| Size really does matter: Steve Odell

REGENT Seven Seas Cruises (RSSC) believes the personal space available across its generously proportioned fleet will resonate strongly with consumers in a post-COVID world, after months of social distancing and concerns about crowded spaces.

RSSC’s Senior Vice President & Managing Director Asia-Pacific, Steve Odell told Cruise Weekly a new brochure highlighting the cruise line’s large balconies, suites & public spaces, as well as small group activities and more, aims to create awareness among cruisers of the “extravagant freedom” on offer with RSSC.

“In this era of COVID we’ve all started to behave differently.

“It’s all about personal space, we feel that the brand is very well positioned even in the luxury set because our ships are bigger, so we can meet the trend of wanting more space,” he said.

Odell confirmed with ongoing travel restrictions in place, there was significant pent-up demand, with many top end customers very open to deals.

Australian Govt figures confirm a massive surge in savings through the pandemic, creating opportunities for the industry, “but you have to go out and ask for the business,” he said, urging the industry to call customers and “tell the story” rather than waiting for it to come in the door.

Odell said in that context, relationships between travel advisors and their customers are key, with expectations of a significant shift towards home-based distribution and luxury agent networks such as Virtuoso.

RSSC and sister brand Oceania Cruises have shifted resources to follow this trend, with Martine Nunes now dedicated to the home-based sector for Oceania (CW 30 Nov 2020), while Elsa McLean has this week taken up a similar role for RSSC.

He said activity was ramping up, particularly as vaccine rollouts continued across the Northern Hemisphere, with the industry increasingly confident of a return to some semblance of normality heading into 2022.

Odell said last month was a very strong month for sales, as consumers book “bucket list” cruises with long lead times.

Bookings for both the RSSC’s and Oceania’s world cruises have been unprecedented, Odell said.

“The desire is there, people are ready, they’ve got cash – they’ve not spent it through the pandemic,” he said.

“If you get out there and ask for it and sow the seed, there’s business for everyone”.

More from Odell in today’s issue of Travel Daily.