This past week, hundreds of travel advisors and franchise agency owners sailed on Celebrity Apex for the annual Dream Vacations, CruiseOne and Cruises Inc. conference. Several travel advisors/franchise owners from diverse regions of the U.S.—California, Nebraska and Florida—talked with us about what they're seeing for the latest cruise selling trends as well as their “takeaways" from the conference itself.
Trends in Cruise Sales
Cruise sales are soaring for many advisors, as lines restart across the globe. “Our business is up 750 percent from 2020 numbers and we are close to our record numbers from 2019,” says Michael Sinn, franchise owner, Dream Vacations in Omaha, NE. “Close in bookings are very high now, too.”
“I have seen a recent upswing in more exotic or extravagant cruises being booked,” emphasizes Dawn Beers O’Brien, franchise owner and vacation specialist, Dream Vacations in San Jose, CA. Among those is a “bucket list” cruise around Japan and an extended family group taking a river cruise.
“People are spending money on big cruise experiences," she says. Consumers couldn't take their cruise vacation for nearly two years as cruising was shut down but now are ready to sail and in a big way.
O'Brien also sees many cruise fares are trending higher. She's seen cabins selling pre-pandemic for $3,000 that are now offered at $5,500. She’s noticed upswings, for example, with Norwegian Cruise Line’s Pride of America, as well as the "around Japan" cruise mentioned above.
“But people are still booking,” O'Brien adds, as “people want to travel now, instead of putting off that long-desired cruise itinerary.”
Amy Willing Madson, franchise owner/vacation specialist, Dream Vacations - Madson & Associates in Orlando, FL, says her agency is “seeing a mix of luxury/small-ship interest for 2022 from clients who are moving up from contemporary lines.”
She is also seeing “2021 short, good value bookings from our frequent cruisers making up for lost time. Many are taking advantage of the value to book back-to-back sailings.”
Conference Takeaways
Madson is particularly eager to hear more in early 2022 about the new technological advances announced by Sandi Szalay, Dream Vacations/CruiseOne's vice president of information technology, during last week's conference.
“I’m really excited for the new groups module to come out,” says Madson, as she feels it will simplify the group set-up process. “Right now, I just send my contracts in to our Groups Concierge Team as I find the current system confusing and time consuming, but the new system is streamlined and easy to follow.” She believes it will make booking groups easier.
Another conference “takeaway" for Madson is that following meetings with suppliers such as Diane Curchy-Horan, AmaWaterways' director, strategic partner networks, and others onboard, “we have a new marketing focus for 2022.” She says her agency gained insight on how to target the proper demographics for social media advertising
In addition, ‘I was fortunate to forge some new supplier relationships that will be mutually beneficial,” she adds.
During his 25 years in business, Sinn has attended many cruise lines’ presentations and acknowledges that, at times, those can seemed “canned.” Instead, at this year’s annual conference, he felt those were more akin to “a fresh, home-made pot of soup.”
He liked the personal stories that touched his heart, and the way it made him feel that “we really are in this together.”
In addition, Sinn felt the “opening session was far the best,” noting that “I heard some very personal things that many of us agents go through each day—such as working from home and balancing work and family.” He also appreciated insight into “how to keep focused on what matters with so many issues in our world that are going so wrong.”
O’Brien said what was most evident this week at the "Together" conference on Celebrity Apex was everyone’s “collective gratitude for having survived the most challenging time in the history of the travel industry. We are survivors.”
She said the inspirational stories of how advisors picked themselves up and kept moving until the worst of the storm passed, has “motivated me to be excited for the onslaught of returning travelers headed my way as people feel more comfortable traveling again.
Madson told Travel Agent that the "in person" conference reminded her of the power of being at an event and having face-to-face conversations with suppliers, friends, colleagues and her franchise group's HQ leadership team, which was re-energizing. Most importantly, Madson stressed: "The conference reminded me of the power of relationships."
O'Brien summed up the perspective of many Dream Vacations/Cruise One advisors heading into 2022. She can't wait for "what I feel is going to be an amazing year ahead of travel bookings with gusto and enthusiasm. Bring it on."
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