An untraditional booking climate during traditional Wave season
It’s a month into the traditional Wave season, and travel advisors are reporting a most untraditional booking climate.
As if omicron wasn’t enough, luxe sellers this month got walloped by the sudden pause and uncertain outlook at Crystal Cruises, and even the unfolding situation in Ukraine, all during what was supposed to be a resurgent Wave after almost two years of the Covid pandemic.
Still, some advisors and cruise executives report that there is a Wave, albeit a smaller one full of fits and starts.
Tom Baker, president of CruiseCenter in Houston, said that his agency has had “many cancellations due to omicron and now the pending situation with Russia. Our Baltic and European business has taken a hit. A strong one, I might add.”
He called Wave season “flat as a chess board. There isn’t much if any new or exciting activity moving forward. We should be buried with calls, inquiries and new bookings, and that behavior stopped pretty much altogether with this omicron variant wreaking current havoc.”
Baker said he believed cruise sales would see a jumpstart in a few weeks’ time as omicron fizzles, but he said sales wouldn’t pick up until the variant peaked “and we have some semblance of reliable travel order in the current air and cruise disruption.”
“I’m trying to remain optimistic, although cautiously.”
Anthony Hamawy, president of Cruise.com said that what had been a non-Wave might be turning around.
“The season has not materialized as of yet. A slowdown began around the second week of December and carried through the first half of January,” he said. “We have seen a steady climb in sales over the last 10 days, but it’s still not comparable to Wave season norms. The traffic to our site has been rather strong the last few weeks: That’s indicative of shoppers planning their trips. We do expect this to begin converting to sales as omicron numbers decline.”
Others also say future trends are good.
David Crooks, senior vice president of product and operations for World Travel Holdings, said that bookings into the next 30 to 60 days have increased steadily over the past five weeks.
“Alaska volume has been steady, and Caribbean cruises are the majority of bookings, as you would expect, with more than half of our Caribbean volume being booked to depart on seven-night and longer sailings,” Crooks said. “Another encouraging sign is that our booking volume into Europe and the Mediterranean has increased in the past two weeks.”
Perhaps Wave is best summed up by Vicki Freed, Royal Caribbean International’s senior vice president of sales, trade support and service, who said, “There is a Wave season. It’s not quite the tidal wave we have experienced in the past.”
Freed said that experienced, loyal cruisers and those with FCCs seem to be booking.
“Consumers are fatigued from not taking real vacations for a couple of years, and cruising remains a great, and safe, option for people wanting to get the most from their vacation dollar,” she said. “Travel advisors should be reaching out to their clients to get a pulse on the vacation planning cycle. Many will be surprised that consumers are ready now to vacation.”
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