Princess Cruises is declaring it self the number one cruise line for agents in New Zealand—as it outlines plans to continue to support agents and get more ships cruising down back here.
Speaking to Travel Today, Princess’ vp Asia Pacific Matthew Rutherford says New Zealanders are very important as cruise guests. “Kiwis love travelling, they love exploring and trying new destinations.” And it is Asia they’re sailing to, says Rutherford, who himself has not long returned from a Princess cruise through Japan with his family. Looking ahead, he says clients can expect ‘more great destinations across the world’ from Princess Cruises, adding that the cruise line has more itineraries coming soon, including some more in this region. Expanding on New Zealand as a destination, Rutherford says demand for cruises in the region is just not what it was, with recent web data on the Princess website still showing searches for cruises down here dropping. “As a region we’ve got a lot of work to do to encourage people to come back to our beautiful corner of the world.”
. . . Sapphire Return?
Rutherford says for cruise ships to come back to the former record levels, operating costs need to drop. He’s hopeful though, admitting that Princess Cruises is looking at bringing Sapphire Princess to New Zealand in 2027/28. This will be a good thing for Kiwi agents too, he says “It is advantageous. A lot of cruisers start locally and then go globally.” As for what agents can expect from Princess Cruises, Rutherford says the cruise line will continue to work with CLIA on training and updating its ‘ever evolving’ resource platform, OneSource. In the near future, agents can expect more time on board ships. The cruise line has recently reorganised its sales team for more expanded roles, with this including a new events person in-house who is charged with dialing up ship inspection visits. “It’s our commitment to the trade,” says Rutherford. “We are very pro agent, and we’re very proud of being the travel agents number one chosen cruise line,” says Rutherford.
