NEWS
Cruiseline increases print and online marketing to compete with rivals
Princess Cruises
ups the ante in UK
Jane Archer
jane.archer@rbi.co.uk
Princess Cruises is stepping up
marketing activity in the UK to
take on cruiselines that have
increased advertising during
the economic downturn.
Speaking at last week’s
launch of Ruby Princess, head
of brand marketing Pieter
van der Schee said Princess is
increasing its print and online
advertising and backing it up
with direct mailing and newspaper
inserts.
He said: “We had a good
response to our brochure
launch in April and are on
track with 2009 sales, but
other brands are upping the
ante with more marketing so
we are responding.”
Van der Schee said Princess
is also working with agents to
stimulate demand, but not thrrough
price. “There is pressure
on prices but we are fi nding
sales depend on the level of
marketing. A lot of people still
want to book a cruise – we are
just having to work harder to
win the business.”
He said last week’s 1.5%
interest rate cut in the UK and
lower petrol prices might help
consumers feel less anxious
10 | Travel Weekly | November 14 2008
Actor and Princess Cruises ambassador Gavin
MacLeod at the launch of Ruby Princess
about the economic situation.
Princess took 14 of its bestselling
UK agents to Ruby
Princess’s naming ceremony,
which was followed by a twonight
cruise.
Ruby Princess will be the
last new ship to join Princess
Cruises’ fl eet for at least three
years as the cruiseline switches
investment to enhancing the
onboard experience.
The launch of Ruby Princess,
the last in a series of three
Crown-class ships, marks the
end of a new-build programme
for Princess that started in the
late-1990s. The cruiseline has
17 ships with an average age of
5.6 years.
Van der Schee said the new
focus is on rolling out all the
best features that have been
introduced on different ships
over the years.
They include the adultsonly
Sanctuary and Movies
under the Stars pool-side
screen, while Sterling Steakhouse
restaurants are being
rebranded Crown Grill.
The new English pub lunch
that has debuted on Ruby
Princess is to be added to sister
ships Emerald Princess and
Crown Princess, while a grand
behind-the-scenes tour will
become available across most
of the fl eet.
> To fi nd out what agents
thought of the launch and to
fi nd out more about the ship
go to travelweekly.co.uk/
cruise
BROCHURE UPDATE
Kirker Holidays
Italy 2008/09
As many as 15 new
destinations including
Mantua, Padua, Parma and
Turin have been added to
the programme which now
features 90 hotels in more
than 40 destinations. The operator has more
than 20 years’ experience in Italy and off ers
tailor-made tours on all bookings.
Contact: 020 7593 2283
Voyages of Discovery
Discovery World of
Cruising Cruise
Preview Winter
2009/10
The Discovery will sail
in the region for the fi rst
time, visiting Sri Lanka,
Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia and Hong
Kong. Customers can also take advantage of
a number of add-ons including a mid-cruise
two-night stay in Agra to see the Taj Mahal
and three fully escorted Kenyan safaris.
Contact: 01444 462 150
Corsican Places
2009 Collection
The operator has a number
of early booking off ers for
all bookings made by
November 30 including
discounts of up to £75 per
person and free car hire
upgrade. The programme features more
than 100 properties as well as additional
twin-centre options with Sardinia.
Contact: 0845 330 2345
Scottish agents get excellent
Travel Weekly pat on the back
Travel Weekly rewarded the best at this year’s
Scottish Passenger Agents’ Association annual
awards night. Four high-fl ying agents won the
Scottish section of Travel Weekly’s Agent Excellence
Awards, which are sponsored by Amadeus and were
held in Glasgow last week.
The winners of the awards were Alison Doherty,
Co-op Travel, Paisley – Best Manager, Large Leisure
Agency; Derrick Scott, The Holiday and Flight Centre,
Hamilton – Best Manager, Small Leisure Agency; John
Finnie, Horncastle Executive Travel, Edinburgh – Best
Manager, Travel Management Company; and TFc
Travel Management, Edinburgh – Best SPAA Travel
Agency of the Year.
Pictured with the winners are TWgroup publisher
Simon Ferguson (left) and Julian Mills, Amadeus
(second from right).
www.travelweekly.co.uk
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