Royal Caribbean’s Stuart Byron (centre) with VIP trade partners in France
Royal Caribbean hosts senior agent partners at an event in France as the line prepares to launch two ships and hails the success of its My Royal Genie sales tool. Samantha Mayling reports
Royal eyes r A
gents will be able to capitalise on Royal Caribbean International’s extra
capacity – with two ships set to launch – as the cruise line pledged to work closely with them. The field sales team is back after
being in “hibernation” during Covid, while the line’s new sales tool, My Royal Genie, is helping agents upsell. The launch of Icon of the Seas
and Utopia of the Seas next year is boosting Caribbean bookings, according to Stuart Byron, Royal Caribbean International sales director for the UK, Ireland and Spain. He told agents during a Royal
Caribbean webinar: “There is huge demand from the US, so it’s our job to keep up with that and encourage UK audiences to book early to avoid missing out. Nobody wants to be late to the party of the century.
10 19 OCTOBER 2023 The more demand
we see from the UK, the more the industry will focus on catering for this demand
“The more demand we see from
UK audiences, the more the industry will invest in and focus on catering to this demand – it’s a virtuous circle. “We’re keen to make sure we’re
building the right plans with all of you to optimise the business that we’re building.” Byron said “business sentiment”
at Royal Caribbean Group was “super-buoyant”, with passenger numbers looking set to reach record levels. The line is wooing new audiences with marketing featuring freestyle
football champion Liv Cooke – who has seven million followers on social media – and clubs such as Fulham, AS Monaco and Inter Miami, where Lionel Messi is playing.
Caribbean boom The UK market to the Caribbean is seeing demand “kick back in a big way”, thanks to the popularity of Icon and Utopia, as well as Perfect Day at CocoCay, the line’s private island in the Bahamas. “Next year, we will end up with 28 ships in the fleet,” said Byron. “Because Utopia is offering short
sailings, it’s almost like launching two Oasis-class ships in capacity. Add Icon and it’s like three-and-a-little-bit Oasis-class ships joining the fleet. “There is plenty of opportunity to
sell into. I want to fill as much of Icon and Utopia as possible because that’s an exciting new opportunity.”
travelweekly.co.uk
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