EMERALD Cruises’ first newbuild yachts (CW 17 Jan 2022) have seen the brand transform its identity, pulling in line with its sister marque Scenic Luxury Cruises & Tours.
Anthony Laver, General Manager Sales & Marketing of Emerald parent Scenic Group, told CW the cruise line’s yacht program is one of the company’s fastest-growing products, which has seen it mature from a less expensive alternative to the luxury flagship line.
“Emerald is actually in parallel to Scenic, with its own brand, its own audience,” Laver enthused.
“We’re seeing our guests now go from Emerald to Scenic and vice versa, whereas that wouldn’t have happened if we didn’t have those yachts,” he explained.
The line took delivery of its first yacht, Emerald Azzura, almost three-and-a-half years ago.
This was followed by Emerald Sakara, with three more on order: Emerald Kaia (pictured), Emerald Astra, and Emerald Raia (CW 08 Apr).
The three new ships will be the largest Emerald has built, each catering to 128 guests compared to the previous ships’ 100-passenger capacity.
The cruise line’s Director Sales & Marketing Angus Crichton said the increase in size is purely to service feverish guest demand.
“We’re not keeping up with demand as we’d like to, but that’s why we’ve gone to 128…we could go up to 300, but we’re about that guest experience,” he said.
The change in Emerald’s profile has also precipitated a more dynamic booking environment, with far more multi-year and back-to-back passengers. MS
