“The best way for people to feel good about cruising is for advisors to talk to them,” said Michelle Fee, CEO and founder of Cruise Planners. “Travelers want to know that it’s safe to sail.”
There’s a lot transitioning in the cruise world right now, and it may be unclear how to navigate any turbulent waters. Although cruising is not a zero-risk activity during the pandemic — and travel advisors should be transparent with clients about this — they can do many things to instill traveler confidence when it comes to cruising, including by sharing relative statistics, referencing the latest guidance from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention and more.
Here are six ways to approach a conversation with potential cruise clients.
Share Positive Cruise Stories
Seeing others enjoy a cruise vacation is currently a crucial element, according to Fee.
“We’ve told our advisors to ‘post away’ when at sea to show their clients what it’s like and how safe they felt while onboard,” she said.
We’ve told our advisors to ‘post away’ when at sea to show their clients what it’s like and how safe they felt while onboard.
After all, over 6 million global passengers have safely set sail since cruising resumed in June 2021, and the onboard COVID-19 infection rate is less than .01%, according to Fee.
Ensure Travelers That Cruise Lines Are Focused on Health and Safety
Meanwhile, measures from cruise lines remain laser focused on ensuring guest health.
“We believe it’s the entire realm of everything associated with a cruise — pre-cruise validation of vaccinations (with boosters highly recommended) and testing of all guests and crew, plus being onboard in a safe environment with protocols in place to protect everyone onboard,” said John Chernesky, senior vice president of sales and trade marketing at Princess Cruises.
Remind Clients About Traditional Cruise Selling Points
As for further messaging, Chernesky adds the importance of connection with loved ones and new friends made along the way, as well as with the destination itself, plus the traditional cruising benefits of unpacking once and seeing the world.
But never far from travelers’ minds right now are practical concerns, even as the Omicron variant subsides.
“Now more than ever, travelers want vacation options that allow them to resume traveling without worrying about complications,” said Ken Muskat, executive vice president and chief operating officer for MSC Cruises USA. “Thanks to the controlled environment that only cruise ships can offer, we are in a unique position to maintain a safety bubble around our guests.”
Emphasize Flexible Booking Policies
Muskat cites the line’s flexible booking and boarding policies as being key in case guests are prevented from boarding at all. That flexibility also applies to changing conditions off the ship.
“The measures in place can be adapted in response to the situation onshore, and our protocol is designed to do just that, becoming more stringent when needed or seeing some of the measures relaxed as things improve with the pandemic,” he added.
Virgin Voyages is in the same boat, so to speak.
“Potential sailors (guests) are interested in learning about our mask mandates, flexible booking policies and any current offers,” according to John Diorio, vice president of North American sales and Kimberly Faiello, director of first mates marketing at Virgin.
The line plans to return to a mask-optional experience come Feb. 27, following Celebrity Cruises and Royal Caribbean International, only a few days before Carnival Cruise Line, Holland America Line, Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises, Princess Cruises, Regent Seven Seas Cruises and Seabourn Cruise Line are all set to do the same on March 1.
Reference Strict Vaccination and Testing Policies
For the time being, passenger inoculation and testing are making the aforementioned policy modifications possible.
“We test all of our sailors and crew, and everyone must be fully vaccinated,” added Diorio and Faiello. “In the unlikely event that someone does test positive either before or during the voyage, we'll treat them with that same rockstar-level service and make arrangements for them. When sailors feel safe and know that Virgin Voyages has gone the extra mile to keep everyone healthy, it's reassuring.”
Cruise Planners’ Fee believes it’s important to realize clients are fatigued from an onslaught of information and headlines from across the travel industry that can be misleading if seen separately from the big picture. In her view, certain statistics are still worth highlighting, particularly that more than 62% of the U.S. is now vaccinated with many boosted, and that the vaccination rate is even higher on cruise ships, where at least 95% of crew and passengers are fully vaccinated in many cases.
What’s more, she points out in the U.S. alone, the cruise industry administers nearly 10 million tests per week, amounting to 21 times the rate of shoreside testing.
At some point, the demand will outpace the supply, and you don’t want your client to be the one waiting at the pier as the ship pulls away.
Address Client Concerns and Questions Head On
“Most importantly, the advisor needs to find out what the clients’ hesitancies are, and address them,” she said. “At some point, the demand will outpace the supply, and you don’t want your client to be the one waiting at the pier as the ship pulls away.”
And cruiser confidence is already improving as the pandemic wanes. In fact, according to Cruise Planners, people have no intention of waiting: Cruise departures in the next quarter are already up 22%.
“Judging by the numbers we’ve seen in bookings the past couple of weeks, I believe passengers are less concerned about Omicron — something we predicted early on,” Fee said.
