Joining the Association of Cruise Agents is a priority for Claire Hancer in her new role as UK sales director of French cruiseline Compagnie du Ponant.
Hancer, who was previously head of UK sales at Peter Deilmann, joined the cruiseline this month. She will be responsible for introducing the brand to the UK market.
“The cruiseline gets the occasional booking from Britons, but essentially I am starting from nothing. It has never had a UK office, so this is a huge challenge,” she said. “So many people go to France and they will adore the product.”
Hancer said she will be initially working only with agents rather than trying to promote the name to consumers.
A toll-free reservations number for the trade has been set up (0808 234 3802) and Hancer hopes to raise trade awareness at the Cruise and Luxury Forums during the Travel Convention in Barcelona next week.
“I will be promoting this to luxury and incentive agents, as well as cruise specialists who are looking for something different to sell. I was impressed at the Cruise Convention in Dover in June how many agents were looking to sell niche products,” Hancer said.
Compagnie du Ponant, a subsidiary of family-owned CMA-CGM, the world’s third-largest container shipping group, has three ships and a fourth, the 264-passenger Le Boréal, is due for delivery in May next year. A sister ship, L’Austral, will follow in 2011.
Hancer said: “The other ships are not luxurious but the new ones are a step up. They will double capacity, which is why the cruiseline needs new markets. It has also opened offices in Hamburg and Miami.”
The crew on the ships are bilingual in French and English.
Compagnie du Ponant fleet
Le Ponant
- Delivered 1991
- Max passengers: 64
- Destinations include: Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Corsica, Italy, Red Sea, Persian Gulf, South India, Maldives, Seychelles
Le Levant
- Delivered 1998
- Max passengers: 90
- Destinations include: Orinoco, Cuba, Mexico, Venezuela, French West Indies, France, Italy, Greece
Le Diamant
- Acquired 2004
- Max passengers: 226
- Destinations include: Corsica, Greek Islands, Antarctica, Falklands, South Georgia, Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Panama Canal, transatlantic
Forthcoming ships
- Le Boreal (May 2010)
- L’Austral (2011)