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Cruise industry should tell personalised, convincing stories and rethink business model

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines

Published: 07 October 2020 07 October 2020

The Covid-19 pandemic means that the cruise industry needs to think anew how it wants to communicate with its potential customers and it may even have to rethink its entire business model, panelists at a webinar that was part of Seatrade Cruise Virtual said.

The outbreak of the pandemic has shown the industry the importance of loyal customers and highlighted the ability to drastically change its plans as events have unfolded. The speakers highlighted the importance of story telling in the marketing communication of the industry – as Janet Bava, Chief Marketing Officer of AmaWaterways said, people are e.g. watching longer videos now than what they did before the crisis, which is positive and opens up possibilities. The panelists agreed that messages from the industry should be increasingly personalised.

But Carolyn Spencer Brown, Chief Content Officer at Cruise Media LLC that publishes cruisebusiness.com, asked how can you tell a story that resonates with potential passengers and pivots on dreams when the industry has been forced to shut down a vast part of its operations for some six months.

Barbara Muckermann, Chief Marketing Officer at Silversea Cruises, said that the message will have to remember the dream aspect and not to solely focus on health protocols and other safety related matters, yet it should at the same time be reassuring. And while Christopher Nurko, Chief Innovation Officer at Interbrand C Space Group, agreed, he also pointed out that the entire travel ecosystem now must answer health protocol questions, but it also has to reinforce a sense of confidence.

Ellen Asmodeo-Giglio, a luxury travel and lifestyle expert who spent 10 years as Chief Revenue Officer at AFAR, pointed out that it will probably be more difficult to attract newcomers on ships than before, which calls for a closer cooperation between a wide range of actors in the travel, hospitality and retail sectors. The role of media has not been entirely encouraging.

Mainstream media has sensationalised events, online platforms provide great opportunity

The media’s role is important in helping the industry to get back on track, but this may mean an uphill struggle, Spencer Brown pointed out. While the trade media has shown understanding towards the challenges that the cruise industry has faced, the mainstream media has often carried sensationalist headlines about events onboard ships. The number of clicks a headline attracts is a powerful driver in today’s world for the mainstream media.

Asmodeo-Giglio noted that at the same time this all has happened, the audiences have remained engaged, yet there has been virtually no advertising since the outbreak of the crisis. Shifting the narrative is the task of the cruise industry and not of the media: this it can best achieve by inspiring people.

Bava pointed out that the industry needs to ensure that facts are exactly correct in the reports that appear on mainstream media, which has not always been the cade during this crisis. It means that the industry needs to educate the mainstream media about how it works and the complexities that are involved.

All this happens against the background of a media landscape that is quickly changing: Spencer Brown asked about the experience the industry has with new platforms that allow passengers to produce generic content of their own.

The panelists agreed that digital online platforms had opened new possibilities to the industry to communicate directly with consumers. Equally crucial, these platforms, which include Facebook, also permit customers and the general public to discuss the industry directly.

One reasonably new development, in addition to cruise lines' own Facebook pages, which they control, is the advent of private Facebook groups. These are run by private individuals -- including fans of the cruise lines and even cruise journalists. Cruise companis may participate but do not have control over the conversations.

Many of the members of these groups are very knowledgeable about the line in question and Bava said these people often help to clarify things and they also defend the line in question or the wider industry.

Another way that cruise lines are telling stories is through the staff and crew, a great asset as they have bonded and connected with regular guests and are more personable than corporate fodder.

Entire business model for marketing and sales is ripe for change

Nurko widened the angle by asking whether the entire business model of the cruise industry should be redrawn. “You need to rethink the business model, marketing and sales. You don’t sell ships or excursions – what are we actually selling and what do people buy,” he asked.

He also pointed out that the user engaged content online has changed over time and video has overtaken text in importance. “People want to become brands themselves. Millennials and Generation Z’ers want to be the story, you’ve got to multiply their story,” he said, adding that this makes these people enablers to brands.

Muckermann agreed and said that this means that the story of a cruise line must be a solid communications strategy, so that it will not be distorted. Nurko continued by saying there is no point in suggesting that a brand offers everything to everyone - it is important also to point out what kind of people are outside the radar of the line.

However, he also pointed out that innovation did not mean “tinkering with the edges.” He suggested that the cruise industry may have to retool its business and focus on rethinking the overall experience and value proposition that it offers. The focus should not be wasted on operational aspects as “old models are not around any more.”

 

 

 

Cruise industry top brass optimistic about US restart before year end

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines

Published: 06 October 2020 06 October 2020

Top executives of the four largest cruise shipping companies in the world were cautiously optimistic that cruises from US ports could resume before the end of this year, they said at the Seatrade Cruise Virtual event.

Arnold Donald, President and CEO of Carnival Corporation & plc, said that on a scale from 1 to 5 where the first figure indicates low likelihood and the latter one high chance of operations from US ports resuming this year, his guess is between 4.5 and 4.9. However, in order to make this happen, talks need to be held and agreements reached with a plethora of agencies both in the US and e.g. of Caribbean countries.

 Richard Fain, Chairman and CEO of Royal Caribbean Group, said the Healthy Sail Panel that recently presented its 74 recommendations regarding how to restart cruises from the US had produced a document that is constructive and the resumption of cruising in Europe under strict protocols was also a good sign. “I’m optimistic, we’re at an interesting tipping point. I’m smiling” he said.

Frank del Rio, President and CEO Frank del Rio of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, pointed out that it would take more than two months to reactivate a vessel that had been in lay up for half a year or more. “We’re in no rush to be the first out of the gate. But we’re  in the ball park,” he said.

Pierfranceso Vago, Executive Chairman of MSC Cruises, said that resumption of operations in Europe had taken lots of work, particularly with the many authorities involved. Despite several measures that are in place onboard, passenger feedback has been very positive as people are genuinely keen to return to normal life and have a holiday at sea.

The same process is taking place in the US and the Caribbean region regarding the restart of operations and Vago said he is optimistic that green light would come soon.

Regent first NCLH brand to order newbuilding – del Rio

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines

Published: 06 October 2020 06 October 2020

Regent Seven Seas will be the first brand in the Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) group to place an order for a newbuilding, NCLH president and CEO Frank del Rio said at a webinar.

The luxury market segment Regent’s final newbuilding in the present orderbook is due for delivery in 2023, while premium market brand Oceania Cruises and the contemporary market unit Norwegian Cruise Line have prototypes on order. “I would like to see at least one of them in service before the next order,” he said at the Seatrade Cruise Virtual event.

He did not elaborate on when an order might be placed.

Expedition and small ship operators need flexibility and adaptability to resume cruising

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines

Published: 05 October 2020 05 October 2020

The expedition and small ship cruise sector has to be flexible and with many alternative plans in sleeve to commence operations under the circumstances created by the Covid-19 epidemic, speakers at the Seatrade Cruise Virtual event said.

Itinerary planning, which is usually a process that extends two to three years ahead, has to be executed in a much shorter time and plans may have to be changed at a very short notice, said Emilio Freeman, VP itineraries and destinations at Seadream Yacht Club. “When we decided to introduce a programme of cruises in Norway, we had only seven weeks or so,” he said, referring to the summer.

The company is planning to launch operations in the Caribbean with Barbados as the base in November and there again, Freeman expects that flexibility and several action plans need to be in place in the event of unforeseen developments. Three key considerations form the backbone to the company’s planning at the moment – locals should welcome cruise ship calls, the destinations must not ones that large ships usually visit and finally, the ports must already be open to receive either just domestic passengers or international ones as well.

The situation around the Covid-19 epidemic remains fluid and this creates lots of uncertainty, which is likely to result in a downturn for the expedition and small ship cruise sector, said Robin West, VP expedition operations and planning at Seabourn. “We don't know yet when this is going to end, it may be that people want to wait another year (before travelling),” he told the audience. In the longer term, the fundamentals remain positive, but operators have to wrestle with many challenges: disruptions at shipyard could mean that Seabourn will have two newbuildings delivered within six months of each other instead of the planned one year.

Hans Largerweij, President of Albatros Expeditions said that bookings for 2021 look strong, but if the epidemic forces cancellation of another season of cruises, concerns arise if people are still prepared to rebook their holiday for 2022. So far, 80% of the people whose holiday had to be cancelled have rebooked, Langerweij said.

Moving to the outlook for operations in the high latitudes north and south, the panelists said that interaction with the smallest communities in regions like Greenland will have to be rethought and some places there or e.g. in Canada cannot be visited at all in order to keep the locals safe. Also distance to wildlife will have to be increased.

Many operators have cancelled their 2020-21 season in the Antarctica. Albatros Expeditions plans to resume operations there in early January, but that will depend on whether borers will open and adequate flight connections will be in place to take people to ships and back home again. There should also be the possibility to land passengers in either Argentina or Chile in case someone contacts Covid-19 onboard, Langerweij said.

Looking further into the future, the expedition and small ship cruise industry needs to ensure that gateway ports where ships are turned around and destinations in off the beaten track regions will not be overwhelmed by passengers. Diversifying itineraries to places other than those in high latitudes north and south are part of the solution. Various industry participants were working on this before the outbreak of Covid-19, but since the work has been on hold, West said.