The new cruise trend is back to back
There is a new trend in town. Cruisers are not content to just take one cruise: they are custom building dream itineraries by taking back-to-back cruises across river and sea.
While at this stage there is no specific data on the trend, it is a burgeoning.Those of you on the ground will have witnessed it and industry figures are seeing the place it is carving out in the cruise sector.
Leading portal Cruise Critic has clocked the trend in Australia. “Anecdotally we’re hearing about Australians doing two in a row in Europe, such as Western plus Eastern Med,” Cruise Critic Australia senior editor Louise Goldsbury said.
“The huge range of cruise itineraries now on offer means that back to back cruising has become more feasible than ever before, with guests able to enjoy consecutive holidays to different destinations without having to change ships or pack and unpack for each trip,” CLIA Commercial Director Brett Jardine said.
APT said the trend is undeniable, and there are a key drivers behind its popularity and growth. “Some want to cover off several travel goals in one seamless journey and so they choose itineraries that enable them to see all their chosen highlights in one go,” APT head of marketing Justine Lally said.
For others, it is all about the style of travel. “Especially with river cruising, which combines convenience, peace of mind and great value with luxury and comfort,” Lally said.
Cruise Critic has noticed repositioning back to back cruises, such as Seattle-Vancouver-Honolulu-Sydney. “When travelling such long distances for cruises, one week is just too short, so Australians want to make it worth it by doubling up,” Goldsbury said.
There’s also a financial incentive, with cruise lines offering discounts for multiple bookings. Seabourn will discount two or more cruise bookings by up to 15%.
“Many cruise lines offer extra booking incentives to reward travellers who stay onboard for more than one cruise, so that makes back to back cruising even more enticing,” Jardine said.
“Many of our Europe cruises are designed as seven-day cruises but are combinable for two to four weeks, allowing guests to create wonderful longer itineraries that are very rich in port content,” Seabourn global marketing VP John Delaney said.
“Australians have a lot of leave and like to make the most of their international travel opportunities so back to back cruising is a very appealing concept for our travellers,” Jardine said.
“Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific is another popular local combo operated by Holland America, or combining northern and southern Australia to create a full circumnavigation with Princess or Royal Caribbean,” Goldsbury said.
So, what are the logistics you can advise passengers on who book the stacked up voyages? Well if you are staying on the same ship, you may have to relocate cabin. However, Cruise Critic advises that if you book far enough in advance operators will accommodate you in the same number. “You can keep the same cabin and just ‘log off’ and ‘log back on’ to the ship,” Goldsbury said.
“Passengers often receive ‘in-transit’ cards and new sea pass cards on the last night of the first cruise to skip some of the formalities getting off and back on the ship, but they’ll still have to attend the muster drill again.”
All operators recognise this burgeoning trend and are tailoring their products and departure dates to suit dovetailing travellers. Evergreen Tours tapped into the river-ocean concept with two combination cruises. First up, there’s a 29-day River Cruise and Best of the Arctic Adventure that starts in Budapest and tracks through to Amsterdam, followed up by an ocean voyage north from Norway to Greenland and Iceland.
“Some guests want to join up cruises by adding together itineraries in neighbouring destinations. While we might not offer the combinations as a set itinerary we often work closely with agents to match our various trips together in order to meet this requirement,” APT’S Lally said.
“Back-to-back itineraries have become increasingly successful for Avalon Waterways, particular among Australians who generally travel for longer periods than other markets,” Globus national marketing manager Australia Chris Fundell said.
Scenic noticed the trend and launched more cruise combination bookings. “These new cruises are based on guest feedback, reviewing 2015 and 2016 sales booking patterns, and also the gut feeling of our Journey Designers of what may work,” Scenic Europe journey designer Tiffany Watters said.
So what’s popular? APT’s guests are happy to add in city stays to design their dream journey. The operator cites the combination of Antarctica’s icebergs with Chile’s Fjords.
“Guests who want to cruise Antarctica but also cruise the Chilean Fjords are able to do so by spending a few nights in Ushuaia following their Antarctica cruise before joining our 19-day Patagonia and Chilean Fjord Cruise,” Lally said.
For Avalon Waterways it is the Grand France trip linking a Paris to Normandy itinerary in the north of France with our Burgundy & Provence itinerary in the south. The two cruises are scheduled to connect on the same day and create an overall itinerary of 16 days.
“The success of the twin French cruises prompted Avalon to create another back-to-back option introduced last year, the Rhine and Rhône Revealed. This combination links our Burgundy & Provence itinerary with our Romantic Rhine cruise, creating a 16-day itinerary from the south of France to Amsterdam. It too has sold well in its first year,” Fundell said.
Scenic said the most popular combination is an in-depth France sail, joining the Seine and Bordeaux cruises linked by a rail journey. The Seine is undoubtedly the start-off point for most cruisers.
“The Seine and the Rhone is also very popular, this is 23 days with the TGV linking the two cruises,” Watters said.
The abundance of waterways of France make it a sure-fire country for river cruise back to backs. Viking has also reported that it’s most popular back to back cruise starts on the Seine, into Normandy and is then united with southern France along the Saone and Rhone rivers. The two itineraries are Paris and the Heart of Normandy as well as Lyon and Provence. In total its 15 days of in-depth French sailing.
For Scenic, the France itineraries have been designed to connect across regions by air, rail or road. Beyond France, Scenic’s 10-day Douro river cruise can be partnered with every France river cruise and is proving to be a popular choice.
Viking has also reported that the chance to sail across central, western and Eastern Europe is a huge lure for clients, leading them to pool the Grand European Tour with the Passage to Eastern Europe. In 23 days cruisers will see eight countries and participate in 18 guided tours along three rivers. There’s Amsterdam, the Danube, as well as the option to extend the trip in Eastern Europe with a three night post extension in enigmatic Bucharest and Transylvania. That means Dracula’s Castle but could also translate to Black Sea beaches if cruisers want some ocean after all that river.
“Avalon Waterways has also increased the connectivity between its river cruises and other touring options from the Globus family of brands. It’s now quite common for guests to combine a coach tour with a river cruise,” Fundell said.
It’s not just Europe-centric though. American Cruise Lines makes the most of American waterways, including icons such as the Mississippi.
“We have noticed a trend towards back to back cruises. In the past couple years we have seen a gradual increase,” American Cruise Lines vice president administration and sales Timothy Beebe said.
“We also find that many international travellers book back to back cruises seeking to maximise their time in the USA.”
So, next time a cruise fanatic comes to you for a consult, pull out a paper world map and start connecting the dots of the world’s great rivers and waterways. It’s time to creatively cruise.
Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au
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