Celebrity Cruises bosses have said sales for new ship Eclipse, the first to be dedicated to the UK market by being based in Southampton, have exceeded expectations although pricing remains low.
The ship, which was officially named in Southampton on Saturday ahead of the start of its first commercial cruise today – and following a mission to rescue Brits stranded by the ash cloud crisis – was said to be the best selling in the Celebrity fleet.
Richard Fain, president and chief executive of parent company Royal Caribbean Cruise Line, said sales were up on last year, although he described both this year and last as “terrible” due to the recession.
He said the line was never happy with the pricing levels it was able to achieve but in the circumstances he was “very pleased”.
“We are actually very pleased with the way sales have gone. I’m pleased with the way the word has gone out about how good the Celebrity product is and how good the Solstice class of ships are.
“It has been very steady progression in terms of getting our message across about all that Celebrity has to offer.”
Asked about the potential problem of capacity increases driving prices further down as cruise lines dedicate more and more ships to Europe, Celebrity president Dan Hanrahan said he was not worried.
“There will be a lot of capacity in Europe next year. Having said that, as a company one of the things we have done quite well is broaden our sourcing. We have grown our sourcing worldwide.
“As a result of that we are well positioned to not have to worry about driving prices down. We, as a broader group, can actually see prices going up hopefully.”
UK managing director Jo Rzymowska admitted the line should have come out with higher prices this year, and that has been addressed in 2011 pricing.
“That’s been a learning for us for 2011 and prices have gone up. The reality is that it [Eclipse] has sold incredibly well, it’s in a very good position now.
“The problem is the last few cabins we have left to sell for some sailings. We are in a competitive market and there is an awful lot of capacity out there, even for this summer. That’s where we are struggling to shift the last bit of capacity.”
Rzymowska said establishing a dedicated team for Celebrity in the UK and starting to set agents’ targets specifically for the brand had helped to establish Celebrity in the UK marketplace.
Once a brand sold primarily by cruise specialists, she said that the breadth of distribution had widened and more and more sales were coming from the high street and the multiples.
Last year’s naming ceremony of Celebrity Equinox in Southampton, the second of the five Solstice class ships planned, was also credited with raising the line’s profile.
“I honestly believe Eclipse would not have been as well sold as it is had we not been able to showcase Equinox last year,” she said.