Unforgettable Croatia reports late booking surge as clients switch from Middle East

Unforgettable Croatia has opened sales for its 2027 programme after hitting 96.2% occupancy for 2026, driven by a sudden surge in last-minute European bookings.

Co-founder Graham Carter reported a “rush of people” booking trips just weeks before departure, fuelled by travellers pivoting away from the Middle East conflict.

Speaking about current trading, Carter said the operator was “incredibly lucky” to enter January of this year already 80% booked for the 2026 season.

While acknowledging some cancellations due to tensions between the US, Iran and Israel, he stressed that capacity levels “remained strong”, with some customers who had cancelled in February now looking to rebook.

“We are seeing this very last-minute demand where there is a rush of people trying to book trips into Europe,” Carter said.

“And even our operations teams are having to align with a sudden influx of people saying they want to travel in two or three weeks’ time.”

He attributed the spike to consumer confidence and seeing flight prices have “not gone berserk”, adding: “You can still get a flight to Europe for a few hundred pounds, so people are saying let’s do it now while the prices are still stable. Airlines are passing on fuel costs, but we are not passing that on to guests, so I think people just still want to travel.”

For travel agents looking to target the right clientele, Carter highlighted that the primary audience is clients who usually stay in “more traditional boutique hotels” rather than previous cruisers, noting that 68% of customers for 2026 are first-time cruisers.

Multi-destination trips are also performing well, with 27% of 2026 bookings combining a sailing with a pre or post-cruise land extension.

Among these combinations, packages including Slovenia have seen the highest growth with a 31% boost year on year.

Additionally, group and charter sales now account for 11% of 2026 capacity, offering opportunities for trade partners to do “half charters” or large groups “without a commitment for a period”.

Instead of traditional agent-only mega-fams, Carter urged agents to get in touch with the partnerships team about individual agent fam trips, where an agent can join a scheduled sailing with a partner or colleague rather than a cruise completely dedicated to agents.

Looking ahead, the newly launched 2027 programme features 136 guaranteed departures across 10 itineraries, including nine cruise-and-land combinations, two new themed cruises, and a Michelin-starred restaurant booking service.

Prices for 2027 start from £2,095, and include luxury airport transfers, daily breakfast, three-course lunches and select dinners, a programme of excursions, StarLink Wi-Fi, daily swim stops and onboard water sports equipment.