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P&O puts summer 2022 on sale
P&O Cruises has put its summer 2022 itineraries on sale early and says agents are key to the programme’s success.
Pre-registration for summer 2022 holidays starts today November 3, 2020 with all holidays on sale from Wednesday November 11, 2020.
More than 150 itineraries from the home port of Southampton and Mediterranean fly/cruises are on sale today, with 5% deposit initiatives, 10% discount for past guests and 5% discount for new sailors making a Select Price booking.
Child places are available at £49 for off-peak holidays and £199 for peak holiday periods. All offers are available until December 14, 2020.
The cruises range from four-night breaks to Amsterdam through to a 30-night itinerary to North America and Canada.
Summer 2022 will be new ship Iona’s second season in the Norwegian fjords, with seven-night holidays out of Southampton starting at £599pp.
Seven-night Med fly/cruises start at £799 on Azura, and 14-night Med cruises on Britannia start at £1,199pp.
Launching the programme, Vice-President Sales and Marketing Alex Delamere-White said agents were doing a ‘remarkable job under almost impossible circumstances’, adding the new lockdown, which starts on Thursday, was a ‘much unneeded distraction’ for travel retailers.
He said interest in summer 2021 onwards was strong and didn’t think the new restrictions ‘change the long-term outlook and confidence in holidaying and cruising’.
He said agents were key to securing the crucial new-to-cruise business, acknowledging demand among new cruisers has dropped but is expected to pick up.
"At the moment, we’re seeing fewer newcomers in the sector because we’re going through a pause in operating and recommendations and word of mouth are a huge driver for us. When people aren’t cruising, we would expect the number of newcomers to be down. We’ve also been less active with our marketing which has had an effect as well.
"But I don’t think this is a sign of any lack of appetite for people to want to try a cruise. It’s not a long-term issue. We will be trying to generate demand for cruise in Wave for existing and new to cruisers."
He added: "Travel agents are a fantastic source of newcomers to our brand. One of the unique aspects of the trade is that they provide independent advice on what’s right for their customers."
By Lisa James, Deputy Editor, UK
Lisa
Lisa joined Travel Weekly nearly 25 years ago as technology reporter and then sailed around the world for a couple of years as cruise correspondent, before becoming deputy editor. Now freelance, Lisa writes for various print and web publications, edits Corporate Traveller’s client magazine, Gateway, and works on the acclaimed Remembering Wildlife series of photography books, which raise awareness of nature’s most at-risk species and helps to fund their protection.
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