Princess Cruises has thanked the trade for its support during its “best ever January”.
The line has a 40% increase in bookings made in January, compared with last year, and has also reported a 50% increase in sales through the trade.
Rachel Poultney, head of sales for the line, attributed the growth in bookings to the brand’s “simple wave messages”, being more prepared for the key booking period, and the introduction of its new agent booking portal in May last year.
The strongest performance day of the month was Blue Monday, January 18.
“We’ve made sure our promotion in January is simple and easy to understand, it has resonated well with consumers and the trade because it’s not over complicated.
“We have been extremely well prepared and we are hoping for more of the same in February. The trade have been great for us and have really supported us as a brand.”
Princess moved away from the Complete Cruise Solution (CCS) booking portal, in favour of its own Princess-only online tool, called OneSource. The move came following agent criticism of the CCS system. Poultney attributed some of the growth to the new tool making it easier for agents to book.
She said agents completed 7,000 training modules in December alone, meaning the “trade was well prepared to sell Princess during wave”.