Your March Update from Michael Wilson

Hello and welcome to my March 2022 update!

This message comes to you from the Emirates lounge at Birmingham as I embark on my second holiday since Covid began in early 2020. I mentioned last time that I was about to travel to Morocco and what a fabulous trip that proved to be. Although just a short break, it was great to get away at long last and this ancient country was full of surprises. Having been in the travel industry for some 40-plus years, I had not realised what a perfect winter destination this was and only a four-hour flight from the UK. Perhaps something to consider in the near future?

So back to my current adventure, I’m off to Dubai and to be honest, using my credit from a cancelled trip in 2020. So it’s not just the cruise industry that are still dealing with Covid credits! Dubai is a fascinating place and whilst not for everyone, I love the restaurants, great weather, but most of all the easy access from the UK with little time difference.  

However, I’m not the only one travelling at Bolsover Cruise Club, lots of the staff are off on a variety of adventures sailing on Valiant Lady, Silver Dawn, Azamara Pursuit, Voyager of the Seas, Wonder of the Seas, Hurtigruten’s MS Maud, Regent Seven Seas Voyager, plus many more as they extend their knowledge and understanding of these fabulous cruise ships. I personally am looking forward to a short cruise on Celebrity Beyond in April, a chance to see the latest ship to join this premium brand which is very popular with our clients, and hopefully meet Captain Kate! I urge you to look out for our social media posts and blogs over the coming weeks to see how my staff have got on and hopefully you can find inspiration for your own future cruise holiday.  

I’ve mentioned before how time has gone so quickly during the pandemic and I cannot believe we are approaching the next major programme launch from P&O Cruises, for summer 2024! We will be opening pre-registrations on 23 March, when you will have the opportunity to register your specific requirements and we will book these for you the following week once they go on sale. This process is something we have perfected over the years and together with our bespoke booking system connected to P&O Cruises, I am confident in achieving close to 100% success for our clients. I firmly believe no other agent can match our pre-registration process and help you obtain the cruise and accommodation of your choice! Look out for our launch details, these have just gone to our printers and will be with you soon. 

Whilst continuing with the subject of travelling, you may have noticed that travel restrictions and testing requirements are lifting all the time. Take my current holiday as an example, Covid PCR testing was mandatory just a week or so ago, but this has been removed altogether and now only proof of vaccine is required to travel. That’s also true of many destinations as normality slowly returns, making it much easier for all of us and now we’ve just received the great news that the passenger locator form will be removed later this week. It really is great to be able to talk positively about travel again and what’s more the number of our travelling passengers continues to increase dramatically. It is wonderful to hear from so many happy customers again as they return from their cruise holidays!  

I read in the latest edition of the Cruise Industry News that some 45 additional cruise ships are entering service in March, which illustrates how quickly cruise lines are returning to normal activities. Active cruise ships around the globe will total at 264 as four new builds are also set to enter service this month, including Wonder of the Seas, the largest cruise ship in the world! Standing at 18 decks tall and a staggering 1,188 feet long, she can carry 6,988 passengers and 2,300 crew and has already began sailing in the Caribbean. Closer to home, Arcadia resumes service on 27 March starting with a Canary Island cruise from Southampton and continues with a variety of cruises from her home port throughout spring and summer. There is still availability on Arcadia throughout 2022, along with the other ships in P&O’s fleet, so there is still lots of choice for the coming months! Princess Cruises have also just announced that Enchanted Princess will be based in Southampton for her maiden summer season starting on 4 May, offering a great opportunity to be among the first on board this brand-new ship. 

Unfortunately, the ongoing drive to expand our various teams remains a significant challenge – quite where the employment market has gone is a real mystery. Over the last month we have seen several new members start training in the Sales Department, but we are still well short of pre-pandemic levels in almost all departments and continue to recruit as hard as we can. Sadly, I am sorry to say this still impacts on our phone service levels, although wait times have significantly reduced as there is much less uncertainty about travel/testing requirements and subsequently fewer calls on the subject!

Clearly, I cannot close without mentioning Ukraine and my heart goes out to all the people in this very troubled country. It is so sad to see so much loss of life and suffering and I know we all look forward to a speedy end to this tragic event. Obviously, cruise operators have reacted immediately to these events with ports removed from itineraries wherever necessary. As with all global conflicts, this has added a level of caution to some travellers, but I am pleased to see the bookings bounce back quickly. It has been great to see the British public rise to support the Ukrainian people with so much generosity, including my staff who have been collecting essential items for the local aid campaigns.

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