Cruise specialists report robust sales amid price increases

Cruise specialists have reported positive sales momentum despite some price increases, though the impact of the Iran war continues to be felt by lines with ships in the region.

Celestyal and MSC Cruises still have ships unable to reposition from the Arabian Gulf to Europe, with the former launching a consultation process for a “limited number of roles”.

Despite the localised impact, agents reported positive overall sales, with some noting a shift to earlier bookings.

Janet Whittingham, head of cruise at Travel Counsellors, reported rising booking volumes and average values, with cruise sales up 34% year on year.

She said customers were booking earlier and choosing “more premium experiences” adding there was “strong demand” for both the Caribbean and Mediterranean, while river cruising was also performing well.

Jamie Wake, managing director of Jamie Wake Travel and The Independent Travel Consultants, which has 60 homeworking agents, also reported an upturn in Caribbean sales and new-to-cruise customers booking European river cruises.

He noted a “continued shift” to longer itineraries, cruise-and-stay holidays and tailored packages.

Wake said customers were “being more decisive” and booking earlier to “try and get ahead” of flight fare increases, adding: “Across the board, pricing is higher than it has been in previous years. Airfares are a huge part of that, but it hasn’t really slowed demand.”

Lynsey Joy, cruise manager at Travel Solutions Belfast, agreed there had been “a visible price increase” across the sector over the last seven days.

“Last week we saw a massive reduction in late deal prices,” she said. “When you look like-for-like, prices have gone up again this week.”

Joy added demand was being driven primarily by couples, including US and Caribbean sailings for later in the year, and short-term bookings for Europe in May and early June.

Suzanne Brunt, sales manager at The Vertical Travel Group, said the agency had continued to see “healthy sales” in cruise, with higher average selling prices due to customers opting for flexible fares and higher grade cabins.

Brunt said over the last month there had been “huge demand” for late bookings, both ex-UK and fly-cruise, with high numbers of bookings for May departures across various cruise lines.

She added Barbados was “continuing to sell well” for future seasons, alongside river cruise where clients were looking for “cultural experiences not too far from home”.

Cruise2’s head of commercial and business development Neal Hussey highlighted trends in combined packages with land, touring and rail.

He said the luxury brand Holiday2 had seen “phenomenal growth” in Europe, Asia and Australasia, while Asia and the US packages were proving popular for Cruise2.

Claire Price from Barrhead Travel’s Kirkenhead branch said the team had been getting bigger cruise bookings from customers.

“Customers are thinking about their bucket list trips rather than doing lots of little trips,” she said.