Agent training on selling cruises ‘never been more important’

Cruise lines face a “challenge” ensuring the right type of passenger is sold by travel agents onto the correct ship.

Presenting an annual UK cruise market overview, Carnival UK CEO David Dingle welcomed the growth in travel agency funded advertising to support cruise sales in the national and regional media.

“While it might not always appear so, much of this advertising is not price-driven as the trend is to add value rather than discount. This is because agents are mainly funding this large scale, frequent, often full-page advertising entirely themselves,” he said.

Acknowledging that this represents a “substantial investment” by agents, Dingle said it reflects the new importance of cruising to agents at a time when other products are either in decline or are marginalised from their distribution process.

The adverts are driving an immediate response, with bookings being made 24/7, all year round.

But Dingle said: “This does present one challenge because people see the advertisement and book straight away with the agent by telephone. This does not allow for much researching of the passenger suitability for the chosen brand/ship or vice versa.

“We are working to convey to agents that brand and ship differences remain as important as ever so that we do attract the right people to the right ships.”

While satisfaction levels remain higher than for any other mainstream holiday sector, “when we do receive complaints, it is almost always due to a passenger being on the wrong ship or brand for them,” said Dingle.

He praised ACE, the revamped training arm of the Passenger Shipping Association, for doing an excellent job in training agents.

“This has never been more important as we now see some of the newest, largest and best ships coming to the UK and Europe first, whether it is a Carnival UK, Royal Caribbean International or Norwegian Cruise Line brand,” said Dingle, who added that the majority of the 44 new ships being built over the next five years will cruise for European brands.

He was speaking with the release of the Carnival UK 2008 Cruise Report, which predicted that the UK cruise market is set to rise from 1.55 million this year to reach two million passengers by 2012 – a doubling in size over an eight year period.

Dingle also predicted that cruise ships would start being built to be powered in a completely different way – such as biofuels or liquefied natural gas – by 2020, with research and development starting at the end of this decade.

Balcony cabins will also become the standard cruise option before 2020 as they replace standard inside and outside cabin grades.

The report also forecasts the ending of the “contentious” issue of charging supplements for single travellers.

Carnival UK chief commercial officer Peter Shanks said: “Within the massive growth I see ongoing for the UK market, the current trend of more cruising singles and one parent families will continue to such an extent that it will become viable to design ships with single accommodation that can be sold for the same price per person as double cabins.”

Nick Lighton, managing director of casual cruise brand Ocean Village, even suggested that ships with velodromes and pools large enough for canoeing could be in service in 12 years’ time.

Cruise ships could also be venues for major events with top stars performing in front of 5,000 passengers with live simulcast to other vessels in the fleet.

by Phil Davies