Charlie Funk
I remember when it was easy to tell which line was mass market (with apologies to those who prefer the term "contemporary"), which was premium and which was luxury. Granted, there were contemporary cruise lines that served caviar and lobster once per seven-night cruise. One line even offered fresh-squeezed orange juice that passengers could prepare themselves with an automated processor.
Contemporary ships tended to lead the way with the newest features and the largest passenger capacities. Bigger was always better, and selling a new ship was an easy task. Entertainment was typically grand and exciting: Broadway shows, Las Vegas revues and a wide variety of performers.
Premium cruise brands ostensibly offered better cuisine, more formal service and more included amenities. One of my more memorable experiences was on a cruise that offered a build-your-own ice cream sundae, offering a variety of flavors and toppings as well as an assortment of liqueurs. I watched in amusement once as a fellow passenger procured a rather large bowl and proceeded to surround a single scoop of vanilla ice cream with at least a half-pint of Bailey's Irish Cream.
Premium ships tended to be smaller with less elaborate entertainment, and clientele tended to be upscale and more mature. The onboard experience was designed to be more personal, catering to the individual to a greater degree than was possible on a much larger vessel.
Luxury brands focused on pampered service. A luxury cruise was characterized by exquisite accommodations, a pillow menu, a butler to unpack luggage and put clothes away. Dining was less regimented, with open dining at the passenger's chosen time being the norm. Custom-prepared dishes were highlights.
On a Mediterranean cruise, we once had a client casually comment at dinner that he had especially loved a meal that had been served the prior year on another ship of the same line sailing in the Baltic. He was overheard by an attentive waiter, who reported the conversation to the maitre d', who in turn sent a message to the line's home office, which in turn had the ingredients for the dish flown to the next port of call. Our client was surprised two evenings later with a repeat of that memorable meal.
Luxury brands tended to include many features and amenities not found on lesser brands, such as alcoholic beverages, clothes cleaning and in some cases a full selection of shore excursions as part of the fare.
With time, the differentiation became even more clearly drawn. Gone were no-extra-charge fresh orange juice, lobster, caviar, even the espresso after dinner. It's impossible to provide all these features on a seven-night cruise selling for $499.
Today, those clear lines of distinction are blurring. It began several years ago with introduction of open dining choices for those who didn't like having to eat at a specific time. That change led many who had refused to even consider this type of vacation to look at a cruise as a possibility.
Next was offering access to areas of the ship, at an extra cost, away from the hustle and bustle of 2,000 or so of their newest best friends. For a few dollars per day, a passenger could savor a bit of solitude.
Today, the choices available to the prospective cruise passenger cut across all lines. Celebrity has areas on some of their ships that are accessible by keycard only. Norwegian has its Haven accommodations that take exclusivity a step further with private pools, dining and more. MSC offers Yacht Club accommodations on three ships, rivaling luxury cruise lines in facilities and quality of service. Indeed, Yacht Club passengers on the MSC Divina with whom I spoke compared the experience favorably to luxury voyages.
We found the "ship within a ship" concept most enjoyable. With barely 150 guests in total when the Yacht Club is full, the level of personal service and attention to detail is remarkable. The dedicated dining room, Le Muse, is quiet, the cuisine exceptional, the service all but over the top.
It had been at least 20 years since we had breakfast and/or lunch in a ship's restaurant, preferring instead the quick "refueling" at the buffet. That wasn't the case for this cruise. We thoroughly enjoyed the prompt, personal service and especially the quietude that Le Muse offered.
A separate pool, hot tub and deck area with its own casual food service area was another treat. The ease of access to these facilities and the "no crowding" contributed to an outstanding cruise experience.
At the same time, we were mere steps away from really great shows and entertainment and all the other amenities that a large ship has to offer. To help assure that we had a genuine experience, we paid the prevailing rate for the cruise and told no one we were travel professionals.
One salient feature of offerings of this type is the cost, which can be as little as $300 to $350 per person per day, several hundred dollars less than on traditional luxury cruise ships. Recent introductions, first by Norwegian then by MSC, of more all-inclusive cruise experiences add to the choices available to prospective cruisers.
Norwegian's all-inclusive add-on package at $899 per person for a seven-night cruise and MSC's four packages offering increasingly more inclusive packages provide a bridge between an "ordinary" cruise experience and an all-inclusive or mostly inclusive vacation. I am especially excited about how these programs offer clients a way to move up to a more luxurious cruise experience.
Both offerings are commissionable, Norwegian's at the prevailing rate for the agency and MSC's at 5%. For years, many travel retailers have bemoaned the shrinking compensation level for cruise sales, especially contemporary, to the point that many traditionally cruise-only agencies have shifted focus to higher-commission land packages and river cruises.
The paradox is that at the same time that differences are blurring, these two lines have introduced programs that clearly differentiate themselves from their competitors. The challenge becomes one of communicating the features, advantages and benefits of the programs to clients. Marketing and advertising is clearly necessary but insufficient.
I do not envision either of these programs gaining broad traction through Web-only transactions and purchases. While Internet research and information gathering will certainly be the norm, speaking one-on-one with the client will be central to the process.
My sense is that both programs fall perfectly into the wheelhouse of truly consultative travel professionals who add value to the vacation selection process. Clients benefit from having someone explain the details of the programs and help them make a better-informed decision.
That someone is a travel counselor, not a payment processor. A business model that uses margins to fund onboard credit, prepaid gratuities or other forms of rebates would seem not well suited to this process.
Suppliers that clearly differentiate their products are well-advised to structure agent training around those features, spending minimal time on the "nuts and bolts" of the product and more time on how to sell it and what makes it unique. Few things are more annoying that having a supplier rep literally read out of brochures when conducting training sessions.
Charlie and Sherrie Funk own Just Cruisin' Plus in Brentwood, Tenn., and have provided agent and agency-owner training throughout North America on every facet of travel agency operations. They were named to the Cruise Lines International Association Hall of Fame in 2012.