Future lengthy cruises and world cruises—some up to a half-year in length—are selling out quickly during this pandemic era. Cruise lines report soaring, pent-up consumer demand for longer voyages. Case in point? On January 26, Oceania Cruises opened bookings for its 2023 "Around the World in 180 Days" world cruise to the general public. By January 27, this lengthy voyage had sold out.
This extensive voyage calls at 96 ports in 33 countries across four continents. The itinerary will include three full days of Antarctica cruising and guests will have access to more than 60 UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
“The response to our epic 2023 around-the-world voyage clearly illustrates the enthusiasm that experienced travelers have for immersive and memorable travel experiences,” said Bob Binder, president and CEO, Oceania Cruises, in a press announcement. “Despite the challenges the world faces today, travelers are clearly bullish on the future and are embracing these new opportunities to travel the world and create lifelong memories.”
Oceania said that while it's true that world cruises attract legions of loyal repeat guests, consumer response to this extensive cruise revealed some interesting sales tidbits.
More than one-third of all bookings for the 2023 "Around the World in 180 Days" came from first-time, new-to-brand guests. That's a sign of a booking trend the brand has seen steadily emerging during the past year with some booking periods and promotions recording new-to-brand booking levels of close to 50 percent. In addition, 20 percent of those booking the already lengthy world cruise opted to extend that voyage up to a total of 218 days.
Entering the second year of the pandemic, travel advisors report soaring pent-up demand. From Oceania's perspective, Binder said that "the quick uptake from our loyal repeat guests and new first-time guests alike underscores the tremendous pent-up demand for immersive, destination-focused cruises," as well as the strong allure of Oceania's small-ship experience.
The line also reports that it's seeing "exceptionally strong demand" for 2022 Europe and North America collection of voyages with bookings on longer, grand voyages that span multiple weeks or months.
To satisfy demand from consumers and travel advisors who are looking further out for options, Oceania will open its full 2022-23 winter collection of itineraries in March. It will also open the spring, summer and fall 2023 Europe and North America voyages starting in September.
For more information, visit www.oceaniacruises.com.
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