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4 November, 2022

“We rely on the travel agent”: Royal Caribbean VP talks cruising’s big future in Australia

Royal Caribbean recently made its highly anticipated return to the Australian shorelines, with Ovation of the Seas docking in Sydney late last month and Quantum of the Seas arriving in Brisbane on Tuesday.

These enormous ships are here in Australia after a very quiet couple of years for the local cruise industry, featuring an array of new technologies.

Quantum of the Seas arriving in Brisbane

We caught up with Gavin Smith, the VP and managing director of Royal Caribbean to discuss cruising’s big future in Australia and the critical role that local travel agents play in this.

“We’re looking for travel partners to be the majority providers in what we do,” Smith told Travel Weekly.

“In a market with a lot of competitors, we really rely on the travel agent for putting the guests on the right brand of ship.”

The critical role of travel agents in Royal Caribbean’s restart in Australia is seen with the changing types of bookings that cruise lines in Australia are receiving. Smith said that the phenomenon of multi-generational bookings, which is more common in China or Latin American markets, is spreading to Australia.

This means that families can book out a two-story suite or a crown loft and through the Royal Caribbean app, people can share their activities with one another. Allowing the different generations of a family to participate in different activities throughout the day while being aware of each other’s activities as the days go on allows them to fully enjoy their cruise experience.

“It’s about the amenity across the ship that lets the group go and do their own thing and then come back together for dinner. That’s really the magic and then everybody’s got plenty to talk about, because they’ve all had different experiences,” Smith said.

“The kids might go off to circus training, rollerblading or dodgem cars. Mum and Dad might get a spa treatment and the grandparents could read quietly on their balcony while being tended by their royal genie.”

Alongside this new booking trend, Smith said that Royal Caribbean expects to carry about 80-90,000 people out of Brisbane this coming season, with the majority coming from all over Australia and approximately 5000 from the UK and USA.

“We have a very mixed tribe onboard of different nationalities and that’s part of the personality of what we do,” Smith said.

This will facilitate the Royal Caribbeans summer of 2024, where the cruise line will add Brilliance of the Seas to its line-up. This ship will feature slightly longer itineraries than Quantun or Ovation and will be more port-heavy.

On top of this, Smith said that people in the industry can expect to hear news about Icon of the Seas, the biggest cruise ship that’s ever been built and is expected to hold up to 8000 passengers.

“This is going to be a serious ship,” Smith said.

Smith said that news of this new cruise ship will be released in the coming weeks.

Featured Image: Gavin Smith (YouTube/HULSBOSCHdesign)

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Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au

Ovation of the Seas quantum of the seas royal caribbean