Cruise bookings spiked in April despite travel uncertainty due to the ongoing war in Iran, Not Just Travel has reported

The agency said cruise bookings were up 39 per cent year on year, accounting for nearly a fifth of all holidays sold across the network, while average booking values were up 12 per cent across all trips sold.

Not Just Travel attributed some of its success to cruise line campaigns, including P&O Cruises’ summer 2028 launch, which generated 854 per cent booking uplift on its opening day.

Meanwhile, long haul growth was up across Canada, Barbados, Australia, Thailand and the US, as well as short haul in Portugal, France and Italy. Bookings to Cyprus fell 54 per cent year on year, with Turkey down 25 per cent.

Overall, Not Just Travel said it paid the highest-ever monthly level of comission to its consultant network in April, “linked to customers turning to trusted agents amid disruption in the Middle East”, it added.

Commission paid to the company’s 800 consultants rose nearly 11 per cent year on year, with multiple agents recording five-figure single-booking days, with single sales exceeding £30,000 in value.

Not Just Travel co-founder, Steve Witt, said: “April tested the resilience of the whole travel sector. However, we have paid out record amounts of commission to our consultants.

“It is indicative of their success and does not happen by accident, but by consistent focus on customer service and highlighting their value to potential clients.

“Our consultants are trusted, accessible and expert, and when the news is uncertain, customers want someone they can trust rather than booking directly and managing the risk themselves.”

He added: “People assumed online booking and AI would eventually make agents obsolete. April shows the opposite. When the world feels more uncertain, the value of a trusted expert goes up.”