Monish Luthra, CEO of travel technology firm Odysseus Solutions, says cruise lines’ willingness to open up their inventory and pricing to third party sellers is a great opportunity for the travel trade

The cruise industry shows no sign of slowing down. Phocuswright found that gross bookings from the U.S in 2023 were 122% ahead of 2022 and when the stats comparing 2024 to 2023 come out, I am expecting a similarly positive return.

Moving into 2025, cruise remains strong. Globally, passenger numbers are on the rise, order books are full, and prices are trending upwards. As a result, the demand for cruise technology is also strong, driven by the fact that cruise lines are more willing than other travel verticals to work with third party tech vendors on sales, marketing and distribution.

Take airlines as an example. Airlines are talking about becoming modern digital retailers, and to do this they have to take more control of their distribution. Whether selling directly or through third parties, their priority is almost more about the digital experience rather than the travel experience which makes sense to me – who enjoys getting on a plane these days?

Maybe 20 years ago, when people would get dressed up for a flight, airline bosses were more interested in the flight as an experience rather than as a digital transaction.

Experience is everything

Cruise in contrast is 100 per cent about the experience, which is where lines are concentrating their resources. They do not want to have their focus diluted by, for example, managing hundreds of API integrations* with small generalist agencies, many of whom are unlikely to deliver bookings at scale.

Instead, cruise lines are concentrating their technology spend on the experience. Many cruise lines are willing to open up their inventory and pricing via third parties through APIs. This allows the cruise distribution players to innovate and develop third party tools to secure bookings on behalf of the cruise line.

These third parties include retail travel agents and advisors of all sizes, global and regional online travel agents as well as B2C cruise specialists. But cruise lines are also interested in direct sales through their own website or their in-house call centre.

*An API (Application Programming Interface) allows different software systems to work together seamlessly, such as connecting a mobile app to a database or a web application to a payment gateway

Monish Luthra, CEO, Odysseus Solutions, says agents will continue to be in high demand as the industry grows

Future thinking

My take is that travel agents and advisers will continue to be the primary distribution channel for cruise and that the cruise lines’ interest in direct bookings is a great thing for agents.

There’s no need to use an agent or advisor for a three-night Carnival cruise out of Miami (and many agents don’t sell them because the commissions are minimal). However, anyone in the market for an Antarctica cruise, or a trip around the Med with Four Seasons Yachts, wants a specialist to advise them.

Agents and advisors will be in demand as the industry grows. With price increases set to continue (in the US, at least), people might be looking for reassurance before committing to a bigger ticket purchase.

Today’s ships have more cabin types and configurations, more restaurants, more theatres, so there is more need for advice, while new-to-cruise travellers often need an expert to talk through the options.

Most cruise lines have worked on making sure call centre agents have access to real-time pricing and availability. Distribution technology takes this data via an API and gives agents and advisors access to the same information.

Adding value

Travel technology suppliers play a big role in the industry’s success by making it easier for travellers to access cruises using their agent or advisor. But many cruise technology players are doing more than just repacking the cruise lines API.  Layering their own innovations onto the pricing and availability APIs can help agents convert more leads and help cruise lines fill their ships.

Some of these innovations are helping to fill gaps in the cruise lines’ functionality. Not all cruise lines offer rich content via API’s or in multiple languages, and this is where cruise technology steps in. At the same time, merchandising is an area where cruise technology players can add value by improving how the fare buckets are displayed.

There is also a growing demand for multi-cabin bookings, coming out of the wider travel trend for multi-generational travel and for groups. Many cruise line APIs struggle to do this, so cruise technology is finding the answers.

Elsewhere, agents and advisors with the right tech can sell “cruise-plus” trips – offering travellers options to extend their vacation with a hotel stay on either side of the cruise. The fact that most cruises are booked well in advance gives agents and operators a large window to upsell and cross-sell additional trip components.

Final thoughts

The cruise industry is going from strength to strength (and I haven’t mentioned the importance of Asia and the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia, as not only hubs for cruise but also a business case for cruise technology).

Cruise technology also steps into these emerging markets to assist with localized content, translations, and currency conversions to make booking easier for first-time buyers.

Agents and advisors are driving this growth, empowered by technology. The most successful ones will be those finding a way to sync the cruise lines APIs with their cruise tech partner in a way that drives conversion and generates bookings.

Odysseus Solutions is a Miami-based travel technology company providing comprehensive and innovative online booking solutions, providing an online travel booking engine that automates processes and is easily customised to support a client’s unique brand identity.