Onboard one of Avalon Waterways’ first return trips in France since the pandemic, I sat down with Steve Born, chief marketing officer of parent company Globus Family of Brands, to discuss the current state and future of river cruising.
Is the entire Avalon fleet back in operation? If not, when do you anticipate that will be?
Right now, we're operating at two-thirds capacity. 2022 will be full-capacity with all our ships operating, including our new baby Avalon View that we're going to be christening in April. So, we'll have more capacity in 2022 than we have had at any time in our history.
We'll have more capacity in 2022 than we have had at any time in our history.
How should travel advisors be selling Avalon during this transition back to service?
There's probably the first level about peace of mind and assuring cruisers that with a river cruise, there are elements of it that are better equipped to keep the cruise experience intact than if they would have a big-ship experience with more travelers. There are inherent things about a river cruise that make a lot of sense in a travel world that includes COVID-19.
The second thing is more about an experience or perception that river cruising is a passive sedentary experience. It's pretty much the opposite on Avalon, and the Active & Discovery program of tours provides a platform for travelers to be very active and very engaged.
Is there a greater push in your marketing efforts to show how river cruising is different from ocean cruising?
There are 35 million Americans who say that they're interested in river cruising, yet the market of actual travelers from the U.S. is less than a million a year, which shows you the gap between interest and progression. What a great opportunity for travel advisors.
There are 35 million Americans who say that they're interested in river cruising, yet the market of actual travelers from the U.S. is less than a million a year, which shows you the gap between interest and progression.
My advice to advisors is not to assume that clients are in tune with what the cruise market is, but use your power of suggestion to say, “Let me invite you into this. Let's not wait for the world to change. Let me invite you to this type of cruising.”
Are there any particular benefits you would say exist to taking a river cruise now, versus waiting?
There's no reason to wait, particularly with our commitment to full vaccination through 2022. There’s that extra layer of protection here.
We do a lot of pre-trip communication to make sure that guests are on point with understanding our protocols, and also that they're attesting that they're healthy and that they're safe and ready to travel when they join us. You can have peace of mind to know that we've taken all the steps to ensure that folks are safe, including testing to get back home.
What do you predict the future holds for river cruising overall, and the Avalon brand specifically?
This is a potential golden age for river cruising. For Avalon specifically, I think the big opportunity is the differences in the Avalon experience being dynamic. We have our choice of a Classic experience, or Discovery — for a local authentic experience, such as wine tasting or chocolate making or painting — or Active, where you get engaged with a bike or a kayak. We go to a great extent to make sure that when the ship stops, the fun begins, and that it opens up how to discover the destination.
There's still a perception that when the ship stops, there will [only] be a walking tour of the city, then you get back on to eat, and then off you go. That’s not our approach. It's much more dynamic, and agents are the ones who are going to be telling that story on the forefront. Their clients need to know that there are other options, and that the experience is not going to be passive. They're used to a dynamic experience on a big ship, and they can have it in a much different way with the destination excursions with Avalon.
How are sales looking for 2022 and beyond?
The [numbers for] are already looking good, and it's influenced by so many travelers having moved cruises into 2022 from before. For the first quarter, agents are going to be at the forefront of a migration from different forms of cruising to more intentional cruising.
For the first quarter, agents are going to be at the forefront of a migration from different forms of cruising to more intentional cruising.
Throughout 2022, it'll be a bit of a transition as the fog lifts for travelers on feeling more comfortable about travel and having more assurance about the fact that they will be able to have the vacation that they want without compromise or interruption.
We have started taking some early bookings for 2023. Granted no other curve ball [comes], we expect 2023 is going to be stronger than 2022.
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Avalon Waterways
