The cruise sector must avoid a price war as it emerges from the impact of the Covid pandemic, Clia’s Selling Cruise Day was told.
Speaking on a panel at last week’s event, Lisa McAuley, Silver Travel Advisor owner and former UK boss of Silversea, said research carried out by the mature travellers’ review site showed price was the fifth most important factor when booking a cruise.
It ranked below flexible booking terms, health protocols, financial protection and breadth of holiday choice.
“I can’t remember a time where price fell out of the top three,” said McAuley. “That’s a positive. [Customers are] staying for longer and they’re trading up.”
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She warned lines and agents not to discount, adding: “There are so many challenges that we’re facing now, we really don’t want to be having a race to the bottom on price.”
Cruise lines have continued to launch ships over the past 20 months despite operations being brought to a standstill for most of the pandemic. Next year, 16 ocean-going vessels will enter service.
Jo Rzymowska, Celebrity Cruises’ vice president and managing director, EMEA, told the session the industry was seeing “great demand” and high prices.
Sustainability was considered less important, with McAuley noting that the “vast majority” surveyed by Silver Travel Advisor put the issue “quite low” on their list of priorities when booking.
“I think that will change in years to come,” she said, adding that she wanted to sustainability to be key in consumers’ minds. “Cop26 is going to be a big focus. I think we’ll get grandchildren pestering grandparents.”
Rzymowska said customers’ “thirst” for information has prompted Celebrity to issue agents who were furloughed during Covid with a return to work kit.
“One of the things that consumers want is to trust us to give them the right information,” she said. “It’s our responsibility to make sure that we can pass the right information on.”
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