During a recent chat with TravelAge West, Shawn Tubman, senior vice president of sales for Regent Seven Seas Cruises, discussed the current state of the luxury cruise travel market, and how that affects the brand, as it prepares to launch its next set of itineraries through 2026.
Highlights of the new voyage collection include 29 maiden ports of call and a breadth of regions that span Alaska, the Caribbean, the Mediterranean and Northern Europe, plus Australia and New Zealand, Asia, South America and the South Pacific.
The collection is available for guests to pre-register their interest from June 7, and reservations open for sale on June 21, 2023. Advisors can also find out more at a special webinar scheduled for June 6 at 2 p.m., EST.
What would you say is trending in the luxury cruise space that travel advisors should be aware of?
Destinations are probably the single thing that's really trending — more immersive destinations for our guests. We think we really are one of the most immersive choices out there, [and] we [always] say, “Where else can we go in the world?”
Our guests are very well traveled, of course, but they're always looking for new places to learn about and visit. Even the ports where they've been there and done that, they want to do it in a different way. So, we always look at that when we launch a new season.
How have recent world cruise and extended voyage options been received versus once-popular shorter sailings?
Since the pandemic, we've seen more demand for longer voyages. A lot of people lost travel time, and they're making up for it. It's travel with a vengeance, and they're doing a lot of bucket-list cruising. So, we're doing more of our longer cruises. We have the five Grand Voyages, and we had the largest launch ever for our 2025/2026 Grand Voyages in May.
This first quarter was our strongest first quarter ever. You can really see demand picking up these days.
These voyages are amazing. The 2026 world cruise is 156 days long. But these other Grand Voyages range anywhere from 61 nights up to 117 nights. And 117 nights for some cruise lines is a world cruise.
But that's not the only thing. This first quarter was our strongest first quarter ever. You can really see demand picking up these days. And it's not just for the longer cruises. We typically average anywhere from 11 to 12 days, starting at seven nights going all the way up to that world cruise.
Has Regent’s demographic shifted at all post-pandemic, or are the same clients returning?
We saw more past guests booking during the pandemic, and since the pandemic, we're seeing a lot of first-timers book. Both types of cruisers are growing at this point. We're seeing both groups splurge more than they did in the past, and it's attributed to missing some good travel years and wanting to make up for lost time.
Shawn Tubman, senior vice president of sales for Regent Seven Seas Cruises
Credit: 2023 Regent Seven Seas CruisesOur past guests are not only booking once a year, but multiple times a year, and they're booking every year as far out as they can with us now, because they want to line up cruises for the future.
And both types of cruisers are celebrating milestones, [since] they couldn't during the pandemic. We have a program called Unforgettable Moments, which caters to that, and it's a great opportunity for them to celebrate in such a fantastic atmosphere.
What amount of your current and future guests are new to the brand or new to cruising?
We're seeing more guests who are new to the brand, definitely, but not really many at all who are new to cruising. They’ve all sailed before.
Typically, they start with the contemporary lines, and they enjoy that. Then they may book a suite in a contemporary line ship, and they see the value in doing that. And then they look at the premium cruise lines, and you go from 5,000 people down to 3,000, and it's a little nicer of an experience with fewer people and better accommodations.
Then they do suites on premium, and then they look at luxury. And that's really what's happening now. There is an organic swell of demand of people moving up from premium and contemporary suites up to Regent. So, there's lots of opportunity right now for our travel agent partners to take advantage of that and be that consultant for their prospects.
There is an organic swell of demand of people moving up from premium and contemporary suites up to Regent. So, there's lots of opportunity right now for our travel agent partners to take advantage of that and be that consultant for their prospects.
We're also seeing demand from luxury hotel vacationers, and that is kind of new for us. They've never really been interested in luxury cruising. What they're finding out is that hotels are so expensive these days in Europe. Plus, there is the sheer hassle of intercontinental travel: unpacking, packing and uneven service throughout.
We're also getting river cruisers. River cruises typically start with an escorted tour product, and then they want to try a different way to tour Europe. And now we're getting interest from that market for ocean cruising.
How do you explain the cost of a Regent cruise to newcomers?
When premium guests, for example, look at the upfront price for Alaska and compare it to other premium lines, they might say, “well, you know, that's a little too much for me.”
What they don't understand is what is included and the value of that, as most of those elements they're going to pay for on their own. So, we've put together comparison charts to really help our advisors tell that story and show that it's very competitive between a premium line cruise in Alaska and Seven Seas Explorer, for example, which is the most luxurious ship in Alaska by far.
We stack up luxury hotel stays and show what's included in the cruise, and it is savings of up to 40% for a Regent cruise in the Med for 10 nights doing the same sort of itinerary.
We just put together a luxury hotel comparison piece. We stack up luxury hotel stays and show what's included in the cruise, and it is savings of up to 40% for a Regent cruise in the Med for 10 nights doing the same sort of itinerary. We’re also working on a river cruise comparison piece for Europe this summer.
What does the upcoming Seven Seas Grandeur (launching later this year) mean to Regent?
We're so excited for Grandeur to join the fleet. It represents more opportunity for us and meeting that demand that we're seeing. And it means more opportunity for our travel advisor partners. She's the third ship in the Explorer class, and you'll see the same unrivaled space, service and cuisine in a beautiful atmosphere on that ship. The Explorer-class vessels give you the feeling that you're in a luxury hotel.
The other thing about Grandeur is our new relationship with the House of Faberge. They are creating a one-of-a-kind egg for us. It's going to be called “Journey in Jewels,” and it really caps off our multimillion-dollar art collection. We're known for our art collections onboard, and it's going to be featured prominently. We’re really excited to show something so unique and interesting to our guests.
Is there any other message you have for the travel trade at this time?
We are always putting together better training for our travel agent partners, as well as promotions for them. Right now, we have a great promotion going called Spring Into Summer, and it offers savings up to 40% on a myriad of sailings in 2023 and into 2024. What that does is really help our advisors position Regent to their prospects, and at this promotional offer pricing, it’s really very comparable to what people would be paying for premium ship.
We're always trying to put a little sweetener in there for agents, so we have a $200 gift card for the month of June for this campaign. We're giving them an extra two-point bonus commission through June 30. And, through June 30, if advisors sell three suites on 100 eligible voyages into 2024, they'll earn a free cruise on one of those same voyages. So, it's an exciting time for us and for the trade.
