Agents have described Celebrity Cruises’ new pricing proposition as a “bold but smart move” and believe other lines will follow, according to the line’s UK & Ireland boss.
Launching the new ‘Always Included’ approach, which sees WiFi, drinks and tips included as standard in all cruise packages, Jo Ryzmowska said agents had fed back that it was “absolutely right for the luxury audience”.
She said: “They told us they have been crying out for this – and that they believe others will follow.”
Asked why agents had described the move as “bold”, Rzymowska said: “I think probably when you are a larger property, you need to think about it more than when you’re a smaller property. So I think that’s one of the areas they mean – plus the fact we are doing it across all categories. Very often again, there’s limitations.”
But she said: “We have spent a lot of time trying to understand what is really important to them [our guests] in what we’re terming a ‘new luxury’ holiday, and one of the key things is that luxury is much more about being inclusive than exclusive.
“It used to be about a badge – what you were wearing, who you were that was important. Now, it’s about what you’re standing for and what you’re doing. As a brand, inclusivity is really key to us, we walk the talk and we do an awful lot from that point of view to make sure that guests globally understand what Celebrity stands for, and how they’re going to be treated on holiday.”
Rzymowska said a more inclusive approach was desired across all demographics, confirming: “This is much more about attitude, although age does come into it.”
Celebrity’s research shows that, regardless of age, guests and potential guests wanted to address the complexity of cruising.
“Simplicity is key. And actually, the more inclusive you make it – in terms of the nature of a holiday, but also as to how we purchase it – the easier it is and the more enjoyable it is to understand,” she said.
Rzymowska likened the different tiers of the ‘Always Included’ pricing approach to different levels of iPhone.
“The Apple iphone a great brand, a simple, easy to understand product – and the iPhone 11 is now our entry price. Always included,” she said.
“Then, for £25 more per day, you can upgrade to our ‘elevate’ package where all your drinks, tips and WiFi are the same, but it gives you the next category of drinks, the premium drinks.
“Then you move on to the iPhone 11 Pro Max – and that’s our ‘Indulge’ package, which is streamed Wi Fi, Netflix Unlimited, in fact, everything that you want to do on holiday from a streaming point of view. It connects the guest with family back at home, together with the premium drinks and shore excursions.”
She added: “The ultimate is the recently launched iPhone 12 – and that’s what you get if you’re travelling in The Retreat.”
Rzymowska said the new pricing proposition would see Celebrity “moving from premium into what we’re looking at as a category of one – this ‘new luxury’ proposition. Because as you know, our properties are larger, but Jumeirah has larger properties; One & Only has larger properties, and they are absolutely within the luxury category. And so we’re really trying to make sure that our travel partners sell us correctly, and talk about us correctly.”