PLANNER PERSPECTIVE 58 Exploring new horizons Scenic Luxury Cruises and Tours’ James Griffiths shares with Alex Smith how his perspective has changed with a new role and discusses the challenges of planning global itineraries James Griffiths, general manager of maritime operations at Scenic Luxury Cruises and Tours, has spent a lifetime at sea. As a crew member, he has travelled the world with a number of cruise lines and commanded seven different ships, the most recent being the first of Scenic’s discovery yachts, Scenic Eclipse. However, stepping into an executive role at the cruise line has provided him with a fresh perspective of the industry. “I moved from being at sea for 20 years to being onshore and seeing a new side of what it takes to put together a cruise,” explains Griffiths. “From dealing with contracts and suppliers to getting us properly licensed to operate our onboard helicopters – it’s an experience that has given me a very different insight.” According to Griffiths, the most important part of planning an itinerary is understanding the target market and identifying which destinations will prove most popular for these travellers. It is a judgement that constantly needs to be reassessed as changing guest demand and market trends make different regions and experiences more prominent. He highlights polar voyages as an example of a particularly popular itinerary for Scenic’s guests. “At Scenic, we’ve continued to see really strong demand for our cruises to the polar regions, and they provide an “ We’ve continued to see really strong demand for our cruises to the polar regions” Scenic’s two discovery yachts operate itineraries across the world Photo: Scenic Luxury Cruises & Tours
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