15. MAIL NEWSPAPERS ARE . . .
No 1 for Ocean Cruises No 1 for River Cruises
Intention to book
Big spenders a cruising holiday
1 in 3 of all Cruising Cruising advertising
Passengers
17. 2,000 OPINIONS
1,976 Mail Consumers
March 12th -19th 2012
18. THE SAMPLE
769 539 668
Have not been on a
have been on a Would not consider cruise but would
cruise a cruise holiday consider a cruise
holiday
19.
20.
21.
22.
23. ‘What made you choose to go on a cruise rather than another
type of holiday. Tell us what you think were the top five answers
given by consumers’
Destinations Destinations
Always wanted to go on a cruise Previous experience
A special occasion/anniversary The food
Recommendation On-board entertainment
Wanted to go on a ship rather than fly Favourite type of holiday
24. We asked the following question:
‘Select the top three most important factors when
booking a cruise’
Destinations Destinations
Cost Company or brand
Size of cruise ship Cost
25. ‘What if anything would prompt you to take a cruise.‘
Select the three answers you believe were most popular
with consumers
A good deal or offer A good deal or offer
Recommendation The right destination
Friends/family Booking with a company I trusted
82. “Travellers want to integrate with
the place, to get out of the hotel
grounds and into the destination
and experience it in a unique and
memorable way.”
Nancy Novogrod, Editor in Chief,
Travel + Leisure
83. “There is a move away from
relaxation – to a holiday for
catharsis and education.”
Alastair Poulain,
Co-founder, Original Travel
What’s great about BritainGreat Britain – we should celebrate this great nation and all it stands for; the Olympics, the Diamond Jubilee and austerity, the country that gave the world football, rugby, cricket, the wheel, the telephone, the internet, strictly come dancing, x-factor, binge drinking, afternoon tea, gin and tonic, queuing, politeness, Margaret Thatcher, Ronnie Corbett, Imperialism, humour, self deprecation, and ex-UK cruisingSo, what is so great about ex-UK cruising and why should you encourage your customers to do it?I’m going to give you the top 12 reasons for 2012 why you would want to sell your customers and ex-UK cruising holiday
Who wants to do this at the start of their holiday and when they come home? Number 1: Avoiding Airport Queues and Delays
Drive up to your port, give your car keys to someone, your luggage to someone else (hopefully not thieves) and step aboardNumber 2.Painless Embarkation
Terminals designed for quick customer flow to minimise waiting time and maximise speed to get on boardNumber 3. a pleasant transition experience
Straight to lunch or in the pool or to the bar, or sit around in a departure lounge waiting interminably, followed by a flight, followed by a transfer at the other end and lugging all your baggage around as you do so!Number 4. Holiday starts immediately you board
A few days of complete relaxation as the ship makes its’ way to the med or wherever you may be going – no stress, just an immediate move into your holiday from the moment you step aboardNumber 5. Relaxing days to break into Holiday
The number of companies who sail ships out of UK ports is huge – just this year alone there will be sailings from: Silverseas / MSC / RCCL / Celebrity Cruises / NCL / Regent of the Sea / Seabourn / HAL / P&O Cruises /Princess Cruises / Cunard / Minerva / Fred Olsen / Saga / Thomson Cruises / Voyage of Discovery / Aida /Number 6: The range of choice of ships and itineraries departing from and returning to the UK is absolutely massive
Southampton, Portsmouth, Dover, Harwich, Liverpool, Falmouth, Greenock, Belfast, South QueensferryNumber 7: The Range of Departure Points offer substantial choice for your customers and ensures a local departure
Isle of Wight – Needles / Liverpool DocksWhite Cliffs of Dover / Tower of LondonNumber 8: The opportunity to see major British landmarks from the sea
Who wants to be constrained by how much you can bring on holiday – why not change clothes five times a day, why not bring something along “just in case you might need it”!Number 9: Unlimited Baggage
No need to look for a parking space, get on a bus from your car to the port – book the cruise line car parking offer and chauffeur parking is part of the standard deal!Number 10: Chauffeur Parking
Cruising out of the UK means that you haven’t got to add the cost of an international air fare to the price of the holiday, so more of the money your customer spend is put into making the important elements of their holiday really deliverNumber 11: No flights, making your pound stretch further
Anywhere you want to get to, you can get there from the UK – why wouldn’t your customers choose the ex-UK option?!Number 12 – everywhere you want to go, you can get there ex-UK
What’s great about BritainGreat Britain – we should celebrate this great nation and all it stands for; the Olympics, the Diamond Jubilee and austerity, the country that gave the world football, rugby, cricket, the wheel, the telephone, the internet, strictly come dancing, x-factor, binge drinking, afternoon tea, gin and tonic, queuing, politeness, Margaret Thatcher, Ronnie Corbett, Imperialism, humour, self deprecation, and ex-UK cruisingSo, what is so great about ex-UK cruising and why should you encourage your customers to do it?I’m going to give you the top 12 reasons for 2012 why you would want to sell your customers and ex-UK cruising holiday
First ofall, lets take a look at the clientele that you expect to find onboard our ships.As with what we have witnessed with ocean cruising the age profile is dropping, the clientele used to be 70 plus but the age band is dropping and many cruisers are now 50 -70 years old and are empty nesters, although we do welcome families onboard our ships.We are also witnessing a migration of passengers who ocean cruise but would like to try “something new” . With ocean cruising ships becoming larger and larger and itineraries becoming more limited and repetitive passengers are looking for a small ship experience which captures more of the ports of call and allows them more time to explore their destination as opposed to booking an over priced ocean ship excursion.With this in mind The River Cruise Line appeals to people who like something to do all of the time and are a popular choice for customer who like escorted tours.
The River Cruise Line is an independent tour operator, based in Market Harborough, which has been established for over 10 years, providing great value river cruises and enjoys an excellent reputation and a high level of repeat business.Having sold through regional and national newspapers on a reader offer basis and more recently through a handful of carefully selected agents we are delighted to launch www.sellingrivercruises.com which is dedicated to Travel Agents. Over the years we have built up a good working relationship with travel agents who stock our brochures and offer our cruises to their customers. We are always interested when travel agents approach us and as a small company you can be sure that we will take good care of you and your customers, as well as offer good rates of commission.We’re delighted that increased demand for our river cruise holidays has led us to expand our range of European waterways visited for 2011 and 2012 to both Travel Agents and our mutual passengers.Our popular Rhine and Moselle river itineraries are still here aboard our exclusively chartered ships, the mps Lady Anne and the mps Amsterdam. We’re simply ‘pushing the boat out’ a little to charter additional cruise vessels navigating different European inland waterways such as the Seine, Rhône, Volga, Douro, Danube and Caledonian Canal.
More and more families are considering cruising for the first time – Last year 4 in 10 cruise passengers were taking their first cruise. So this is a huge opportunity and potential earner for you.I’ve take you through the key points when offering cruise to families. I’ll give each point a letter to form a word to remember the perfect family cruise sale.
O is for OPTIONSGive your customer options, from the ships, to the itineraries, to the staterooms.Selling them the best suited cruise option could convert them into cruisers for life.
E is for ENTERTAINMENTCruise offers unrivalled entertainment options for kids. From organised sports, to scavenger hunts and discos; they will have the time of their lives.And parents can relax, knowing most cruise lines offer fully-supervised kids clubs for all ages with qualified, certified staff.
N is for NEEDS OF THE FAMILYListen carefully to what your customer is looking for. No family is the same – consider the size, the make-up, age-range and budget – what do they look for in a holiday? How have they holidayed in the past?
W is for WATER PARKS & MORE!- How about bowling, rock climbing, water slides, wii machines…. The list goes on- Your customers won’t believe all this can be found on a cruise ship
A = ACCOMMODATIONCruise accommodation can suit any budget: from 2 to 4-berth staterooms up to family suites. If it’s a large group, suites offer fantastic per person value – it’s worth costing it up
I is for INCLUDED?More families are buying all-inclusive holidays and the cruise sector has grown by 125.5% in 10 years because it incorporates so much in the price. Look what’s included in the fare: accommodation, meals, day and evening entertainment, different destinations, on board clubs and facilities- Do a price comparison between an equivalent quality hotel and the value is clear to see
G is for GREAT MEMORIESThe beauty of a cruise is the number of destinations guests can visit in one holiday without re-packing. Cruises offer amazing shore excursions, or families can explore each destination by themselves.
R is for R & R- Let’s not forget the adults. There’s plenty of options for some quiet time such as spas, speciality restaurants, adult-only areas, wine tasting ….and many cruise lines offer babysitting services in the evening.Remember it’s a family holiday, not just a kids holiday!
N is for NO COMPARISONNothing else offers the choice, facilities and value for a family like a cruise.To end, remember this word, and you’ve got the formula for the selling the ideal cruise holiday: