The world is more connected than it has ever been before. With worldwide news services, the internet and easier travel, one might presume the thrill of venturing into the unknown would have dissipated. After all, how alluring can the unknown be if it’s all over the television?
Nothing could be further from the truth. If anything, the equation has meant that passengers’ lust for voyaging to far off corners of the globe has become more virile – a philosophy of unspoilt, not uncharted destinations has set up a challenge for cruise lines that are having to work harder, and be ever more imaginative, in order to fill their ships.
For cruise lines, adding new ports always creates challenges; and those are magnified the more exotic the destination. What level of infrastructure needs to be in place before a line will consider calling at a port? Who decides a line’s new itineraries? With regard to political instability, how carefully must a region be monitored before a line will judge it safe to sail through its waters? All of these questions, and a host more, must be answered in full confidence before a port becomes a viable destination. This is without even considering the most important question of all: whether there is a market for the new itinerary.
When it comes to a level of infrastructure, few lines will believe it to be financially viable to invest in a destination if they’re only going to be visiting it once a year. However, are there other issues that come into play? Can a line’s interest alone be enough to develop on existing infrastructure?
“We go through quite the process when looking at new destinations,” says Sander Groothuis, director of marine operations at Windstar Cruises. “Our first step is to look at our current itineraries and ascertain whether our guests are happy with them. If we see any destinations that our guests are less happy with, then we’ll look for an alternative.
“For example, in St Kitts and Nevis where we used to do a combined tour of both islands,” he explains. “We had feedback from our guests who said that they felt rushed: leaving St Kitts too early and then not having enough time in Nevis,” he explains. “So we chose to stay in St Kitts – which has a large passenger pier, where we could anchor off the marina and have a tendering operation – opening up the sports platform that we’re known for and allowing our guests to swim off the stern.
“That’s one of the ways we start looking for new destinations, or doctoring current itineraries,” he continues. “The other is that there are always new and interesting places that we’d like to offer our guests. We always strive to go to the smaller places – destinations that our passengers associate with Windstar.
“We find new locations in a number of ways: we go on scouting trips, attend trade conventions and listen to the suggestions from our local tour operators and port agencies who often come up with new locations where they feel our guests would have the best experiences. Once we have a new destination in mind we’ll start thinking about the kind of experiences our guests expect, what is there to offer? There are also other, more obvious, things to bear in mind, like the height of our masts. If there’s a low bridge in front of a town then getting into port could be an issue! And because our ships have a smaller draft, we’re often able to port downtown as opposed to being in a large passenger terminal, which our guests always prefer.”
When it comes to deciding a new itinerary, the intimate knowledge that a line has with its client base will pay dividends. The investment that is put into a new destination – from multiple facets of planning, investigating infrastructure and marketing a new location – could all be for nothing if a line gets it wrong. And for all the financial implications, it’s a reputation that has taken years to develop, which will be the worst hit if a destination fails to impress. For lines that rely on repeat business – that often stretches out across decades – a bad experience can turn a passenger over to competitors that are making the correct decisions.
“It’s important to get it right,” explains Groothuis. “On our next Baltic tour we’re going to be visiting some ports that will give a bit of a different experience compared to the bigger destinations. For instance, Mariehamn in Finland has some classic history with sail ships and square riggers, and with our sail-driven ship, we thought it would be a nice touch to go to a place like that.”
For lines that go right around the globe, the challenge of discovering new ports can be even more of an issue. The luxury line Crystal Cruises is one such company that has had to develop upon existing itineraries despite operating within the global market for decades.
“We’ve been sailing around the world for our entire existence and have always been looking for new destinations,” says Scott Kibota, Crystal’s director of marketing planning. “So really it’s a constant process: we hear about a new port developing and send representatives from our marine department to make sure it’s a safe place to be and that there is interesting content for our guests.
Those are our two main criteria. “We try to have as many new ports as possible. Each year we typically bring in between three and eight new destinations. This year, we have 20, which is unusually high.
“Of those new destinations, 25 per cent of them are in Brazil,” he adds. “We have a whole new Brazilian experience itinerary but then there’s also three or four new ports in Canada, where we’ll be launching in Montreal; and some new European destinations, like Slovenia, which are all very exciting for us.
“In terms of upcoming destinations, there are places that we’d like to go to where the infrastructure is not quite up to speed,” he continues. “But we keep a careful eye on them and hope things will improve so that we can call there in the future. It’s basically about safety, the ability to have our guests enjoy what the destination has to offer.”
With the development of new destinations it’s also important to capitalise on new and interesting market opportunities that become visible as the industry develops in new areas. An obvious example would be the current increase in Baltic and Mediterranean cruising which has facilitated a rise in the number of ships companies have deployed to Europe during certain seasons. In the case of Holland America Line it has seen it using the UK’s premier cruise port, Southampton, as a turnaround port – a new development. “For the first time in Holland America’s 138 year history we’re having Voyage cruises out of Southampton for the end of 2012 and beginning of 2013,” explains Carly Perkins of Holland America UK.
“Until recently we were very well known in the States, with the headquarters being based in Seattle. But over the last few years the company has made the decision to expand to other markets. So while we’ve always been selling Holland America cruises here, there’s now much more focus on the European sector.
“Part of that decision is the fact that there is a huge volume of British guests that are discovering cruising, particularly younger passengers who don’t want the baggage restrictions that come with flying. It has meant that we’re seeing cruises coming out of the UK going to the Norwegian fjords, Baltic and longer Mediterranean cruises out of both Dover and Southampton. The results we’ve seen are extremely positive,” she adds.
What is all comes down to is a meticulous and intimate knowledge of the market. Whether it’s expanding into relatively unknown territory or moving part of an operation into an area that is seeing huge growth, the reason behind the cruise industry’s sustainability has been its foresight into expanding markets.
In a modern world the decisions that cruise lines make have an impact that will reverberate right across the operation. The risk of sailing to an area where the political climate is fraught could result in an unthinkable, and irreversible, outcome. Cruising to new destinations comes down to a few simple rules: keep the passengers safe, keep the passengers entertained and keep the ships full. Follow all three and you’ll find those same passengers returning time and time again.