Crystal Cruises recently hosted top-performing travel partners
and select media aboard the Crystal Serenity for its 16th Annual
Sales Achievement Awards gala. The northern European journey
included a productive program of daily meetings, exclusive shore
events and entertainment, awards presentations and lively Q&A
sessions. The highlight, by far, was the Gala Dinner on the last
evening, for which most of the men dressed in authentic kilts,
while the ladies donned tartan skirts and sashes.
TAW Cruise Editor, Ana Figueroa, chatted with Crystal Cruises
president, Gregg Michel during the festivities:
Q:With so many more baby boomers interested in high-end
cruising, what steps are you taking to tailor your product to
them?
A:We’ve been asking ourselves if we have the right product. Do
we have the right fit for this market, and I think the answer is
yes. The best example I can give you is the seven-day cruise that
we had last year in the Mediterranean. We had a younger crowd: The
average age was 50-55. It was the highest-rated cruise we’ve ever
had. When we have a shorter cruise, we’re appealing to a broader
market that has the money, but maybe not as much time as our other
guests. So, we found that a seven-day European product is a great
way to attract that crowd.
Another thing we’re doing is offering different kinds of shore
excursions, such as our Crystal Private Adventures, which are more
customized. That’s what this generation wants. They want a more
personalized product, they want things their way.
We’re very assured of our product, and what we have to offer the
baby boomer generation. But we do need to act in a partnership with
travel agents in order to get this business.
Q:Speaking of business, it seems that every top producer here at
the Awards Gala operates under a different business model. What
kind of challenges does that present to a cruise line?
A:There’s no doubt that we’re seeing many different business
models. More agents are marketing online, but we still see the
brick-and-mortar operations. What we have to do is keep all the
agents educated about our product as best we can by having events,
such as this Awards Gala, and by offing training programs, such as
the new CrystalCruisesAcademy.com that we’re launching.
The fact is that people do have to change. They have to stay on
top of things. But that’s true of any business. We’ll do our best
to help agents and to help them become more efficient.
Q:What advice would you give to someone thinking of going into
the travel agent business right now?
A:I would recommend that they be technologically savvy and be
good at marketing on a Web site. It’s also important to look at the
people that may not be cruising today. There’s a lot of money out
there and a lot of potential cruisers. Don’t be shy about going
after it. This market can still be growing by leaps and bounds.
Q:How important is it to belong to a consortium?
A:I think if you’re really just getting into the business,
there’s a lot to be learned if you’re involved with a consortium.
There’s always a mentoring process in that situation. I certainly
think it would be helpful to be involved in a consortium, and you
see a lot of the people here at this event are members.
Q:What do you think of the home-based agent phenomenon?
A:There’s certainly an interest in luxury travel with the
home-based agents. If they’re really educating themselves and
affiliated with the right group, we’ve seen some really good
results. In fact, some of the top producers here at this event have
home-based agents who are super closers. I think there’s always
going to be a place for good travel agents, for agents who assist
their clients, no matter what form they do business in.
