Incentives from Uniworld, Explora Journeys & more
Taj Mahal sunrise. Image: Uniworld
Explora Journeys Pioneers recognises and rewards travel advisors who have embraced the brand from the start and have booked at least one journey for their clients during the brand’s inaugural year of operation. The Pioneers status offers an invitation for a travel advisor and a guest to join a complimentary Educational Insider First Look journey between July 17 2023 and May 31 2024, as well as access to Explora Journeys’ Travel Advisor Fares for personal travel. The brand also provides special referral benefits for engaging with other travel advisors and referring them to Explora Journeys, including a bonus commission on all new bookings made by the referred travel advisor in 2023. Any travel advisor who has booked at least one journey with Explora Journeys during its inaugural year of operation has automatically unlocked Pioneer status. In recognition of their partnership, Pioneers can now take advantage of a range of tools to make them even more valuable to their clients. Policies are designed with the success of travel advisors in mind: commissions of up to 18%, no NCFs, rolling commission payments, and up to 10% commission paid on add-ons are just a few of the benefits. Travel advisors will be notified of their Pioneer status and should reach out to their business relationship lead and head of sales for more information.
NEW! UK agents have the opportunity to win two unforgettable holidays as part of Uniworld’s new incentive, including a bucket-list Spectacular Journey to India for two. The prize – the 13-day India’s Golden Triangle and Sacred Ganges – combines a seven-night cruise with a luxury tour of the Golden Triangle, including two visits to the Taj Mahal – one at sunset and one at sunrise. Onboard the luxury Ganges Voyager II, sailing Kolkata to Kolkata over seven nights, guests will travel to a host of villages, as well as have time to indulge in the wellness programme onboard, including the Serenity River Spa. Exploring the Golden Triangle, guests will stay in three luxury Oberoi hotels in Jaipur, New Delhi and Agra. For a chance to win, agents will need to earn points on Uniworld bookings (valid on bookings made between now and October 31, 2023), with more points available for higher cabins, long-haul bookings and 2023 departures. The agent with the most points on the closing date of October 31 will win the top prize, with the second prize being an 8-day Christmas Market cruise for two (choose from a selection of December 2023 departures throughout Europe), with more prizes beyond. All prizes exclude flights. Agents can contact their Uniworld Key Account Manager for more information.
Riviera Travel has added a free ‘Superior’ drinks package to its 2024 European river cruises – the first ever time the line has made a complimentary drinks offer available across an entire season. Applied to all new and existing bookings, the package allows guests to enjoy unlimited drinks including house wines, draught beer and soft beverages over lunch. Each evening (6pm until midnight), guests have access to all this plus a cocktail of the day, house spirits and mixers, selected aperitifs and digestifs and a regional wine with dinner. The ‘Superior’, worth £400pp per week, proved the most popular with customers following a comprehensive research campaign. The package applies to over 300 departures, across 13 different itineraries, ranging from four to 14 nights (seven are dedicated to solo travellers). All 2024 departures include the Superior drinks package; return flights with regional airport options available at no additional cost; Eurostar travel on select itineraries; full board; and scheduled visits and tours. For information, visit rivieratravel.co.uk or call 01283 523431.
The newly formed Expedition Cruise Network will hold the most extensive expedition cruising webinar series ever produced for the travel trade during the second half of 2023. Keynote speakers will be drawn from both the network’s expedition cruise members, as well as guest speakers in areas such as marine sustainable tourism. Choose from:
October 18: Polar Matters: selling Antarctica, Arctic and beyond
November 22: Galapagos and South America: small yacht and expedition cruising
December 12: A festive webinar edition: a year of expeditions, ECN top picks.
Agents and cruise specialists can sign up here: https://www.expeditioncruisenetwork.com/webinars
Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) has introduced a range of trade-friendly features and resources on its website to help further support agents. A raft of training opportunities, sales tools and information resources are now available online. They include an online ‘booking guidelines’ page, which contains details of how agents can work with cruise lines to become an authorised seller, and make a booking or access both availability and price; a compilation of the latest fam trip, ship visit and network opportunities; an outline of the online training opportunities that are directly on offer via CLIA’s ocean, river, luxury and expedition member cruise lines, and new ‘Itinerary Experience’ factsheets to boost destination knowledge of three key cruise itineraries: the western Mediterranean, eastern Caribbean and northern Europe. CLIA has also added details of its 2023 CLIA Cruise Master Award, which for the first time is open for self-nominations. The award is on offer to agents who have achieved the prestigious master level certification. For more information visit www.cruising.org
APT & Travelmarvel are welcoming more than 70 travel agents aboard its fleet in 2023. With its fam and ship visit proposal, APT & Travelmarvel plans to double the number of agents that it hosted in 2019, pre-pandemic, and triple the number that it hosted in 2022. The ships will include Travelmarvel’s three Contemporary River Ships, Polaris, Vega and Capella. The brand will be inviting trade partners to participate in ship visits, but agents wishing to express their interest should email agentclub@aptouring.co.
Holland America Line is giving travel agent partners the chance to step on board its fleet and experience the brand throughout 2023. Showcasing three different ships including the newest vessel, Rotterdam, there is the opportunity for up to 350 agents to enjoy a full ship tour, experience a taste adventure in one of the dining venues and find out first-hand what the cruise line has to offer guests. Holland America Line is encouraging agents to join them, with many of the ship day visits being made easily accessible for agents around the UK and Ireland, and dates ranging to October. Agents are invited onboard the Rotterdam, Zuiderdam and Nieuw Statendam, for a full day experience in the following ports: Dover, South Queensferry (Edinburgh), Cobh, Belfast, and Liverpool. For locations, dates and to register interest, agents are encouraged to visit this link.
Running till December 31, 2023, Silversea’s Advocates programme will recognise eight advocates monthly for reasons spanning from sales performance to completing a successful marketing promotion, or running a Silversea event. Silverseas’ regional sales managers will submit their nomination monthly, with the advocates receiving 100 Agent Rewards points, which agents can redeem from the online voucher code section featuring Virgin Wines, Amazon and Love2Shop to use for thousands of products. Each advocate will also receive a plaque and an invitation to a prestigious event in February 2024, with one lucky advocate awarded a suite for two on board a Silversea cruise. Additional initiatives include Marketing Central, an online suite of marketing resources and sales tools for agents, accessed via My.Silversea.com and webinars by Silversea, a short informative video series hosted by team members globally to keep travel agent partners abreast of activities, new products and promotions – found on webinars.silversea.com
Silversea also has a Suite Upgrades promotion, which provides benefits on select voyages departing before May 31, 2024. Available on door-to-door fares only and includes up to a two-category suite upgrade on selected voyages for selected suite categories, and USD 1000 shipboard credit per suite. Door-to-door all inclusive fares feature a refundable, reduced 15% deposit and price guarantee, private transfers, international flights and business class upgrades, in-country air and hotels when required by the itinerary, and airport transfers and luggage handling.
P&O Cruises has announced more than 1,000 places for travel agents to experience ship visits in 2023. The ship visits programme, which will take place till October 2023 in Southampton, will include time on board Arvia and Iona, as well as Britannia, Ventura, Aurora and Arcadia. The ship visits will enable agents to experience everything the ship has to offer, including a tour of the cabins, entertainment venues, dining, as well as a three-course meal in one of the restaurants on board. Find out more at Shine Rewards Club
Ambassador Cruise Line is offering free cabin upgrades for new bookings on both Ambience and Ambition, meaning that those booking a standard cabin on selected sailings to December 2023 will be treated to an upgrade to a superior cabin at no extra cost.
Additional offers include:
- Up to 50% off a range of itineraries in the 2023 season; solo offers with discounts of up to 50% on single supplements, and upgrade offers on Drinks Packages on Grand Round the World Voyage
Guests can upgrade to the Ambassador Fare from £28pp per day, for bookings made on the Grand Round the World Voyage.
With River Rewards & More, travel agents can earn luxury gifts for every Scenic and Emerald Cruises booking they make. The more river cruises, escorted tours or ocean cruises they book, the higher the rewards, with the chance of earning bonus points. Find out more at riverrewards.cruises.
Enter your Cunard fare bookings to play the line’s online deck game and earn Shine points. Combine Cunard and P&O Cruises Shine points to choose from a selection of rewards, including beauty products, the latest technology and electronics, or even a cruise. Redeem your Shine points to pay for 25 per cent, 50 per cent or 100 per cent of a Cunard voyage. Find out more at shinerewardsclub.com.
Encourage a travel agent friend to sign up to Cruise Adviser and we’ll enter you in a prize draw to win a £50 Amazon voucher. Make sure they enter your details when asked for a reference name. If you’re not subscribed, do so here.
New hires: APT, Riviera Travel, MSC Cruises
David Winterton
APT & Travelmarvel has welcomed cruise industry luminary David Winterton to its family.
Winterton will join the river cruise and touring operator for an initial six-month fixed term contract, with potential for an extended partnership, during which time he will help to drive forward APT & Travelmarvel’s business strategy in the newly created, consultative role of sales marketing lead.
Winterton will report directly to Paul Melinis, APT & Travelmarvel MD, UK & Europe, and Katie Elson, head of marketing transformation; he will help to maximise opportunities surrounding a suite of new APT ships in Europe and Asia, and the creation of the operator’s largest ever agency sales team.
Winterton will draw on 35 years of industry experience as he helps to build awareness of the APT & Travelmarvel brands in the UK, an increasingly key strategic market for the Australian-owned company. As the operator makes good on its promise to become a leader in touring, river cruise and yachting holidays, Winterton will focus on making the luxury APT and flexible four-star Travelmarvel brands household names, creating new leads and prospecting opportunities, and helping the company and its agent partners to achieve their ambitious sales targets for the 2024 season.
Winterton said: “I’ve always admired APT & Travelmarvel for being a forward-thinking, progressive company. I’m very excited to join the team at such a pivotal time, with new ships launching in both Asia and Europe.”
Will Sarson
Riviera Travel has announced that Will Sarson will replace Katja Hildebrandt, who is leaving the business after 16 years, as their head of product river and ocean cruise. Will is currently head of product strategy and long haul at the Burton-based river cruise and escorted tour specialist.
Will becomes responsible for overseeing and scheduling Riviera’s river and ocean cruise itineraries, including planning new routes and developing current programmes. He will continue to report to Robin Shaw, chief operating officer.
Will has been at Riviera for the past eight years, and in his current role since 2020. He has previously been responsible for launching new initiatives such as Riviera’s solo traveller proposition and Walk & Discover range.
Will said: “Having worked closely with the cruise team over the past few years, I know what an amazing product we have in place. I am excited to build on all of the fantastic work that Katja has put into making our cruise offering the best in the business.”
Daniel Short
MSC Cruises UK & Ireland has recruited Daniel Short as the new regional sales manager for the Southwest and South Wales region. Dan initiated his career at Tui in the Southwest and later ventured into other sectors, gaining valuable experience in account management and training roles.
Steve Williams, director of sales at MSC Cruises UK & Ireland said: “I am confident that Dan will significantly contribute to our team. His background in travel and account management will be of immense value as we continue our unwavering support for our partners and expand our distribution network across the Southwest and South Wales region. With 2024 on the horizon, our forward business bookings have never been stronger. Having five seasons now available for sale, a first for MSC Cruises, it is crucial to establish a robust on-ground presence to assist our partners in maximising and fostering their cruise business with us.”
Dan said: “I am thrilled to be returning to the travel industry, working for an incredible family company like MSC Cruises, known for their steadfast commitment to the trade. I am eager to contribute to the growth of the business and build relationships with our agent partners. I look forward to meeting them all over the coming weeks and months.”