Your December Update from Michael Wilson

Hello and welcome to my December update!

With the long-awaited launch of the P&O Cruises summer 2023 and winter 2023/24 programmes now behind us and of course the most recent Black Friday sales, my Sales Team have had the first chance to catch their breath since the start of the pandemic. It’s been an overwhelming 20 months and I have tried through these monthly updates to give you an insight into the ups and downs as we have navigated through the most difficult period the travel industry has ever experienced. Your subsequent feedback has been terrific and I sincerely appreciate the support you have given to my staff during these trying times.

We are still very much working in a pandemic and, of course, the last week or so the news has been dominated by Omicron, the latest covid variant. Like everyone, we have been keeping a very close eye on developments and it’s reassuring to see that many of the initial concerns are now being replaced with more optimistic messages. It has been great to read that the pharmaceuticals behind the main vaccines are now confident these will work against this latest strain, which of course was a source of concern. 

Clearly, the reintroduction of PCR and lateral flow tests in certain settings have meant cruise operators have had to adapt to new requirements. However, I am pleased to report that all immediate cruises have continued as planned with little or no disruption and it’s great to see so many of our clients able to complete their travel plans! The only unresolved issue is unvaccinated children who may be prevented from travelling and we very much hope that these temporary restrictions will be lifted soon so that as few clients as possible are impacted by this issue. If you are travelling with children in the early part of the new year, we will be in contact with you directly when we get any news from your cruise operator.

Another consequence of the pandemic is that almost all communication with cruise operators has been by video conference since last March 2020 when the first lockdown took place. I have to say the technology has been amazing and it has brought home just how effective these meetings can be, but I have also been looking forward to getting back to normality with face-to-face discussions with our key travel partners. We recently saw the first in-house meeting at the Cruise Centre, when we were joined by both the Strategic Account Manager and Head of Sales from Celebrity Cruises. They were here to share the news of their latest ship Celebrity Beyond, who joins the Edge class fleet next April. We are delighted that Celebrity Beyond will be named here in the UK, prior to the sailing of her maiden voyage into Western Europe. She will then undertake a series of cruises within Europe, prior to moving to the Caribbean in October. These Edge class ships really do take cruising to a different level offering a true luxury product, with the large ship experience. There are still lots of opportunities to join Celebrity Beyond in her maiden season and you can find more details by following this link.

Our face-to-face meeting with Celebrity is the first of many planned over the next month or so, another positive step towards returning to normal.

On the subject of new cruise ships, Silversea recently announced they would be launching Silver Nova in summer 2023. 

Reaffirming the cruise line’s commitment to the environment, she will be the first hybrid luxury cruise ship free of local emissions at port. Using liquefied natural gas as the main fuel will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40% per double suite when compared to Silversea’s previous class of ships. Silver Nova will also be one of the most spacious cruise ships ever built; each of the 728 guests will receive personalised service on board with a crew-to-guest ratio of 1:1:3 and a butler service in every suite. Reservations will open on 6 January 2022 and you can register your interest with our Sales Team now. 

We’ve also got the launch of the new P&O Cruises ship Arvia to look forward to next year. The inaugural cruise will set sail from Southampton on 9 December 2022 and I know many of you are already booked on this and subsequent sailings. Arvia includes a number of firsts for P&O Cruises, including a retractable SkyDome, Altitude adventure area and swim-up bar. This Excel class ship is the sister of Iona and I fully expect her popularity to grow even further when she enters the fleet next December. You can find out more about Arvia and see the latest updates as we receive them by here. 

I have mentioned previously that over 200 ships from 68 different brands are now back in service and as we move into December, the overall figure is now 239 ocean ships. That’s an increase of nine since November, but more notably there are some 425,000 berths back in service which represent nearly a 9% increase over the previous month. Royal Caribbean International have the largest number of ships in service with some 20 ships now operational. Fantastic progress with many more set to return in 2022. 

Thanks for following my updates and I wish everyone travelling over the next month Bon Voyage and have a great holiday.

Yours sincerely

Michael Wilson