| Itinerary Planning

There are somewhere in the vicinity of
2,000 ports capable of receiving cruise
ships around the world so designing the
right itinerary that will work for the
cruise line as well as catering for the
expectations (and opinions) of
passengers can be a challenge!
What are they key factors that
determine exactly where ships are going
to be deployed?
Is it feedback from passengers, the cost
of actually docking at particular ports,
the return achieved from passengers
shore excursions in each location or is it
something to do with sailing distances
(which impact fuel costs) that ultimately
drive itinerary planning?
The primary reason for deployment
decisions is based on passenger
feedback but increasingly other factors
are being taken into consideration to
determine the right strategy in
maximising passenger enjoyment and
economic value to the cruise line.
If a port increases the charges for
visiting ships and rising fuel costs are
then added to the equation, ultimately
the passenger will have to cover the cost
via the end price of their cruise holiday –
not what we want to see!
The cruise industry does have the
ability to make changes fairly quickly so
where your clients are given the
opportunity to provide feedback it is
important for you to encourage them to
do so.
Ultimately we want
to see more people
cruising as this leads
to greater benefit, not
only for travel agents
and cruise lines but
also for the many
ports of call along the
way.