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The cruise industry is massive. In fact, Cruise Lines International Association estimates it generates more than $150 billion in economic activity every year around the world. This week on Trade Secrets, we’re focusing on one segment of that larger industry: small-ship cruising. Jamie Biesiada and guest host Andrea Zelinski, Travel Weekly’s cruise editor, talk all things small ships (and, spoiler: Tahiti) with Windstar Cruises’ Chris Prelog and travel advisor Nancy Cutter.
This episode is sponsored by Windstar Cruises.
In This Episode
- 1:51 Meet our guests: Windstar’s Chris Prelog and travel advisor Nancy Cutter.
- 3:30 What is small-ship cruising, anyway?
- 4:45 Windstar is squarely within the small-ship category; who else sits there?
- 7:50 Prelog speaks on returning Windstar’s crew after the Covid-19-mandated pause in cruising.
- 9:14 Who is the ideal client for a small-ship product?
- 10:38 What kind of passengers does Windstar typically host?
- 11:29 Let’s talk Tahiti, and Windstar’s 35th year there.
- 13:17 What’s the competition like for the cruise market in Tahiti?
- 15:09 Where are the two places in the world that particularly lend themselves to small-ship cruising?
- 17:20 What has demand been like for small-ship cruises?
- 18:28 Travel advisor Jade has a few questions for Prelog. First, are there ever exceptions made for families with children under 8?
- 19:30 Prelog explains why Windstar requires 100% of passengers to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
- 20:12 Which Windstar destination or itinerary has the highest return rate?
- 21:11 Will Windstar add more North American sailings?
- 21:40 Jade’s agency is new to Windstar, and she’s looking for some unique marketing ideas.
- 26:17 Travel advisor Kleon is curious about Windstar’s decision to bring a larger, non-sailing ship into French Polynesia.
Windstar's Chris Prelog and travel advisor Nancy Cutter
Credit: 2022 Jenn MartinsResources Mentioned in This Episode and Related Reading
Windstar Cruises
Court Travel
From Travel Weekly
Windstar Wants to Put a Bigger Ship in Tahiti
Focus on Cruise: Windstar’s Tahiti Turn
Ponant Plans to Build Ship for Tahiti Cruising
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About Your Hosts
Emma Weissmann is the Digital Managing Editor of TravelAge West, a print and online magazine for travel advisors based in the Western U.S. She is also the co-host of Humans of Travel podcast, where she interviews notable individuals in the travel industry about their lives — the highs and lows that make them human.
Jamie Biesiada is a Senior Editor with Travel Weekly. She is an award-winning journalist, including being named the American Society of Travel Advisors’ 2019 Travel Journalist of the Year. Her roots are in community journalism, where she was the editor of several local newspapers and a regional entertainment magazine.
About the Show
Trade Secrets, a podcast from the editors of Travel Weekly and TravelAge West, is where travel advisors ask — and answer — questions. On each podcast, our editors will ask a veteran travel industry insider to join them and field listeners’ questions. Topics will range from business advice to industry trends, history and more — as long as it’s travel-related, we want to address it! Find Trade Secrets wherever you get your podcasts, or at www.travelagewest.com/podcasts/trade-secrets.
