Marella Voyager will launch at the “perfect time” for the cruise industry, Tui UK & Ireland commercial director has declared.
Richard Sofer told Travel Weekly the line’s newest ship, which will depart on its maiden voyage on June 3, will enter service in parallel with the cruise industry reaching its “peak return from Covid”, as nearly all international Covid restrictions have been removed and passengers are no longer nervous about travelling.
He said the trajectory of passengers returning to cruising has been slow over the past two years, but has suddenly shot up in recent months.
More: Marella Voyager christened in Malaga
“This is the perfect moment for us to be expanding our fleet,” he said.
“We make plans for ship launches such a long time in advance so we’ve known Marella Voyager has been coming for a while, but we seem to have launched at the exact perfect time because cruise is at its peak return from the pandemic as it has only been in the last few months that we’ve seen a unanimous lift in Covid restrictions in pretty much all destinations.
“It’s our biggest year on record and we need our trade partners to support us more than they ever have before.”
Managing director of Marella Cruises Chris Hackney went on to say the line is now at its largest capacity, giving agents a “fantastic opportunity” to push sales.
“We now have five ships in our fleet which means our capacity is at the largest it has been so we can take more customers away than ever before,” he said.
“This makes it so much easier for agents as they know that we will deliver a quality product, and now, with the addition of Marella Voyager which truly is our best ship yet, there is even more of it.
“Our first customer sailing departs on June 3 and is sold out which is fantastic news and just goes to show how excited people are about getting on board.
“We need our retail and independent agents to show their customers the value in taking a Marella Cruise compared to a land-based holiday and make it clear that we offer a truly unrivalled holiday experience.”