Passengers are prepared to spend more on luxury cruises today than pre-pandemic due to a long break from vacationing, as well as future cruise credits accumulated from pandemic-related cancellations, according to the2021 Luxury Market Report by Cruise Industry News.
This is according to luxury cruise specialists Cruise Industry News spoke to.
“No question in my mind that they are (ready to spend more), absolutely,” said Danny Pinchot, cruise consultant and owner of Danny’s Luxury Cruise Vacations. “A lot more people can afford to cruise right now and travel in general.”
Annie Scrivanich, senior vice president at Cruise Specialists, said that her organization was averaging $42,000 per client on world cruise bookings in January 2021.
Demand for Expedition
Scrivanich said that the luxury cruise client is, first and foremost, looking for the right destination. According to Pinchot, Europe, Alaska and the Caribbean are the hottest destinations. Expedition luxury cruises have gained big ground recently, too.
“Expedition are huge right now,” said Pinchot. “People are looking for something different. Whether it’s the Galapagos, Antarctica, or the Falklands, people are going up to coastal Norway to Svalbard; those are very much in demand.”
Pinchot added that this is even reflected in the fact that more and more cruise lines are trying to enter the expedition market.
“Not just your Hurtigruten, Silversea, Celebrity Xpedition and Lindblad, but more companies are getting into that because the demand is there,” Pinchot said.
A personalized approach is very important, too, according to both Pinchot and Scrivanich.
Readiness
Cruise lovers have been fired up and are ready to go cruising. And the recent news of the coronavirus vaccines has only increased the excitement.
This excitement about the vaccination, which is often seen as the gateway to the resumption of travelling, is evident in the spike in bookings Cruise Specialists noticed in December 2020.
“Partially, it’s the vaccine – I think that gives people a lot of hope and faith in terms of travelling. And safety is huge in terms of being paramount of people’s concerns,” said Scrivanovich.
“I think it’s also that people realize that they want to get going again, they want to get out and see the world,” she added.
Pinchot said both he and his clients are ready to get vaccinated for travelling.
“A good part of my clientele is ready to get the vaccine. And as soon as they can get it, myself included, I’ll be there to get it,” he said. “I know my clients are very eager – whether it’s Holland America Line, Princess, Celebrity, any of the cruise lines, especially the luxury ones; there is a huge demand, and they are ready to go.”
