NEWS THE INTERVIEW


frontline incentive ‘Bring on Ibiza’, which runs until the end of February. Our current wave campaign is


tried and tested with our First Mates, and leads on a strong price-focused message of 80% off for a second Sailor and up to $300 bar credit. We will continue this investment in our UK trade partners, and we have listened to their feedback concerning our pricing this year. This has traditionally been quite dynamic, but we have found that a stabilised pricing model, which was introduced in December, has been received very positively by our partners, because it helps them from a planning, marketing and education perspective. In the UK, we will continue to


grow our trade distribution, deepening relationships with our partners and working with new ones, and we will invest in our UK sales team to bring in some new faces in the next few months so we can support our First Mates in the best way possible.


On . . . Brilliant Lady Walker: We are so excited that our new ship Brilliant Lady, which


travelweekly.co.uk


will launch from New York in September, will come to the UK in August. She is our fourth Lady ship to come to Portsmouth and we will have an opportunity to invite some First Mates on board. It is going to be unique and very special,


so stay tuned for more details. Saverimuttu: The UK will be the only market that will have all four Lady ships visiting by September this year, which symbolically is a huge show of Virgin Voyages’ commitment to the market.


On . . . itineraries Saverimuttu: Brilliant Lady really


completes the itinerary picture for us, because now we can sail shorter or longer voyages in the Caribbean, the West Coast of the US, Alaska and the Mediterranean. The Far East and Australia are on


our roadmap for the future, but we have had some logistical challenges getting our ships there because only one is Panama Canal compliant. Previously, we offered four to seven-night itineraries, but


ON...2025 AND BEYOND


Saverimuttu: This year will be a continuation of the journey we have been on in 2024 to build confidence in the market. Based on our current booked position, 2025 is set to be up 50% on last year, which was a phenomenal year for us. We do not rest on our laurels and we are a brand that


is very much open to feedback. I really do feel we are building the brand together with our advisor community and we have been very honest about our learning journey. I would love to receive more feedback in 2025 so we can continue to innovate.


As for growing the fleet, we are very focused on launching our fourth ship later this year. There is no reason the brand cannot grow beyond that because the business is healthy and profitable. And, if you look at the overall holiday market, the


adult-only part is expected to grow by two or three times in the next few years. Historically, there has not been a kid-free travel option at this price point in cruise – there were only more luxury-orientated products on smaller ships. So adult-only is not a niche, but a big part of the market that has been overlooked. I feel we can be very confident about the future.


23 JANUARY 2025 11


now our longer 11-night sailings are proving very popular. Next year will bring our


first Alaska season, for which we are seeing significant volume on Brilliant Lady. The Panama Canal voyage


has also been one of our most popular sailings, selling out in close to no time at all. And we have some surprises


around themed voyages coming out later this year, as well as our comedy festival and Celebration Voyages.


PICTURE: Kathy Boos Photography


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