Travel Weekly - May 23, 2005 Roundtable on the Silver Shadow: Silversea execs, agents discuss luxury cruising Rebecca Tobin The luxury cruise market was the topic of a roundtable discussion onboard Silversea’s Silver Shadow and via a follow-up e-mail exchange. Cruise editor Rebecca Tobin spoke with David Morris, Silversea’s senior vice president of sales; Marilyn Conroy, the line’s vice president of sales; and four of Silversea’s top producing agents: Ricci Zukerman of Worldview Travel in Santa Ana, Calif.; Priscilla Alexander of Protravel in New York; Mary Jean Tully of the Cruise Professionals in Mississauga, Ontario; and Greg Nacco of Golden Bear Travel in Novato, Calif. The meaning of ‘luxury’ Zukerman: In the past, the word “service” has been repeated about a million times a minute by vendors. Today, I think the word “luxury” is being used by every vendor. It’s getting harder and harder to differentiate. I think it’s becoming not only “luxury” but “I got something that you didn’t get.” Tully: I think the role of the travel agent is far more important than cruise lines realize. You have to be able to justify why [the client is] paying the extra money. You have to point out the little touches. You can’t just sell it by the brochure. Conroy: It means different things to different people. Alexander: Luxury starts with the person who’s buying. Is it luxury to go on the Sepick River in New Guinea? It’s very expensive, and it shows they’re a very qualified traveler, but the accommodations are not luxury. So [luxury is] not necessarily defined by money. It’s defined by style. Price, at what cost? Alexander: Price is not a factor because the most expensive inventory is what sells first. Tully: I disagree. [Clients] have the money, but they want the deal. Nacco: They don’t want to get ripped off. Zukerman: In the luxury market, you have two [kinds of] people. You have [Alexander’s] kind, who don’t ask, don’t want to know anything. They get very, very upset if the owner’s suite is taken. I wish we had tons of those. Then there are the nouveau riche. They look at money in a different way. They want to spend it, but they feel stupid if they couldn’t have gotten [the cruise] for $1,000 less. Alexander: The biggest issues facing luxury cruise retailers are the pricing structures and the inconsistencies in the pricing programs. There often is a false perception on the part of travelers that if we wait, the price will be better. Conroy: We’ve got to get out of discounting mode. Who’s selling? Morris: From a supplier’s standpoint, there’s frustration that there’s not enough attention being placed on the luxury market. There’s not enough focus from the agent community on the luxury market. They’re afraid of it. Alexander: I don’t agree. They all want to sell it. They don’t live or have contact with people who can buy luxury products. Morris: The problem we have is it’s a product that a noncruiser should like because it’s not traditional. Our goal is to educate. Demand and capacity Alexander: There are not too many berths in the luxury end of the market, particularly with some ships being eliminated from the inventory. Zukerman: I don’t think there are too many berths in the market. I think the problem is [lines] do not emphasize the differences between them as well as their unique points. At the moment, [lines] are regarded as a clump. They all advertise and present themselves as the best, small enough to sail in exotic small ports, etc. Nacco: All the cruise lines fell in love with projections with all these luxury travelers, all this opportunity to move people from resorts and such to cruising -- let’s build a lot of ships. Conroy: I think we grew too quickly. Nacco: So there’s a little pull-back, and then you’re fine. Zukerman: This is a transition year. We went through a very difficult time, and we cannot go from one situation to another without a transition. This year, most cruise lines will turn around, make some money and that will bring prices up next year. The message Alexander: Cruise lines should be concerned about [saying] how everything is sold out, that you can’t get on a cruise ship. Tully: But it also creates urgency for booking. Radisson is sold out for months. But it makes my agents say to clients, “Hey, we’ve booked more Europe this year than the last few years. Don’t take too long to [decide].” Alexander: A good message is that travel is robust, bookings are coming in. That’s why people are booking for 2006 already. Silversea’s Italian-focused branding campaign Morris: We were on the ship last May, and the ad agency was there, and we had some focus groups. We talked about the fact that this is a unique opportunity because it’s real: We are owned by an Italian [company], the ships are built in Italy, we have Italian art [onboard]. I think it was relatively easy to take that to the next step and portray Italian heritage. You associate [Italy] with the forefront of luxury today, and travel and every other thing is “Italy.” Alexander: And in the last couple of years it’s been [associated with] style. There’s an unexplainable connection with people. Americans like anything Italian. Tully: Italian leather, food, furnishings. Alexander: No matter what happens [in the world], Italy is the biggest seller, by far. Tully: I don’t think that’s just enough. So you have Isabella [Rossellini as an ambassador]. Yes, she’s beautiful, but what does she have to do with cruising? And that’s what I’m saying: [The agent] has to be able to tie it together. French champagne vs. Italian sparkling wine Tully: Yes, [it makes a difference] when clients are spending this kind of money and going on the cruise. Alexander: People are very attuned to brands. So it can’t just be French champagne. The name has to connote luxury. Conroy: Phillipannot [which replaced Moet and Chandon onboard in 2003] was, technically, superior. But nobody knew the name. And because [guests] didn’t know the name, they changed [to Pommery]. Alexander: People look at labels. Cunard has the Veuve Cliquot bar. You’re calling it by the brand name   Back         Top of Page

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