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Royal Caribbean offers agents chance to win ‘fantastic’ China and Japan trip
Royal Caribbean is offering travel agents the chance to win a once-in-a-lifetime trip, featuring the opportunity to explore Shanghai, followed by a four-night cruise to Japan.
The cruise line has partnered with Travel Weekly to launch the Fortune Awaits competition, which will see 10 winners heading east in October.
Ben Bouldin, president of Royal Caribbean International, China, told a Travel Weekly webcast: “The cruise that we’ve offered for our special prize is on October 13, and it goes to Okinawa – which is one of my favourite destinations in Japan and one of the reasons I chose this cruise.
“We’re going to take these agents and have a fantastic experience.
“Okinawa gives us the chance to really show everybody what Japan is really all about in one destination.
“We’ve got some fantastic tours and excursions that we run there already, but I’m going to curate something a little bit special for our winners.”
The prize includes return flights to Shanghai, time to explore the city, and the cruise on Spectrum of the Seas to Japan.
“It is important that our agents really see Shanghai as well, because it’s undoubtedly a phenomenal part of the vacation that we offer here,” said Bouldin.
Spectrum of the Seas is the cruise line’s first Quantum Ultra Class ship in Asia and boasts features such as a Bionic Bar with robot bartenders; the RipCord by iFly skydiving simulator; and the North Star observation capsule – the tallest viewing deck on a cruise ship.
To enter, agents can use the premium Royal Caribbean chopsticks included in the latest issue of Travel Weekly (July 10) to snap the “most delicious, daring or downright hilarious selfie” possible.
Bouldin commented: “I want to see good evidence that they can use chopsticks…good chopstick skills.”
The second element of the competition is the new Royal Caribbean Spectrum of the Seas training course on the Online Travel Training website.
“It is really important that people familiarise themselves with the product, the region and, ultimately, how easy it is to book and participate,” he said.
Bouldin was speaking to Travel Weekly from Shanghai, where he has been based for the past year, since taking on his role in China.
“I had no idea just how great a city Shanghai is, and also just what a fantastic product we have, sailing from Shanghai to South Korea and Japan,” he said.
He explained how the cruise line and Chinese authorities are keen to attract more tourists to China.
“Royal Caribbean is a great vehicle for guests to come and see China but also a chance to go and experience the broader Asia market with us,” he said.
“Before the pandemic, China was one of the largest outbound markets for the UK market, in terms of growth.
“I have met Wendy Wu [founder of Wendy Wu Tours] for lunch a couple of times; we share the same passion for encouraging our customers to come and visit China.”
He said the cruises from Shanghai range from three to eight days and visit a variety of ports in Japan and South Korea.
“[They’re] very popular here with the Chinese guests, which is obviously a significant part of our sourcing, but also incredibly interesting places for international guests,” he said.
“We source international guests from many markets, but the key ones would probably be Australia, obviously driven by the proximity, Singapore and the broader Asia markets, but also US, Canada, UK, Ireland, even Germany and France.”
Lucy Huxley, Travel Weekly editor-in-chief, will also join the trip, along with a member of the UK sales team from Royal Caribbean.
And there are more surprises to reveal too, with news coming soon about the sponsored airline partner and the “truly fantastic” hotel in Shanghai where the agents will stay.
“It is about opening the eyes of the agents to what this part of the world is all about. It is a great opportunity,” said Bouldin.
Agents can upload their photo via this form and then, to complete their entry, they can finish the Royal Caribbean Spectrum of the Seas training course on the Online Travel Training website.
The competition closes on August 3.
More: Ben Bouldin named president of Royal Caribbean China region [May 2024]
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