Silversea MD urges luxury agents to consider selling cruise

He said there had also been a “significant uplift” in revenue per passenger since Christmas as people choose to cruise for longer and trade-up.

“Of course, it’s a sign of pent-up demand, but also that people want to really get more out of their time away, especially combining cruises – our itineraries make it easy to do that, and not repeat any ports, which makes it a great opportunity for clients and agents,” he added.

Door-to-door options

Along with its newest ship Silver Dawn and “game changing” Silver Nova – which is set to launch in July 2023 – Shanks highlighted many ways agents could entice clients. These include the “Door-to-Door” inclusivity increasingly being offered, whereby one price ensures everything from luxury chauffeur pick-ups from home, flights, pre-cruise hotels, all inclusions during the cruise and private transfers to and from the ship.

“This is a really attractive offering, as it makes sure everything is taken care of in one place, something that has become especially important as a result of the pandemic,” Shanks said.

Interesting niche products and cruises would also prove appealing to affluent customers he said, such as the Antarctica “bridge”, whereby customers can fly from Punta Arenas in Chile to the region and join Silver Explorer, instead of using up to four days that would usually be needed to sail the notoriously choppy Drake Passage.

“We feel we really found a purple patch with this – the first winter of operating it was really successful,” he said. “For some cruise clients, it’s a must to say they have sailed to Antarctica across Drake Passage – for others, they want to save time and also have the income to pay that premium to cut out the crossing by flying, meaning they can take just a week’s leave to experience Antarctica.”