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Royal Caribbean targets ‘cruise rejectors’
The European boss of Royal Caribbean International has called on the cruise industry to do more to attract first time passengers.
EMEA senior vice president and managing director Susan Hooper made the plea while outlining the company’s European fleet deployment for 2006.
This includes the first Voyage-class mega liner to sail in Europe with fly-cruise itineraries from Barcelona, Splendour of the Seas operating for the first time from Venice, the second summer of Legend of the Seas from Southampton, Jewel of the Seas from Harwich to the Baltics and Brilliance of the Seas also from Barcelona.
Premium sister company Celebrity Cruises is to offer two and three-night taster trips on board Century of the Seas from Dover next June starting at £199 following a $55 million refurbishment of the vessel.
Hooper said that while the industry was showing annual growth of 15-16% from the UK, the numbers cruising was small at around one million a year compared with the rest of the holiday sector.
She said: “We are not doing enough as an industry to creat demand and attract cruise rejectors, the 98% of people who don’t cruise. We want to target people who have never cruised.”
As part of that objective, Royal Caribbean is bringing Freedom of the Seas – the world’s largest cruise ship – to Southampton for three days in early May for a series of trade events prior to the 3,600-passenger vessel positioning in Miami to run seven-night western Caribbean cruises from June 4.
Report by Phil Davies
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