Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, the British operator of four medium sized cruise ships, has worked for more than a year to find out what both those that cruise and those that currently do not really expect from a cruise holiday. The answer, in both cases, has been the same: immersion in destinations.
“Destination is the key driver, not the brand or the ship,” said Nathan Philpott, Director of Marketing and Sales at the Ipswich based company. “People also want to spend more time in port and they want to return home brining with them enrichment and stories, not just sun tan,” he said in a presentation in London on Monday.
The mission of Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines is, therefore, “to enable people to discover the world; to provide inspirational experiences for a lifetime,” he added. Consequently, the company has axed its previous motto “It’s All About the People” in favour of a wider approach: “Bringing the World Closer To You.”
Philpott explained that the human element remains a very important part of the company’s offering in the future as well: with smaller ships that can carry between 840 and 1,350 passengers, the passengers will have more interaction between each other and the service staff can offer a more personalized service than what would be possible on bigger vessels. The ships can also get closer to their destinations - up river to Sevilla rather than coaching passengers from Cadiz; central St Petersburg, through the Kiel Canal and up to Ho Chi Minh City.
In addition, the company will add two departure ports in 2014, Bristol Avonmouth and London Tilbury, whereby it will offer cruises from 10 ports in the UK next year. “Ninety present of the UK population will be within 90 minute drive from one of these ports,” he pointed out, adding that this was very much a part of the credo of the company to bring the world closer to its passengers.
Moving on to destinations themselves, Philpott said that winter cruises to Norway in search of the Northern Lights have become so popular that the company added one such cruise to the 2013 schedule in addition to the two it had planned to operate. In 2014, there will be three such cruises from Southampton and one from Liverpool. A Christmas cruise to Norway will also be a new offering next year.
Due to solar activity, the Northern Lights are at their most active and once that phase will end, it will take a decade before they will peak again.
Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines will also take its passengers to the Riviera at the time of the Cannes Film Festival and Monaco Grand Prix, so that those interested in film stars and fast cars will have an opportunity to see both.
A cruise to the Canaries in August should coincide with an expected shower of meteors in the night sky in that region, while a Baltic cruise will take in the Kiel Regatta. In Tallinn, passengers can attend a music festival that will bring 18,000 singers and dancers at an open air stage plus enjoy the Copenhagen Jazz Festival.
In order to attract new passengers to cruising, the company will launch Multi-City Cruise breaks next year. One will include overnight stays at Copenhagen, Oslo and Amsterdam, while another one will offer the same extended stay in Amsterdam, Antwerpen and Oslo.
The Adriatic Coast is becoming a hugely popular destination and the company will operate a 28 night cruise to that region in may, while a voyage of similar duration will start in Liverpool and take in the Black Sea. Those looking for longer voyages will be offered a 73 night voyage around South America ands a 119 night Grand Voyage to the Far East.
