Royal Caribbean JUST announced that the Navigator of the Seas will be deployed in Europe in the spring and summer of 2008 with two months (end April to end June) of FOUR and FIVE night MED cruises r/t Barcelona. These cruises will include ports in Spain and Italy. For those wishing to do a short Med program, your wish has just been answered. Space will sell out quickly - so send in those RFPs TODAY. Full RCCL European deployment press release is attached.
We are asked every day about new ships arriving on the cruise industry scene. Here is a glimpse of what is scheduled to come. There are going to be lots of unique products hitting the ocean...so be on the look out for information as we receive it.
As Celebrity Cruises Corporate Sales and Charter Travel Partner of the Year for 2006, we are proud to tell you that our vote for future best overall incentive value goes to the new 2850-passenger Solstice, the most luxurious, innovative and largest product in its class. We can't get Celebrity to reveal a thing - but we can only imagine that this is what your clients have been waiting for! Large ship, 215-square foot standard cabins, lots of options and luxury that exceeds its class. We are excited...and we want you to get excited! As soon as the books open for fall 2008 and beyond, you will be the first to know. Think out of the box and think Celebrity! You and your clients will be happy you did! Celebrity offers the experience of a lifetime - and once you have given your winners the Celebrity treatment they deserve, you will be coming back for more!
Although not listed below since it is not a new build, when the 710-passenger Celebrity Journey joins Celebrity's fleet, it will formalize a small ship, destination-driven offering new to the brand. It will operate under the banner of Celebrity Expeditions. Currently, Celebrity has only one ship, the 96-guest Celebrity Xpedition in the Galapagos in this category. The line expects the concept to grow over time. Celebrity Expeditions will offer the best of what Celebrity is all about-fine dining, superior service, relaxing spa treatments, engaging enrichment programs and exceptional destinations. Celebrity Journey will join Celebrity's fleet sailing Bermuda seven night itineraries from Cape Liberty in Bayonne, NJ, beginning May 5, 2007. Before switching brands, the ship will undergo a one-month revitalization and dry-dock to incorporate many of Celebrity's signature elements such as two specialty restaurants; expanded spa services, including in-room offerings; expanded concierge service, including butlers; and additional guest suites. The restyled ship will sail the same Bermuda itineraries originally scheduled for Zenith. Celebrity Journey will be an ideal ship for the Bermuda market - its smaller size and upscale style are perfect complements to premium destinations such as St. Georges & Hamilton. What a great charter option!
For clients on a restricted budget, please do not discount the new Carnival products. You absolutely get more than you pay for. Large cabins, good food and service, great entertainment and an overall fun time. Carnival is perfect for first time cruisers, and those who typically enjoy all-inclusive land resorts.
For those who think that bigger is better - check out RCCL's Freedom class. Over 3,000 passengers in double occupancy accommodations. Each ship even has a conference center, ice skating rink, rock climbing wall, surfing simulator Flow Rider, boulevard of shops and food outlets, fantastic entertainment, lots of terrific public space and more. Say goodbye to Atlantis and Las Vegas and check these ships out. Better yet...the Genesis project carrying 5,400 passengers is on its way. Toto - we are not in Kansas anymore! Can you just imagine the features this ship will offer?
For new and intimate, be on the lookout for the new 450-passenger ships from Seabourn. They will clearly compete with Silversea's twin 388-pax vessels and Regent's 490-pax Navigator. Seabourn is tight-lipped regarding any details, but you will need a healthy budget to charter this duo. I anticipate some great seven-night Med and Greek Island programs down the pike on Seabourn, so keep your eyes peeled.
Every cruise line welcomes full-ship charters, so consider moving those programs that have typically gone to large convention hotels onto a ship. When you charter, the world is your oyster and you can customize onboard programming and itineraries. And the only passengers you will find onboard are your staff, your winners and the ship's crew. It's exclusive! It's all yours! There's nothing like it!
| Line | Ship | Tonnage | Berths | Launch | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carnival | Freedom | 110,000 | 2,974 | March 2007 | Conquest-class |
| Costa | Serena | 112,000 | 3,004 | April 2007 | Sister to Concordia |
| RCCL | Liberty | 160,000 | 3,634 | May 2007 | Freedom-class ship |
| Princess | Emerald | 116,000 | 3,100 | Spring 2007 | Caribbean Princess class |
| MSC | Orchestra | 90,000 | 2,550 | Spring 2007 | Sister Musica |
| NCL | Gem | 92,000 | 2,384 | Oct. 2007 | Sister to Pearl |
| Cunard | Queen | Victoria | 90,000 | 2000 Dec. | Cozier than QM2 |
| MSC | Poesia | 89,600 | 2,500 | March 2008 | Sister to Musica |
| RCCL | Independence | 160,000 | 3,634 | May 2008 | Freedom-class ship |
| Carnival | Splendor | 112,000 | 3,006 | Spring 2008 | Carvnival's Biggest |
| MSC | Fantasia | 133,500 | 3,300 | Spring 2008 | MSC's biggest-ever new-build |
| HAL | Eurodam | 86,000 | 2,044 | Summer 2008 | First Signature-class vessel |
| Celebrity | Solstice | 118,000 | 2,850 | Fall 2008 | A completely new design |
| Seabourn | Unnamed | 32,000 | 450 | 2009 | First new ship in two decades |
| MSC | Serenata | 133,500 | 3,300 | Spring 2009 | Sister to Fantasia |
| Costa | Unnamed | 92,700 | 2,260 | Spring 2009 | A return to a smaller Costa |
| Costa | Unnamed | 112,000 | 3,004 | Summer 2009 | Concordia sibling |
| Celebrity | Equinox | 118,000 | 2,850 | Summer 2009 | Sibling to Solstice |
| Carnival | Dream | 130,000 | 3,652 | Oct. 2009 | The line's largest ship to date |
| RCCL | Genesis | 220,000 | 5,400 | Fall 2009 | Biggest cruise ship ever |
| NCL | F3 | (class) | 150,000 | 4200 2009 | NCL's largest new-build |
| Celebrity | Eclipse | 118,000 | 2,850 | Summer 2010 | Sibling to Solstice |
| Celebrity | Eclipse | 118,000 | 2,850 | 2010 | Sister to Solstice and Equinox |
| Costa | Unnamed | 92,700 | 2,260 | 2010 Sister | Sister to spring vessel |
| NCL | F3 (class) | 150,000 | 4200 | 2010 | Sibling to 2009 F3 launch |
| Seabourn | Unnamed | 32,000 | 450 | 2010 | Sister to 2009 vessel |
| Carnival | Magic | 130,000 | 3,652 | June 2011 | Sister to 2009 new-build |
| Disney | Unnamed | 122,000 | unknown | 2011 | |
| Disney | Unnamed | 122,000 | unknown | 2012 |
On another note, Buy The Sea was featured in this week's edition of Cruise Week, along with a retail agency who was honored at Carnival's Agency of the Year. Take a look. We happen to agree that Carnival is also one of those cruise lines that goes the extra mile in all departments:
Retailer Recognition
When it comes to cruise lines bestowing official recognition on cruise sellers, the honors are going to increasingly varied types of business models. But no matter how varied, there are two points of commonality among the winners: 1) they are extremely proud that their work has been recognized, and 2) they cite as a key reason for success a very personal working relationship with the supplier.
The granddaddy of agency awards is Carnival's Agency of the Year, around since 1980. To say that recipients are thrilled is an understatement; this year's winner is no exception. "It was like a dream come true," says Sharon Euliss, All About Cruises, Burlington, N.C. "We've been nominated three other times over the last 16 years, so I no longer got my hopes up. However, when I got that letter with the news, I'm screaming and crying. I told Wendy, our Carnival rep, to me it's like being at the Oscars and winning the lifetime achievement award."
When these awards are bestowed, it's often for symbolic reasons. The award to All About Cruises is about more than just pure volume; the cruise lines are trying to show that small storefront agencies are still viable businesses. All About Cruises is certainly no mega, with one full-time, three part-time, and nine outside agents.
Focusing on group business is why All About Cruises has remained viable,with groups as 75% of its total volume. Euliss attends numerous trade shows, particularly association shows, in order to develop group business, and she keeps on plugging away when things go awry. "We block a lot of space with groups--some fall through. I don't say, 'Oh well, it's gone.' I research and do another group that space would fit. This happened last year. I followed through on a group that was a bomb, and we wound up sailing with 146 people."
Some 35% of her group business is now incentive. "Because of the low rates now, our incentive business is phenomenal," she reports. "When you can buy cruises for $250, people can afford to give away cruises to home builders and the like."
As with many smaller retailers, the emphasis is on service: "We treat people the way we would want to be treated, and we do follow-up," says Euliss. "When people go on their cruise, we send a welcome home card. Then we call and ask them about the cruise to find out if they had problems, etc."
The goal is retaining customer loyalty, even though consumers seem flightier than ever. But Euliss says some consumer loyalty still exists, supporting her assertion with the story of a longtime client who had veered to the Internet and its promise of savings for a recent cruise. "She came back and talked like someone who was cheating on me," laughs Euliss. "She said, 'I'm embarrassed, Sharon. This is what we did, and I promise we'll never do it again, because there's no service.''
As for why Euliss hadn't followed the path of so many small agencies and moved home, Euliss replied: "I love our storefront location; it's very visible. We're on a corner where you go to Elon College in Burlington. While the majority of our new clients are referrals, and then it's from the phone book, there's just a lot who have driven by day after day and wind up coming in."
But Euliss says what's key to her business success with Carnival is the working relationship she has with the company at all levels. Some representative comments: "The folks in their incentive department are just awesome. I've been working with them so long that we all know each other by first name, and you develop a relationship. I like that the fact that you work with basically one person, and just as importantly, you're able to reach that one person easily."
It doesn't stop there. "I can even call the top people if necessary, like Cherie Weinstein [vp of group sales and administration] or Joan Levicoff Sanchez [vp of group sales]," says Euliss. "And on the local level, our rep does an excellent job--Wendy's message is any time you make calls, just call me. We make appointments, and we get new business for groups and incentives."
Celebrity Honors Cruise Seller
On the other end of the cruise-selling spectrum from All About Cruises is Celebrity's top corporate, incentive, and charter travel partner of the year for 2006: Buy The Sea in Plantation, Fla. Owner Shari Wallack, a former cruise line rep turned cruise retailer, describes her operation as a "cruise brokerage firm" that specializes in the meetings and incentive business. Although the model differs from the more traditional All About Cruises, some of Wallack's comments mirror those of Euliss, including the thrill of being recognized by a supplier: "For us, this is huge," says Wallack.
In her sales pitch, Wallack emphasizes her strong relationships with all the departments at the cruise lines and, in particular, the relationship she has with the award giver, Celebrity. "We are a cruise and all-inclusive resort brokerage company," said Wallack. "Our clients are incentive companies and corporations."
On the one hand, she emphasizes her independence from the supplier in order to achieve the best fit for potential clients; on the other hand, she emphasizes having a good, personal working relationship with suppliers such as Celebrity. "The key for me at Celebrity versus many other companies is that-- from requesting the quote, to getting through to the contract, to dealing with the operational details, to dealing with upper management--they're all very onboard; they're all very interested and willing in the sale," says Wallack.
"For example," she continues, "Let's say we don't get something in the first go around. They are very open to us going to the next rung saying, 'Hey, you aren't being competitive.' They don't just say, 'Sorry, that's our pricing, have a nice day.' They come back and say, 'How can we help you make the sale?'"
Wallack, like Euliss, says the relationship goes up to the highest levels. "They know who we are, they will take our calls, they are constantly feeding us with phenomenal sales tools and information, information, information," she notes. "We get the buy-in all the way up to Dondra Ritzenthaler [vice president of sales], because they don't want to lose any opportunity."
Of course, this concept doesn't just work with Celebrity. Wallack, like Euliss, successfully sells numerous brands, though one crucial difference she notes of Celebrity, "They rely on the partners to get the message out to say, 'This is a classy product,' because they know they're not rolling off everybody's tongue."
