Princess Cruises tweaks agent fam and wave offering following trade feedback
Princess Cruises is planning a destination-focused fam trip, as well as an academy at sea, for its travel agent partners this year.
The Carnival Corporation brand hosted more than 3,000 UK and Irish agents on its ships in 2024, but this year, UK and Europe sales director Hayley Moore has decided to target specific agent groups instead.
“We’re going for two styles of fam trip this year,” Moore told TTG. “There will be a destination-style fam trip, because Princess visits more than 330 destinations worldwide, and we will also have an academy at sea.”
Moore said Princess last offered a fam trip with a destination focus in late 2023 when the line flew 30 agents to the Caribbean, adding it has been “at least two years” since the line’s last academy at sea.
According to Moore, Princess was fully focused last year on educating agents about Sun Princess, the line’s maiden Sphere-class vessel, which launched in February. Moore explained fams showcasing destinations allow Princess to promote its shore excursions, as well as the “Princess difference”.
When asked why Princess had decided to take a more targeted approach with its educational programme, Moore said: “We’ve got a large network of homeworkers. We really want to give homeworkers the opportunity of getting onboard.”
Moore, who has been sales director for just over a year, expects to confirm the details for both trips in the second quarter of this year, once wave season is over.
Princess will also offer 10 ship visits in the UK and Ireland this year in Southampton, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Belfast, Dublin and Cobh. Moore revealed she will look to invite new-to-brand agents and homeworkers on the ship visits.
In addition, Princess will also be offering family ship visits where agents can bring up to five family members onboard.
More 450 agents will meet Princess’s trade sales team in January and February. The line will hand out up to 130 prizes to the trade during wave this year, rather than award additional commission or vouchers as it has done in previous wave seasons.
The move came after Princess spoke to agents about what they wanted and needed from the line during wave. “It’s a really busy market place and we’re not the biggest team at Princess,” she said. “It’s all about having the Princess voice out there and the cut through.”
Last year, the line upgraded its agent training platform – OneSource.com – to give the trade “fresh and engaging material”. Between October, when the platform relaunched, and the end of December, Princess’s platform received 8,609 impressions.
Moore said agents visiting the platform are generally wanting to find out how to book a Princess sailing given that wave season has just begun. “It’s indicative of the time of year that we’re in,” Moore added.
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