NEWS SPECIAL REPORT
Princess Cruises hosts 300 agents on RoyalPrincess around the British Isles to boost awareness. Harry Kemble reports from Edinburgh
Bolsover Cruise Club agents Gemma Outram, Holly Sands, Amy Macintosh, Mandy Maddison and Eleanor Fox
Princess hails success of its drive for pre-wave bookings
Princess Cruises has urged travel agents to sell its sailings earlier as it revealed sales are up 25% on last year.
Tony Roberts, the line’s
vice-president for the UK and Ireland, said there was a “great opportunity” for the British travel trade to “further grow their business” with Princess as it has three new ships on the way by the end of 2021. He said the line’s efforts to
“bring forward the booking curve”, ahead of the sector’s wave period for peak sales, was working. Speaking on Royal Princess,
which has hosted 300 UK agents since May 1, Roberts said: “We
try to make sure we have got very attractive offers in the marketplace very early on to entice people to book earlier. “We are currently 25% up on
where we were last year. “It is a great position to be in
and we are very keen to maintain that throughout the year. Some of that is driven by the fact we have very popular new itineraries that encourage people to book earlier.” Roberts said Princess viewed the critical booking period as being from the end of September to November, before the traditional wave period in the new year. “A lot of guests have learned they cannot wait until wave [period] to
book their summer holiday and get what they want,” he said. Roberts highlighted the need for
agents to share this message with customers after this month’s fam trip, which was staged over five legs around the British Isles. Princess will launch three
Royal-class ships before 2022 – the delivery date of the final vessel has been brought forward to late 2021. Roberts was also keen to point
out how the line is increasing its UK deployment and will continue to do so until the market responds differently. Currently between 5% and 10%
of Princess Cruises’ two million passengers are British, he said. “We are one of the few lines that
is growing our ex-UK capacity in 2019,” he added. “We have grown steadily over the last few years in terms of UK sourcing and the plan is to continue to do so. “We have got a new ship in
Peter Johnston, Oasis Travel; John Docherty, Princess Cruises; Dale Macpherson, ROL Cruise; Jonathan McGinty, DP&L Travel; and Adam Corin, Travel Counsellors
14
travelweekly.co.uk 17 May 2018
2019, 2020 and 2021, so the brand is growing as well. It is great opportunity for UK travel agents to grow their business with Princess over the coming years.”
AGENTS’ VIEWS: ROYAL PRINCESS
“The ship is spacious and the areas are luxurious and very high-class. I feel very
comfortable in all areas of the ship and it caters for all ages.” Tracy Goodman, Freedom Personal Travel Advisors
“The food has been amazing. I am gluten intolerant but nothing has been too much
trouble. The facilities are great. We have looked through all the daily activities and there is something for everybody.” Susan Murrie, Morgan Travel
“This is my first time with Princess Cruises and I have
been pleasantly surprised. There
is a really good offering on board. I can see how the ship appeals to different types.” Adam Reilly-Leach, Thomas Cook
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