Customers of a leading travel
agency have revealed their
preferred cruise lines and
destinations and what type of
holiday they really want.
CRUISE Holidays Australia (formerly
CruiseMart) uncovered a couple of surprises
when it sent questionnaires to its database of
customers.
According to many of the respondents, they
would choose a different cruise line next time,
and most don’t bother with balcony cabins.
More than 1,000 people replied, and of those
who had cruised before, 24% chose P&O, 21%
Princess, 11% Royal Caribbean, 6% Holland
America Line and NCL, and 4% Carnival.
(Other cruise lines accounted for less than
4% of respondents.)
When asked which cruise lines they would
like to travel with in the future, only 9% said P&O.
The most popular response was Princess
(16%), Royal Caribbean (12%), Carnival (10%),
HAL (8%), Celebrity Cruises (7%) and P&O
World Cruises (6%).
“This would support the theory that P&O is
the leading choice for first-time cruisers and
these passengers then look to progress to
other lines and/or destinations,” suggested Les
Farrar, MD, Cruise Holidays Australia.
“Only 4% had cruised on Carnival previously
but 10% indicated they would like to do so in
the future, reflecting the fact Carnival Spirit
arrives in our waters in October.”
Respondents said they usually selected an
oceanview cabin (44%), with 28% opting for a
balcony, 28% for an inside cabin and 2%
treating themselves to a suite.
“Mid-range oceanview cabins are easily the
preferred choice of cabin type, perhaps
disagreeing somewhat with the cruise lines
who will generally tell us that balconies are the
most popular,” Farrar said.
Past destinations were led by the South
Pacific, New Zealand, Europe/Mediterranean,
Southeast Asia, Alaska and Hawaii.
For future cruises, Europe came out on top,
followed by Hawaii, Alaska and the South Pacific.
Customers also said they were interested in
last-minute deals (28%), cruise-tours (26%),
river cruising (20%), escorted groups (12%) and
cruises for singles (4%).
