Johanna Jainchill
Last week's announcement that Margaritaville will launch its first cruise brand in April will make it the second hotel brand to enter the space in 2022: The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection's first ship, the Evrima, will debut in May.
That will bring to two the number of hotel companies turned cruise brands.
Brand crossover in general is rare in the cruise industry. Virgin Voyages, which launched this summer, generated a huge amount of industry buzz and was perhaps the biggest name to enter cruising since Disney in 1998. (Both Virgin and Disney also have hotels, but are not known as hotel brands.)
For travel advisors, the newbies, while small, offer them the opportunity to expand their customer bases -- whether by converting non-cruisers to cruisers or getting cruisers to add a new kind of sailing to their repertoire.
According to Brownell Travel's vice president of sales and partner development, Beth Flowers, "The power of the Ritz-Carlton brand on water dramatically increased the customers interested in cruising. When the Yacht collection was announced -- it was near immediate. Those clients who have never cruised or thought about it started to inquire, as the marketing was so sleek and the prototypes of the ship were gorgeous, as well."
Margaritaville tie-in possibilities
Margaritaville at Sea will launch in April via a rebranding of the former Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line and has plans for "dramatic expansion," said Margaritaville CEO John Cohlan. And while at first the line will launch the same two-day cruises from the Port of Palm Beach that it did under Bahamas Paradise -- which are not all that attractive to travel advisors -- Cohlan said to eventually expect more cruise-and-stay options with Margaritaville resorts around the U.S. and the Caribbean.
"We have 25 lodging destinations open now -- probably 50 three years from now," Cohlan said, pointing to possible tie-ins with the brand's $700 million resort in Orlando; the brand's first West Coast resort, opening in San Diego and currently under conversion; and even its recently opened Margaritaville in New York.
"Margaritaville as a destination is logically tied to water," he added. "So we are in a lot of places where there is the ability to have a ship set sail from near or adjacent to our resort. As this expands, there is a lot of opportunity for growth."
For advisors with clients who like Margaritaville resorts or restaurants, the cruise tie-in presents opportunities. Cohlan said that more than 100 million people physically visit Margaritaville locations.
"It's a significant and diverse consumer who has demonstrated so far that they enjoy the hospitality brand that we offer," he said. "So for sure, we will touch all those people who enjoy what we do on land and hope to host those that want to be on sea."
It also helps Ritz-Carlton that it is a member of Bonvoy.
"Bonvoy's marketing prowess is super strong, assuming the yacht collection is a priority for Bonvoy -- this will open the eyes of even more consumers who may not know Ritz will be on the water," said Flowers. "Bonvoy members tend to be very loyal."