Teri West
Aqua Expeditions' newest ship, the Aqua Lares, launched earlier this year in a new region for the cruise line: East Africa.
Aqua is a relatively small cruise line and the destination is a rare one for cruisers, so I asked CEO Francesco Galli Zugaro how it is establishing a customer base there.
The answer: latching on to the popularity of the African safari.
Aqua is marketing the cruises as a way to extend a safari trip and see a completely different category of African wildlife.
Galli Zugaro is proud to offer visits on the cruises to an island he refers to as the Galapagos of Africa due to its giant tortoise population. He showed me an image of tortoises there and said, "That's how we start getting people excited about East Africa."
I can certainly imagine the photos of Aqua's African destinations getting travelers excited. As Galli Zugaro scrolls through them, it's nothing but turquoise waters and island landscapes out of a storybook.
The trick is getting those photos in the hands of the right people. After all, Galli Zugaro notes, "We're not a household name by any means, so we don't have the budget to go do a massive advertising campaign."
In February, Aqua hosted an event in Cape Town with tour operators to spread the word about the opportunity to extend safari trips via cruise.
Plus, there is already overlap between travel advisors who work with Aqua Expeditions and advisors who sell safaris.
"It's been very well received," he said. "Finally, there's an option for people who are doing Africa safaris and then doing an ocean expedition and basically ending with a nice beach option."
Aqua Expeditions also has the benefit of not having too many cabins to fill. The Aqua Lares has a maximum passenger capacity of 30, and it is only sailing in Africa in the winter; in the summer, the ship heads to the Arctic.
The brand is now 19 years old and benefits from long-lasting relationships with travel advisors. Investing in and expanding those relationships through face-to-face meetings is one of the brand's primary strategies as it continues to scale up, Galli Zugaro said.
"It's hitting the sidewalk," he said. "It's going to all the shows, educating our existing client base."