Keep all your customers happy with Jane Archer’s guide to the best cruise-and-stay combos
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Here’s an interesting dilemma. She wants to go on a cruise, he says no way. Do you a) advise they see a marriage counsellor or b) suggest a cruise-and-stay holiday?
Unless you are planning a new career, the answer is clear. A cruise-and-stay holiday is the perfect compromise for couples who can’t agree what to do on their vacation.
It should also be your top suggestion for clients tempted to try cruising but unsure whether to take the plunge. By splitting two weeks between land and sea, they can try something new while safe in the knowledge that they will not have to forsake their usual holiday.
It also ensures that you don’t miss out on the cruise commission and offers additional earnings for arranging the land part of the trip.
Thomson Cruises is the undisputed leader when it comes to cruise-and-stay breaks, as it can tap into all the hotels and flights offered by the Tui brands. But you can always come up with your own combinations. All it takes is a little lateral thinking.
Here are our top 10 suggestions.
1 – Bermuda cruise and US city break
Cruise lines including Norwegian Cruise Line, Holland America Line, Celebrity Cruises and Royal Caribbean International sail to Bermuda from the US (New York, Boston, New Jersey or Baltimore), spend two nights at the island and then sail back.
Extra nights in New York or Boston are obvious add-ons, giving clients the contrast of island life with the big city. Or sandwich Royal Caribbean’s Bermuda cruise from Baltimore between city breaks in Washington and New York.
Sample: Norwegian Cruise Line offers a seven-night Bermuda round-trip from New York on Norwegian Getaway. Cruise-only prices start at £599, departing May 3. ncl.co.uk
2 – Alaska cruise and land stay
A cruise through the Inside Passage to Alaska is high on most cruisers’ wish list, but even the lure of walking on glaciers or bear-spotting can’t get around the fact it is a long way to fly from the UK for a seven-night cruise.
The solution? Make the trip more cost-effective with a pre or post-cruise stay in Alaska. Holland America Line and Princess Cruises offer lodges and soft-adventure options such as dog-mushing, gold-panning and wilderness tours.
If clients have time, suggest a pre-cruise journey on Canada’s Rocky Mountaineer train to either Vancouver or Seattle.
Sample: Holland America Line has a 20-day holiday combining a seven-night Glacier Discovery cruise with 11 nights in Denali and the Yukon from £2,899 cruise-only, departing May 10.
hollandamerica.com
3 – Caribbean cruise and Walt Disney World
Pixie dust to the ready because this one is all about making dreams come true – a week’s Disney cruise from Port Canaveral in Florida combined with theme park fun at Walt Disney World. Mickey figures in both, but the experiences are otherwise very different, with rides, parades and queues in the park and time to kick back and relax on the cruise. There are beaches, snorkelling, swimming and cycling on days ashore, and water slides and kids’ and teens’ clubs for the youngsters back on board.
Sample: Virgin Holidays Cruises offers seven nights at Walt Disney World followed by a one-week Western Caribbean cruise on Disney Fantasy from £1,799, departing November 7. The price includes car hire.
virginholidayscruises.co.uk
4 – Mediterranean cruise plus Venice
No one needs an excuse to tack a few nights in Venice to the start or end of a cruise from the city, but just in case, be ready with the ‘two Gs’ – that’s George Clooney (he got married in the city last autumn) and gondolas.
If that doesn’t do it, hit them with the culture card: the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Doge’s Palace and St Mark’s Basilica, or a day trip to Florence or into the Dolomites.
To make the stay more special, suggest they travel from the UK on the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express and stay in Belmond’s Hotel Cipriani, as Mr Clooney did. Many lines offer sailings out of Venice, so you can tailor the onboard experience to the customer.
Sample: SeaDream Yacht Club offers a seven-night cruise from Venice to Dubrovnik. Cruise-only prices start at £3,704, including drinks and gratuities, for departures on September 5.
seadream.co.uk
5 – Danube river cruise and Budapest city stay
Budapest is not only the start or end point for most Danube river cruises but is also up there with Prague and Berlin as one of Europe’s top capitals. So it makes sense for clients to see more by staying a couple of nights either at the beginning or end of the voyage.
The River Ride is a fun way for clients to get their bearings, as the bus tours the city before plunging into the Danube. There are also walking and cycling tours, while anyone feeling adventurous can see the sights on a Segway.
Sample: The River Cruise Line offers a seven-night Danube cruise-and-stay holiday, combining a four-night cruise from Passau in Germany to Budapest with three nights in the Hungarian capital. Prices start at £849, including flights, for departures on April 27.
rivercruiseline.co.uk
6 – SouthEast Asia cruise with Hong Kong
Cruises between Singapore and Hong Kong are popular during winter, but it is a shame to miss seeing more of the cities at either end.
In Hong Kong, clients can ascend Victoria Peak, ride the Star Ferry or shop at Temple Street night market, while in Singapore they can visit Universal Studios Singapore, lunch in Chinatown and shop on Orchard Road.
Alternatively, Silversea Cruises has land tours to the Great Wall near Beijing or to Macau from Hong Kong, while Crystal Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises offer tours from Singapore to Angkor Wat in Cambodia.
Sample: A nine-night cruise from Hong Kong to Singapore with Silversea starts at £2,750 cruise only for departures on November 22. The price includes drinks and gratuities.
silversea.com
7 – Caribbean cruise and Barbados beach break
This is the classic cruise-and-stay holiday – a couple of weeks cruising the Caribbean from Barbados followed by a few nights in a resort hotel.
There is plenty to do on the island, which reigns supreme as the Brits’ favourite Caribbean hideaway, from admiring stalactites and stalagmites in Harrison’s Cave to pirate party cruises and swimming with turtles.
But in truth, this is fly-and-flop destination par excellence with white-sand beaches and calm seas (on the Caribbean side, at least) that inspire a much-needed do-nothing culture after a fortnight of island hopping.
Sample: P&O Cruises offers a 14-night Caribbean cruise on Britannia from £1,549, including flights and transfers, for departures on November 21.
pocruises.com
8 – Antipodes cruise plus Australia land tour
Australia is so big that there are any number of land-based experiences for customers to add to a cruise, from a few nights in Sydney and Melbourne to a tour to Uluru.
Clients can cruise the Great Barrier Reef or Murray River (check out Captain Cook Cruises and Coral Princess Cruises), or take a three-day rail journey between Adelaide and Darwin via Alice Springs on the Ghan train.
A new three-night rail service this summer will provide passengers with more time in Alice Springs and the option to visit Uluru.
Sample: Princess Cruises has a 20-night Ultimate Australia cruise tour combining Sydney, Uluru, Darwin and Port Douglas with a 13-night New Zealand voyage round-trip from Sydney, from £4,296 excluding flights, departing December 1.
princess.com
9 – Mediterranean cruise and Dubrovnik
Cruise passengers usually see Dubrovnik only when it is full of tourists. But if your customers stay the night, the city becomes a different beast, as they can enjoy the cobbled streets and alleys without the crowds.
Tack a few nights here to the end of a cruise and your clients can tick off the city’s attractions, such as walking the city walls and a boat trip to the nature reserve on nearby Lokrum island.
There are also interesting tours farther afield, including a day-trip to the Unesco World Heritage-listed city of Mostar in Bosnia Herzegovina, white-water rafting on the Tara River or a day in Kotor, both in Montenegro.
Sample: Thomson Cruises offers a seven-night round-trip Croatian Classics cruise from Dubrovnik twined with seven nights at the city’s Hilton Imperial Hotel from £1,449 departing May 14, including flights from Gatwick.
thomson.co.uk
10 – Caribbean cruise with Texas ranch
There are two good reasons for suggesting clients take a Caribbean cruise from Galveston or Houston. One is that the flights are cheaper than to Miami, the other is all the out-of-the-ordinary ‘stay’ options in Texas.
A few days in San Antonio, for instance, could take in the Alamo, Mission San Jose and Riverwalk, a pedestrian area full of cafes, hotels and gardens. Alternatively, a tour of the Lone Star State could include Austin, Dallas, San Antonio and the Nasa space centre in Houston. Clients can even discover their inner cowboy with a week on a working ranch.
Sample: Carnival Cruise Lines offers a seven-day Western Caribbean cruise from Galveston from £419 cruise-only, departing May 24.
carnival.co.uk
