Celebrity Cruises is entering into a partnership with Lonely Planet and launching a new Summer Camp at Sea programme for kids as it targets affluent families.
The premium sister line of Royal Caribbean International will support UK agents to target the sector ahead of the peak ‘wave’ booking period in January and February.
Speaking yesterday at an event in London to update top agents on developments, UK managing director, Jo Rzymowska, said:
“We’ve got a great family proposition yet historically, the affluent family has just not been a market we’ve ever targeted before.
“We have talked to families on board and kids love the fact we talk to them as adults and not as kids.
“We feel that ties in well with our Modern Luxury ethos and means we can offer a programme that is a mix of education and fun.”
Rzymowska revealed new support material to help agents target affluent families would include a new training module on Cruising for Excellence, imagery of all the kids’ facilities and activities and “proper collateral” on the summer camps.
Vice president of operations Brian Abel explained the new Summer Camp at Sea programme was based on the STEM principles of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths, which is very popular in US schools.
It will be available on sailings from 2017 and the cost will be included in the cruise fare.
“Even toy manufacturers are now designing and building toys to this STEM concept. It’s much more educational for kids, which they love – and parents love it too,” Abel said.
“I personally would rather take my kids to a Broadway show or museum than an amusement park, and we think a lot of parents will be like-minded.”
He said the STEM-inspired Summer Camps at Sea, which can involve a range of activities from marine biology to cookery, also gave Celebrity a point of difference over other lines which seem to be vying to the build the biggest/fastest high-octane rides and slides at sea.
Celebrity has also teamed up with Lonely Planet which has produced exclusive colouring books for the line, with pictures of iconic landmarks each cruise visits for guests to colour in.
They will be available later this month and will appeal to all the family, Rzymowska said.
Abel added that children were also being encouraged to eat with their parents in the fleet’s speciality restaurants, and said: “Whether it’s the Tuscan Grill or Morano’s French restaurant, you can now get a children’s version of the menu so they can share the experience yet at better value,” he said.
Abel added that Celebrity’s partnership with XBox was to be extended to offer more stations in the ships’ Fun Factories, and support to users.