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Princess Cruises is ripping up the rule book on educational trips. We join a two-night fam to Marseille to see how the line is using destination experiences to boost trade knowledge

Most people working in cruise have experienced a fam trip before: ship tours, hosted lunches and expert-led insight designed to showcase a cruise line in a short space of time. They’re an invaluable part of the industry, but Princess Cruises believes there’s another way to educate agents.

As more people look to combine time ashore with a cruise, the line is aiming to give agents something just as valuable as ship knowledge: destination expertise. The shift reflects changing booking habits.

More customers are looking to extend their cruise with a hotel stay or spend longer exploring ports before or after sailing. For agents, selling these holidays requires confidence not only in the ship, but in the destinations themselves, making first-hand experience increasingly valuable.

One cruise line helping the trade to capitalise on this emerging market is Princess Cruises. This year, the company launched its first series of Destination Experience fam trips, which sees agents first spend time onboard a vessel in destination before experiencing a selection of the line’s excursions. So far, the brand has hosted 30 agents across programmes in Marseille and La Spezia, which included visits onboard Sun Princess, and Naples, where attendees took a tour of Enchanted Princess.

We joined the cruise line in Marseille to see how the brand is reshaping the future of educational trips.

The adventure began with 10 travel agents across the UK heading onboard Sun Princess to get a taste for life on one the line’s first Sphere class vessels. Attendees took a tour of the ship’s facilities, including the Lotus Spa and Fitness Centre, the Princess Arena, the Casino and the Atrium.

“The ship is incredible,” Abbey Travel’s Michelle Hannigan tells me as we wander through the top deck. “I’ve cruised with Princess myself, but I haven’t seen Sun Princess yet.” A personal highlight of Hannigan’s is the Sanctuary Club, the ship’s adults-only retreat, where the delegates enjoyed a cocktail reception and demonstration in the 32°C Marseille sun. “It’s perfect for people who don’t want to have kids around and be with like‑minded passengers,” she tells me.

After drinks the group heads to Love by Britto, one of the ship’s eight specialty dining restaurants. The immersive dining experience inspired by artist Romero Britto combines vibrant art, creative cuisine and storytelling in a colourful setting. Hannigan says: “The restaurants are excellent – Love by Britto wasn’t just a meal, it was a genuine experience. From the love heart-shaped bread to the romance-inspired cocktails, it was incredible.”

But unlike a traditional educational trip, the ship tour isn’t the main event. Princess has designed its Destination Experiences to give agents equal insight into life ashore, recognising that the ports themselves are often just as influential in a customer’s booking decision.

The destination is so important when it comes to selling cruises

Having seen what the ship has to offer, we disembark Sun Princess and spend an evening strolling Marseille Harbour. On day two, we join a Princess Cruises excursion to Les Agnels Lavender Distillery near Lourmarin in Provence for a demonstration and tour of the facilities.

Sara Jackson, a personal travel consultant from Hays Travel, says: “I found the distilling of the lavender really interesting, from the picking of the lavender to the distillation process, we were given a lovely example by experts. It’s been really incredible.

“Having the chance to see both the ship and the destination is so important. I can now package this up and say to my customers ‘these are the things you can do’. I can post on social media, and my clients can see exactly how to spend a day in Marseille with Princess Cruises.”

The excursion also includes a few hours in Lourmarin. Perched among the rolling hills of Provence, the town is a peaceful countryside retreat where heritage intertwines with the timeless charm of the Luberon. Surrounded by vineyards, olive groves and fragrant lavender fields, it’s a great way to conclude an authentic afternoon in the south of France.

Over dinner on the banks of Marseille Harbour, I catch up with Pierre Liggett, team manager for Cruise Nation, who says: “The experience has been brilliant. I’ve been onboard before but there were some parts of the ship I didn’t get to see, so it’s been really good to see those.

“The destination is so important when it comes to selling cruises. A lot of the time the customers ask about the ports, we already know a lot about the cruise line and the ships, but destination knowledge can take a bit more time to get to grips with unless you’ve been there. So, the more chance you get to go and experience the destination, the easier it is to sell.”

It’s this combination of ship familiarity and destination confidence that Princess Cruises hopes will redefine the modern fam trip. As the programme continues to grow, educational visits may soon be judged as much by what happens ashore as what happens onboard.

Princess Cruises’ 14-day Mediterranean with Greece, Italy & Turkey cruise on board Sun Princess, from Barcelona to Athens via Mallorca, Marseille, Corsica, Genoa, La Spezia, Civitavecchia for Rome, Naples, Sicily, Crete, Kusadasi and Mykonos, departs 26 March 2028, from £1,360pp. princess.com