Pent-up demand for cruising is driving huge bookings globally, with bookings by Australians expected to rocket when cruise ships finally get the government green light to set sail from local shores.
According to a report in The Australian, the head of the Australian arm of Norwegian Cruise Line NCL vice-president and Asia Pacific managing director Ben Angell says there is fantastic booking momentum in the European and North American markets, adding, “Forward demand is so great that pricing is actually getting higher,” and “Many of our major source markets like Europe and America are cruising already … and booking in large numbers.”
He said, “By the time we (Australians) get excited and we know borders are reopening, the risk is we are well down the line, and the availability for cruising is not there and prices have increased”, and “It doesn’t matter if we are talking about departing from Sydney or Hawaii, we source guests from around the world.”
Angell said, “You are seeing it with domestic travel”, “If you try to book into Byron Bay prices are sky-high, Australians are seeing that pattern with domestic land holidays, and it should be no surprise that domestic or international cruises will follow that same pattern,” adding, “If they want to be able to get the cabins and sailings they want … there is very little risk by getting in early.”
Globally, NCL says it is sustaining strong forward bookings despite reduced sales and marketing investments and “a travel agency industry that has not been at full strength since the start of the pandemic”, with the parent company saying its 2022 booking and pricing trends continue to be very positive, driven by strong pent-up demand, adding, “The company is experiencing robust future demand across all brands, with the overall cumulative booked position for full-year 2022 meaningfully ahead of 2019’s record levels at higher pricing even when including the dilutive impact of future cruise credits (FCC),” reporting, “The company’s advance ticket sales were $US1.4bn ($1.9bn), including the long-term portion, which includes approximately $US800m of FCCs as of June 30, 2021.”
Meanwhile, Angell says he is optimistic now that the federal government has changed its rhetoric and is talking about opening borders, saying, “That gave me confidence that cruising has to be included in that (reopening),” adding, “We are marching towards 80 per cent vaccination rates at the end of November” and” From that point forward I imagine there will be a real conversation about a return to cruising.”
Internationally, NCL has one-third of its 17-strong fleet of ships sailing, with Norwegian Jade sailing Greece, Encore sailing Alaska, Gem in the Caribbean, and Epic and Getaway in the Mediterranean.
Angell says the company was one of the first to mandate 100 per cent vaccinations on board as well as onboard testing adding, “It’s been really positive” and “We formed the healthy sail panel months ago and we are now working with that team of experts, taking a very planned and cautious approach to restart.”
He said, “A lot of people who have been restricted for 18 months are looking at bucket list cruises, and they have been restricted … and they will want to come down here and book cruises.”
Angell says the Norwegian Spirit passenger ship, which is currently in the Adriatic Sea, plans to return to Australia from February, with sailings were dependent on the border reopenings, and while he envisages Australian and New Zealand itineraries he says this will be reviewed if necessary, adding, “I think Australians in general understand there’s a process for the government to follow … we are seeing nothing but optimism from our past guests who want to return to Europe, Hawaii and Alaska.”
Angell says that locally, demand is very strong for the latter half of 2022 and 2023, adding, “There’s incredibly positive forward bookings … there is a huge amount of pent-up demand”, and “The consumer sentiment shows they are committed to cruising again”.
A report from The Australian edited by John Alwyn-Jones, Cruise Editor.
