ONBOARD THE OASIS OF THE SEAS — High airfares are compounding softness in summer Mediterranean sailings, cruise executives said here on Monday during a session at Vacation.com’s 14th International Conference and Trade Show.
“Europe is our big challenge,” said Vicki Freed, Royal Caribbean International’s senior vice president of sales and trade support. “But your clients will never find a better value than this year.”
Shawn Tubman, vice president of national accounts for Regent Seven Seas Cruises, said that Europe is strong from April through June and that July is soft due to high airfares. The Baltic he said, is doing well.
Andy Stuart, Norwegian Cruise Line’s executive vice president of global sales and passenger services, said that Northern Europe is selling well but that the Mediterranean is challenging. However, he did not attribute it to high airfares.
“I don’t think air is that much different than it’s been other years,” he said. “It’s expensive to fly but with cruise fares as they are, it’s an incredible value.”
Stuart added that uncertainty in European economies have impacted Mediterranean sailings. Spain, he said, is a prime market for the Norwegian Epic.
“Spain is in a disastrous state,” he said. “We are so interlinked these days that those things have a big impact.”
All of the executives mentioned the cost of fuel.
“We are all challenged,” Freed said. “It drives airfares up. ... It’s our big obstacle.”
Stuart said the peak summer months in general could use a boost.
“We’d love to see more families,” he said.
On the tour side, Terri Burke, director of national accounts for the Globus brands, said that Spain, France and Germany are selling well, while there is a “little problem” with post–Olympics Britain and Italy, which she attributed to airfares, calling the prices “horrific.”
Globus’ Avalon river cruise brand is “up significantly in Europe,” she said.
Continuing their turnaround, Hawaii and Alaska both have proven to be strong, with Tubman saying that Regent’s Alaska season is sold out and Stuart calling Norwegian’s Hawaii sales “off the charts.”
Tubman said his greatest concern for the rest of the year is geopolitical uncertainty.
“With the political situation, and being an election year, people are waiting and seeing what happens,” he said.
Follow Johanna Jainchill on Twitter @jjainchilltw.