ROYAL Caribbean (RCI) is evolving its brand position as the cruise line seeks to champion its shorter product and offer a “total holiday/vacation option”.
The highlighting of RCI’s shorter, getaway-style cruises align with the launch of the line’s new ship Utopia of the Seas (pictured) earlier this year – billed as the “world’s biggest weekend”.
Utopia debuted in Jul (CW 17 Jul) with three-night weekend getaways and four-day weekday cruises to the Caribbean from Orlando – a significant shift in strategy for RCI, which historically deployed its older ships on shorter itineraries.
However it is not just the Caribbean where RCI is highlighting its micro-sailings, with more getaway-style cruises in Australia this season (26) than ever before.
Head of Sales Dave Humphreys told Cruise Weekly this product is designed to compete with trips to the Blue Mountains, Jervis Bay, and the Central Coast, rather than landmark overseas holidays or winter European escapes.
“There’s a big distinction between going travelling and having a break,” Humphreys said.
“We’re very particular about making sure they’re turning on the weekend, and that’s helping us, as we cater to a whole new, different group of people,” Humphreys added.
“What we’re seeing around the world is on our short product, seven in 10 people are new to cruise or new to Royal, and 90% of those people get off and want to cruise again.”
This makes the target market for Royal Caribbean’s weekend product vastly different to the typical cruiser, Humphreys said.
“A lot of these people who are working age, are far less price-conscious than a traditional cruiser, they’re shopping around, looking for a deal, and they’re much more sensitive to days off [work],” he said.
“It’s a totally different booking window, people aren’t booking in the wave period for weekend sailings, they’re thinking now, mid-Dec, thinking about a little getaway,” Humphreys added.
“In the way that Australians became infatuated with the staycation five years ago, this is really coming to prominence, and one thing we’re seeing is big groups of friends, even two couples, going for a special occasion or just for a big weekend,” he added.
Royal Caribbean’s getaway product is in some means, also designed to compete with consumers’ weekend budgets.
“You see the price of a concert ticket or a theatre ticket, and next summer, Anthem of the Seas comes to Sydney, and that ship has We Will Rock You the musical.
“If you go see a musical at The Star or at Crown, you’ve got two tickets, you might have a couple of nights at a hotel, you’re going to have dinner, and you can get that same experience, all inclusive, on a weekend sailing for a similar price, if not better.” MS
