Agents have been told to book 2024 and 2025 holidays as soon as possible to ensure customers secure flights.
Princess Cruises’ UK and Europe vice-president Eithne Williamson encouraged the trade to extend the booking curve in response to rising flight prices and increased cancellations.
“We know the prices [of flights] is going up and we are really keen to see an increase in supply as we know the demand is there and we don’t want to let guests down,” she told Travel Weekly.
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“We want to help our agents and passengers to understand that by waiting to book their cruise, the availability of flights will be lower and the prices will be higher so we want to encourage people to look ahead and book early.
“We’ve got some really good prices at the moment for 2024 so people should book now, otherwise they might end up with limited availability for either the cruise of the flight.”
Williamson went on to say Princess Cruises is already seeing strong demand for 2024 holidays, while “unique” trips in 2025 are gaining traction.
“This year’s wave season was very focused on 2023 sales so we had a bit of a slower start on 2024 bookings but we are now seeing some strong demand,” she said.
“We’ve got our new ship Sun Princess arriving next year so that has prompted some real interest and sales. The Mediterranean is always popular but a new vessel has given it an extra push.
“We’ve also seen some interest in the unique cruises were are offering in 2025, such as our 31-night Mediterranean sailing, but we would like more forward bookings so the itineraries are there for those who want to book ahead.”