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5 ways lines and agents are boosting their wave bookings

Wave season, behind the headlines

Jack Carter speaks to lines and agents to examine how the industry’s approach to the wave season is evolving as demand for cruise continues to soar

And just like that, another wave season is upon us.

While enthusiasm for cruise is growing, the dichotomy of there being more inventory to sell than ever before and rising costs squeezing consumers’ holiday budgets is forcing lines and agents to rethink their approach to peaks.

We canvassed readers to find out how they’re adjusting their wave strategy to keep up with increasingly hard-to-predict booking patterns.

1. Go bespoke

While the cost of living crisis continues to pinch household budgets, the days of cruise lines relying solely on cut-price sea fares to entice new customers onboard are long gone.

Tracy Clenshaw, head of commercial for Fred Olsen Travel, says today’s travellers are seeking value that goes beyond the price of a cruise, something the company has taken into account this wave period.

“If you’re a savvy customer, it’s not always about price,” she says. “You want to see drink packages or suites for the price of balconies. Creating bespoke packages that cater to these desires gives us an edge over our competitors because it’s an oversaturated market. We are all going for the same customers, so we ensure that we’re looking at offering better value rather than always going for the cheapest offer.”

While being on the front line makes it easier for agents to keep their fingers on the pulse, Anna Perrott, senior partnerships and marketing director at luxury cruise retailer Panache Cruises says some lines have been slow to adapt to consumers’ changing priorities.

“There are some cruise lines that come out in wave with the same pricing model or the same campaign that they’ve run for the past four or five years. We want to shake it up.”

2. Getting ahead of the game

As the market becomes flooded with deals, one challenge for cruise lines is being able to cut through the noise. As a result, operators have been getting ahead of the game by launching their wave offers early.

Hayley Moore, UK and Europe sales director for Princess Cruises, says that this was one of the learnings it took from last year’s wave season. “We saw demand in December 2023 which we hadn’t expected, so we’ve followed through with that again this year.

“Even with everything else that’s going on around the country, we know that protected spend is there for consumers to buy time with their families. Starting a bit sooner allows us to get in on that early browsing period.”

Releasing wave deals earlier also benefits agents who have more time to get their ducks in a row before the peak booking period begins. “A lot of the luxury cruise lines have brought their deals forward to the first week of December, which helps agents,” Perrott says.

“We can line up our websites, ensure pricing is correct and set up marketing activities. That puts us in a stronger position going into Q1.”

3. Agent education

Another way that lines got an early march on wave this year was through their trade engagement. Karen Farndell, director, sales & marketing UK & Ireland at Holland America Line says educating agents on their wave offers well in advance ensures they go into the new year able to sell their product with confidence.

Farndell explains: “In 2024 we invested in a range of activities to help prepare agents for the wave period, including eight ship visit events, a Mediterranean fam trip on Nieuw Statendam in September, and a conference onboard Nieuw Statendam as part of the CLIA Destination Showcase in Gibraltar.

“This level of engagement has meant we’ve been able to drive awareness for our wave campaign and other agent-led initiatives, ensuring agents have all they need to confidently promote Holland America Line to their clients.”

Engaging the trade community early also means lines can gather feedback from consumers to better understand what kind of offers they’re hunting for. “We’ve listened to the fact that customers want to engage in new hardware and they want some decent prices to match,” says Moore.

4. The cash conundrum

Of course, consumers aren’t the only ones being courted by cruise lines during wave. Operators are coming up with all manner of ways to incentivise agents to push deals to their clients, reigniting the debate over whether prize or cash rewards are the most effective way to motivate the trade.

“Some lines give away money, but we’ve gone for prizes this year because people really love the element of surprise,” says Moore.

“Some of the reactions we’ve seen in previous prize giveaways have driven us to come up with a huge prize haul for wave this year as it allows us to reach more agents than ever before.”

The line is giving away more than 130 prizes throughout January and February, including Fortnum & Mason hampers, Nutribullets and Ninja Airfryers, with agents simply needing to book a Princess Cruises holiday on any platform to qualify for entry.

“For me, it’s about engaging with as many agents as possible and maximising our consumer reach during such an important period,” Moore adds.

5. The marketing mix

The final piece of the jigsaw for any successful wave strategy is how to market your deals to consumers. With so many platforms to utilise and new audiences to target, lines and agents are increasingly turning to new channels to promote their offers.

Perrott explains: “We’re working very closely with external partners, including British Airways Executive Club, Cathay Pacific and Harrod’s, and looking at their luxury databases to find customers who are new to cruise.”

That’s not to say that agents aren’t continuing to rely on tried-and-tested platforms to excite their consumer base. “Facebook, specifically for the luxury market, is really important,” Perrott continues, “but I think there’s still a lot of value in print marketing.

“It does seem slightly old school, but having a brochure drop on someone’s doorstep is really powerful and it allows you to talk about your products in detail.

We dropped a 100-page brochure at the start of last year’s wave period and customers absolutely loved it. They phoned us up to ask us when we’re doing our next one.”

Whichever approach you’re taking to this year’s wave period, one thing’s for certain: the sands have shifted for the cruise industry and those who are able to adapt to consumer trends will inevitably come out on top.

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