Princess Cruises hopes to build on the relaunch of its OneSource agent platform in October as it expands its fam trip programme and increases its focus on home-based agents.
Speaking during a trade showcase for about 300 agents on board Sun Princess, UK and Europe sales director Hayley Moore said the line was thinking of “new ways” to engage with agents.
The Sphere Class ship’s visit to Southampton was “hugely symbolic” for the UK market and trade to Princess Cruises, she added, with the UK being the second biggest market for Sun Princess and the third biggest market for the line as a whole.
Moore said that Princess Cruises has hosted 1,222 agents and families on ship visits and fam trips on Princess ships, including Sun Princess, during the third quarter of the year.
“People love getting on our ships and experiencing them, so this is something we are absolutely set to continue,” she added.
Moore said OneSource would be relaunched in October, with a new Princess Academy offering agents the chance to complete modules and apply for “a graduation cruise”. OneSource gives agents access to agent training and resources for Princess and a number of its Carnival sister brands.
Moore said she was excited to be going into 2025 with “a completed team”, with two recent sales additions offering scope to further explore “a big opportunity” to work more closely with home-based agents.
“One of the things that we’re going to be looking at next year is how we engage with homeworkers,” she said.
“We know there’s an increase in homeworkers across the agent space, and of course, we’ve got amazing consortia out there, so it’s looking at whether we need to diversify our model in that space to better learn their needs.”
Identifying trends in forward sales, vice-president UK and Europe Eithne Williamson told Travel Weekly the line’s 2026 bookings were up 50% on 2025 sales at the same point last year.
She added: “We have been really focusing on delivering our lowest launch fares ever, and now backed by our best price guarantee, we’ve really seen that making a difference.”
Williamson said this was showing agents and customers were “having the faith to book earlier” and not wait for potential later discounts.
Another trend has been a move towards higher-tier Plus and Premier packages, with these making up more than 60% of bookings for 2025 itineraries and more than 70% for 2026.
In a presentation alongside president John Padgett, Williamson said 2024 was Princess Cruises’ “third consecutive record year” in the UK.