Your July 2023 Update from Michael Wilson

Hello and welcome to my July 2023 update!

The past month has been a busy time particularly for our Cruise & Stay Department with record numbers of passengers travelling, up 130% on the same period last year! Plus, over the next month, we have a similar increase which really does ramp up the work generated by this complex activity for our Cruise & Stay Team. Operating our own packages creates another level of work for our business, bringing together the various elements for each trip and making sure they all work on schedule as planned demands careful coordination. The most popular cruise operator for Cruise & Stay was Cunard, with their terrific sailings in Alaska which we have combined with some great stays in Alaska and Canada. Our Marketing Copywriter Emma has just returned from this very voyage and has shared her account on our social media channels, so be sure to take a look.

A close second was P&O Cruises, where we put together a series of fly cruises on Azura out of Malta, staying at the five-star Grand Hotel Excelsior situated in Valletta. This represents really great value and is a tour that has been very well received by our clients.

Cruise & Stay is undoubtedly our big success story. It began in 2019, and didn’t get off to the greatest start as Covid resulted in almost all of our early bookings being cancelled. However, once the pandemic was behind us, we were able to refocus and since then we have seen continued growth with Cruise & Stay representing one in 10 clients booked today. 

You might be asking what Cruise & Stay is; quite simply, it is where we take on the position of a tour operator and build a trip around a cruise of your choice. We not only book the cruise, flights, accommodation and transfers, but we can combine tours, rail journeys, and excursions to name but a few! It’s great to see our customer satisfaction score for June was 99% which is amazing and tells me that we are on the right track. Clearly, things don’t always go entirely to plan and transfers have been our biggest headache, with a global lack of drivers post-Covid causing difficulties almost everywhere. However, this is generally behind us and you can rest assured that we provide a 24-hour emergency contact number to give a helping hand in those rare circumstances you might need it!  

On the subject of phone lines, in order to simplify the options, we have made some tweaks to our call centre. Going forward the options are now – press 1 to discuss an existing booking, press 2 to make a cruise enquiry or to place a new booking, and 3 for payments. I am delighted that this seems to have resolved the issue of calls directing to the wrong department.

Elsewhere in the industry, the countdown is on to the launch of Queen Anne, the first Cunard ship to be built in 12 years. Ahead of her maiden voyage in May 2024, the cruise line has released a cutaway of the ship, showcasing some of the interiors and venues that can be found on board. These include passenger favourites such as the Grand Lobby and Golden Lion pub, as well as additions unique to Queen Anne such as the Bright Lights Society, a brand-new show bar. The release of this image coincided with Cunard’s 183rd birthday, which the cruise line celebrated a few days ago.

We’ve also just received details of the ever-popular Event Voyages on board two of Cunard’s ships. There are so many highlights to look forward to in 2024, but one that stood out to me was flagship Queen Mary 2 embarking on her 400th Transatlantic Crossing. This will sail from 23-30 August 2024 from New York to Southampton, in what I expect will be an extremely popular voyage.

Since my last update, Royal Caribbean’s latest ship Icon of the Seas has successfully completed her sea trials. She is due to enter service in January next year and will be the first Icon Class vessel for the cruise line. This will soon be followed by Utopia of the Seas, which will embark on three- and four-night getaways from Port Canaveral when she launches in July 2024. Both of these ships look incredible with plenty of dining and entertainment options for all ages – they are certainly a far cry from anything that was around in my early days of working in the industry!

If you have your sights set on a Mediterranean cruise for spring/summer 2024/25, the latest offer from P&O Cruises might be of interest. Double onboard spending money of up to £640 per cabin is available to guests embarking on new Select Price 13 and 14-night Mediterranean voyages on Arvia and Britannia. You will need to book by 31 July 2023 to take advantage of this offer, which applies to departures from Southampton. Speak to one of our Cruise Experts on 01246 819 819 if you would like further information or to secure your booking.

A few months ago, P&O Cruises announced a new and exclusive partnership with renowned media and hospitality brand Time Out. It has just been announced that one of the first collaborations between the two brands will be a shore excursion in Lisbon, which enables guests to discover the local food scene through a series of hands-on experiences. It will be interesting to see how this partnership unfolds, and you can read more about it here.

I mentioned in my last update that we had been nominated in the Favourite Cruise Travel Agent category at this year’s Wave Awards. The deadline for voting has now been extended by a further two weeks, so if you haven’t yet cast your vote, myself and the team would be extremely grateful if you could do so. There is even the added incentive of being entered into a prize draw to win a 2024 cruise for two with Riviera Travel. Please follow this link to register your vote before 21 July. I would like to extend my personal thanks to everyone who has taken the time to vote for us so far.

Our Cruise Club Members will receive the summer issue of Into the Blue over the coming days. This celebratory 50th edition includes many of your favourite features, as well as a few familiar faces. You may have noticed this has been delivered to you in a new, fully recyclable paper wrap, which I’m delighted to reveal will be the case for every issue moving forwards. If you don’t receive your bi-monthly, complimentary copy of Into the Blue and would like to join our mailing list, please register your details on our website and we will make sure you receive future editions.

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

Yours sincerely

Michael Wilson