Travel agents accredited for booking surge
Travel agents have been accredited with creating a pre-booking hype surrounding Princess Cruises’ winter program sales, with Senior Vice President, Stuart Allison claiming the annual launch event “has become the most anticipated booking day in the cruise industry in Australia”.
Allison, speaking to Travel Weekly at yesterday’s new 2020 winter program reveal, adds that “maybe it’s the most anticipated booking day of any travel product”, with hundreds of cabins sold in minutes.
With Princess Cruises’ parent company Carnival achieving 70 per cent of market share in Australia, Allison said its 2017 booking day amounted to the biggest day for cruise sales in the country across all lines.
The new 2020 winter program, which goes to sale to Princess Cruises’ Elite guests on 9 October at 9am, before opening to the general public from 11 October, will feature 36 itineraries to 90 destinations across 38 countries, with round-trip options from Sydney, Brisbane, Auckland, Perth and Yokohama on Sun Princess and Sea Princess.
New for 2020 will incorporate more calls to Japan than ever before, timed to coincide with the country’s hosting of the Winter Olympic Games in 2020.
The winter program includes a 106-night World Cruise and a 77-night Circle Pacific itinerary, back due to popular demand. Highlights on the World Cruise will include calling into the Arctic Circle and discovering new ports in Croatia, Morocco, Iceland and Norway.
“There is no other way to get on a ship in Sydney, sail the world, and get off in Sydney,” Allison told Travel Weekly, referring to the World Cruise, adding that if agents wanted to secure premium cabins for clients, they must book early.
The winter program signifies a 56 per cent increase in capacity for Princess, offering “a fantastic selection of cruises all designed to give Australian and New Zealand travellers a truly memorable holiday,” according to the cruise line’s Director of Marketing, Nick Ferguson.
Kicking off cruise season early, Sydneysiders welcomed Majestic Princess to its shores for a six-month deployment earlier this month, which also marks the largest Princess ship to visit Australia. The new ship will offer 16 voyages visiting destinations including Fiji, New Zealand and Tasmania, as well as voyages from Shanghai and Hong Kong.
For more details on Princess Cruises 2020 Winter Program visit: www.princess.com
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