Cruise.co.uk to open packages to whole trade this year

Online cruise agency Cruise.co.uk is to launch its cruise-and-stay packages to the entire trade this year and is building a team of dedicated staff to support the rollout to agents.

 

The specialist OTA, which was acquired by Hays Travel last July, announced an initial partnership with Hays Travel Independence Group member Not Just Travel last month.

 

The partnership initially focused on ‘thrill and chill’ sailings from Florida, combined with theme park stays, with other North America cruise-and-stay packages due to be added shortly.

 

The complete Cruise.co.uk package portfolio will be available to Not Just Travel agents by the end of March, with access opened to other agents in the third quarter of 2026. 

 

Managing director Tony Andrews said the company would offer full support to agents, with the appointment of a head of trade sales, business development managers for the north and south, and trade sales executives, in addition to a trade marketing lead and trade sales support team.

 

The OTA’s former North America package manager Lee Johnson will be head of trade sales for the Cruise.co Trade operation, having worked his way up from sales consultant to sales manager and through inventory planning into his current position.

 

The other roles will be a mixture of internal and external appointments. 

 

Andrews also confirmed price parity would be offered between the Cruise.co.uk website and agents.

 

“We are really investing to make sure we fully support any agent who wants to work with us,” he said, adding the company planned to implement a trade rewards programme, incentives and joint marketing funding over time.

 

“We are taking our industryleading service that we provide through Cruise.co.uk and providing it to other agents and their customers.”

 

Andrews also identified the Irish market as a strong opportunity to grow cruise-and-stay package sales, with plans to include agents in Ireland in trade efforts later in the year.

 

The news of the planned trade rollout came as the OTA released findings of its latest annual customer survey, which garnered 5,582 responses from customers and another 2,372 from customers of sister site SeaScanner.

 

The research found a slight shift towards people planning to take fewer cruises overall versus last year.

 

However, there remains a strong appetite and loyalty to the sector, with more than 50% of respondents taking more than half their holidays on board a cruise.

 

Overall, 35% of customers planned to make cruising a higher proportion of their total holiday mix in the future, an increase on the 2025 survey, with 51% of first-time cruisers planning to do so.

 

Respondents also indicated they would be more likely to tap into agents’ expertise for future cruise bookings, with 58% of Cruise.co.uk customers using a combination of web and agent liaison via phone or email last year, but 70% saying they would do so for their next booking.

 

Andrews said: “There has always been a focus on our people, but we are doubling down on that. We have industry-leading sales consultants that sell amazing products. We want to keep investing in them and their abilities to serve our customers.”