Gary Peters speaks to Leslie Peden, Celestyal Cruises’ chief commercial officer, about the UK cruise market and the line’s new ship.

So much for the brilliance of technology. Five minutes into a phone call from the UK to Greece and the wifi drops and there’s nothing but silence on the line. The dreaded feeling of hopelessness arrives.

It’s proof that nothing will ever truly replace the cast-iron guarantee of a face-to-face interview ­– the nuances, the changes in expression depending on the question, the spontaneous off-the-record moments.

And suddenly, just like, systems reboot, connections restored, and all is not lost. “The whole phone system and wifi went down in the office for some reason… this brave new world of technology,” says Leslie Peden.

Supporting UK agents

The chief commercial officer for Celestyal Cruises – the foremost line serving the Greek Islands and East Mediterranean – is on the line to explain how it has tackled the pandemic and the big plans it has for the future – just one element is a new ship, but more on that later.

“We kept the entire business running and office staff in place [during lockdown]; we didn’t furlough staff,” he says. “We’ve used this time to tackle a number of projects, including the launch of a new website, built from scratch, and of course the new ship that we’ve acquired.”

It has also been the smaller innovations, however, that have had a measurable impact on how Celestyal Cruises positions itself in the market and among the travel agent community.

Peden explains: “We’ve run a series of virtual webinars and our partners have definitely enjoyed that level of engagement.

“We have increased our level of contact with trade partners and that’s actually created quite a significant level of awareness during a time when we may not have had that level of attention. We’ve really tried to capitalise on that in order to put us in a strong position when the markets come back and we get out of the gates quickly.”

This support is more than words, however. In October, Celestyal Cruises welcomed a new business development manager, Emma Paxton, covering northern England, Scotland and Ireland.

“We’re seeing resilience in the UK market,” says Peden. “It’s our firm belief that there’s a strong future to be had and we want to continue to support and grow the business for our partners in the region.

“This pause has actually allowed some partners to evaluate the opportunity with new suppliers like ourselves and really get to understand Celestyal Cruises and how different we are. We’ve also launched Facebook groups dedicated to each region – Celestyal Cruises Agent Talk UK & Ireland – and the level of engagement on those groups has been phenomenal.”

New ship, new experience

The headline news from Celestyal is undoubtedly the purchase of a new ship. Celestyal Experience continues the line’s focus on the small-to-medium ship market and increases the size of the fleet to three ships, alongside Celestyal Olympia and Celestyal Crystal.

The 1,800-guest Celestyal Experience will debut on 6 March 2021, operating the seven-night Three Continents itinerary.

Labelled a “game changer”, the ship underwent a €90m refurbishment in recent years and is primed to elevate all aspects of Celestyal’s on-board experience, not least through the addition of new suites and a wellness concept – a first for the line – featuring staterooms that are wellness orientated and exclusive and complimentary access to a spa area.

The aft of the ship will also include a new adults-only area, termed The Beach Club, which again will be free for those in the wellness suites and staterooms.

Another initiative is the Whole New Experience campaign, which launched in October, designed to help re-energise the market. Just as important, however, is the revelation that this campaign will include free Covid travel insurance, automatically included in the price, for departures in Q1 and Q2 next year. This will apply to bookings made up until the end of November [2020].

Bringing people together

Such a move may help entice new-to-cruise guests. In recent months many column inches have been used to discuss the difficulties the industry might have in tempting first-time cruisers, however Peden is optimistic that it remains a viable avenue for agents to explore.

As a whole, Celestyal is posting positive sales figures, as Peden explains: “Looking at the sales numbers [as of the end of September] we are 17 per cent up. It shows there is positive intent there – people want to get back cruising.”

In addition, “we’ve noticed a trend towards multi-generational travel”, adds Peden. “People are placing greater value on their time together and reconnecting with family members. I would encourage agents to identify these trends and think of Celestyal when they do so.”

Overcoming hurdles has become an everyday chore in recent months, but as Peden explains, opportunity is knocking.

Technology is a wonderful thing when it works.