Regent Seven Seas to grow trade team as it launches partner programme

It is hoped that Regent Elevate, which launched in the US last year, will help agents convert the 470,000 cruise customer “prospects” that exist in the UK and Irish market into bookings. 

“Our travel partners are integral to our success at Regent, so our priority is to ensure they have all the tools and skills they need to succeed,” said Caroline Smith, the line’s international managing director. 

Chief sales officer Steve Odell, who left the line in December 2022 before returning last month, said the programme was part of efforts to attract new-to-cruise customers to Regent and “branch out of the cruise bubble”. 

“This part of a very focused approach,” he said, adding: “We want to be public facing and be out there in the market and pushing the flesh. That is our priority.” 

Odell confirmed Regent is so far “outperforming” 2023 year-on-year, adding: “January was great for us. The UK market is growing every year. We’re trying now to expand our distribution, so we’re looking for new partners. 

“Also, if we see an agent making four to six Regent bookings a year, we know that they could go up to 20 bookings [each year]. We need to find agents who are ready to invest time and effort. We cannot stand still.” 

However, he warned that the ultra-luxury cruise market was becoming increasingly crowded. “We’re thinking all the time ‘how can we be different?’, ‘how can our support differ?’ It’s literally thinking ‘how can we appeal to these ultra-luxury specialist agents?’," he added. 

“The [Regent Elevate] programme is designed to show how we are different.” 

Smith added: “Once people discover these floating hotels, it’s an easy transition [from land-based holidays to Regent].”