up the role last April. “I will never forget the moment when I walked onto Spectrum. Te quality and the luxury of the finish and what you get on board was what I was staggered by. “I remember going to the top


deck, taking a few photographs and sending them to my mates. Tey couldn’t believe I was on a ship.” MacKinnon joined Royal from


Kimberly-Clark, which is behind brands such as Huggies and Kleenex.


14 16 JANUARY 2020 Last January, on the day


his appointment by Royal was announced, he said he was “blown away” by the growth opportunity in cruise. So how does he reflect on that nearly a year later? “It’s great we have got two million


cruisers from the UK,” he says. “But there are clearly millions of


people who don’t have any idea about how exciting it is. “Every brand can do a job,


particularly atracting new-to- cruise [passengers] with the mix of high-octane activities, the quality of restaurants and entertainment – it’s mega-exciting.”


Family focus Before the festive break, Royal Caribbean revealed it was investing in TV advertising aſter a two-year hiatus. Te line’s ‘One Family. One


Holiday’ turn-of-year campaign, as the name suggests, is aimed at families. To support the campaign, the line


is sponsoring ITV show Te Masked Singer and will feature in a three-part


documentary due to air on Channel 4 and More4, which it says will give viewers a behind-the-scenes look at life on a Royal Caribbean ship. “Te early indications are the TV


campaign is really cuting through,” MacKinnon says. “Our focus has been families and we’ve really tried to tell the story in the TV ad about what kind of holiday we offer as a brand.” On January 4, about 5.5 million


viewers saw Royal branding during Te Masked Singer, which pits celebrities against each other in a singing competition before revealing who they are. MacKinnon has caught up with


nearly 20 agents since Christmas. Te feedback, he says, has been optimistic


The quality and the


luxury of the finish and what you get on board [Spectrum] was what I was staggered by


and confirms the line is “slightly ahead” year on year in terms of sales. “It is going extremely well,” he


says. “I am optimistic that we can be five or 10% ahead of our expectation by the end of wave. “Aſter a bit more certainty with


Brexit, we are seeing strong demand from a consumer perspective.”


Premium long-haul Asked what products are proving popular with consumers, MacKinnon says: “A lot of the premium long- haul stuff is doing well. Te good thing is we are selling well across all destinations.” However, MacKinnon dismissed


concerns that low prices for sailings in the Middle East were due to lack of demand. Te death of Iranian major general Qasem Soleimani in a US drone strike earlier this month has prompted more safety concerns about cruise ships operating in the Strait of Hormuz. At the time of writing, a seven-


night Oman & United Arab Emirates travelweekly.co.uk


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