Regent Seven Seas Cruises UK MD Graham Sadler tells Gary Peters why the cruise industry is primed and ready for a “phenomenal” return.

Many interviews during the lockdown period have taken on a Groundhog Day feeling. Countless times, return-to-service dates have changed days, if not hours, after wrapping up a conversation, and programmes and itineraries that seemed sure to go ahead have fallen victim to yet more cancellations.

This is, of course, the current predicament the cruise industry finds itself in – putting plans in place for the future but with a built-in flexibility that can be called upon should the conditions require.

The one constant that remains, however, is the steadfast belief in a strong recovery, no matter when it occurs. That is most certainly the tone that emanates from Graham Sadler, UK managing director for luxury line Regent Seven Seas Cruises.

“We all realise we’re going to come out of it,” he explains. “People have decided they’re not going to procrastinate and will not delay seeing their bucket-list destinations. They are going to go [on a cruise] and they’re going to see these places, and they’re lining them up now, whether that is through taking longer cruises to see more places – we’re seeing evidence of that at the moment – or upgrading. They are investing in making memories.

“Last summer, early autumn, we could see that customers were looking to book, and we started to work with our travel agent partners, for example with direct mail pieces focusing on particular cruises and collections.”

A turning point

It was during this period last year that Sadler and his colleagues noticed the beginning of a “turning point”, following the launch of the line’s 2023 world cruise, which shattered the company’s previous world cruise opening day booking record, with reservations doubling that set by the 2022 version.

The 2023 world cruise is Regent Seven Seas Cruises’ longest since 2011 and is set to explore South America, the South Pacific Islands, Australia, Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent, the Middle East, Africa and Spain on a 143-night voyage.

More good news followed after the launch of the 2022-2023 voyage collection. This programme, again featuring new destinations and ports of call, set the record for the largest booking day in the cruise line’s history, surpassing the previous record, set in April 2018 following the launch of Seven Seas Splendor’s inaugural season.

“We knew there was strong engagement, but to actually see it in the flesh, so to speak, with the bookings that we received on the world cruises, was quite astonishing,” explains Sadler. “That was followed up very quickly with the new season launch. Looking through the evidence that we’ve got through our bookings, the future is incredibly bright.

“Evidence suggests that all destinations are doing well, but in particular we’re doing very well with Asia and the Caribbean, and South America is selling fast.

“People are looking at destinations they’ve always wanted to see and they’re not going to delay, which is great for us and great for travel agents.”

Selling space

Something that has helped Regent achieve such records is its commitment to providing space on board its ships. The line promises guests an “unrivalled experience” in ultra-luxury settings, and so unsurprisingly there is a strong emphasis on personal service.

Sadler says: “We basically sell space as one of our key pillars and that is a fundamental requirement of luxury. Our ships are extremely spacious. If we reconfigured a ship, we could probably accommodate thousands of people, but we only carry a few hundred. That allows the ships to be extremely spacious and ensures there is never a crowd or a queue.”

The Regent offering is set to be boosted with the arrival of a new ship in the Explorer class, currently under construction, as the line looks to tap into the “phenomenal” pent-up demand. “I have customers that I speak to that cannot wait to get back on board and I know there are thousands of people in the same boat,” Sadler adds.

“I think price has become less of a fundamental factor,” he says. “It’s more about the experience and people have saved up a lot of money. They want to make sure that their experiences are first class.”

Sadler is also full of praise for travel agents for their work and help in generating interest and bookings for the line. He adds: “I know this is a tough challenge, but everyone is preparing for when we come out of it on the other side, stronger and better.

“The future is extremely bright and travel agents should really engage and take this time to get trained, understand the brands, understand Regent, so they can articulate the differences. This is an opportunity to get prepared. Business is ramping up now and it will explode in the coming months.”