Kevin Smith was named president of the Americas of Sea Cloud Cruises in July after serving as chief sales officer since 2023. Cruise editor Teri West spoke with him about his vision, competition and his relationship with his father, longtime cruise executive Bill Smith.
Kevin Smith
Q: How would you describe Sea Cloud's current reach, and how does that compare to where you want it to be?
A: The importance of my role is to expand our reach. I look at Sea Cloud as a lifestyle brand. I kind of want to do things a little bit different than everybody else has done this in the industry. I don't necessarily need to be talking to past cruisers. I want to go for the luxury person that stays in the great hotels; I want the people that are going throughout Europe on their own. That custom FIT bespoke travel is the type of experience we offer here because our cruisers don't identify as cruisers, right? I call it the Finer Things Club, if you're familiar with "The Office." It's that client that's looking for a unique experience, something that they can put into their brag book.
The cruise industry moves 38 million people a year. Sea Cloud is responsible for less than 11,000 people a year, so it is a social club onboard Sea Cloud Cruises. Not everybody gets to go on it, and that's a very important piece to the puzzle here.
Q: Where is Sea Cloud in terms of that branding message and finding that clientele? How much change might this mean operationally?
A: It's just going to be a rephrase. You look at what all the cruise lines are doing right now, it's, "We're giving 30% off if you book right now." That's not important to our traveler. Our traveler is buying an experience. So, what we're going to do is tell a story on the Sea Cloud experience. All we're going to do is simply market the experience and the lifestyle, as opposed to, "I can give you 30% off."
Q: It is a small fleet with small ships. Are you looking to grow the fleet, or are you looking for it to be a higher demand product?
A: Obviously we want all of our vessels to sail full. We have some great opportunity in the Caribbean for this coming year and then going into next year. Are we 100% at capacity? No. There's always space available, but I think my goal is to create the demand to where I can get the owners to build new products.
Q: Who do you see as your closest competitors?
A: My closest competitors do not float. My closest competitors would be the Belmond properties, the guests that are staying in these luxury hotels. That's my clientele. I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with [other cruise lines], but when I look at apples to apples and I go into the heritage, the craftsmanship, the legacy of this company, there is no competition.
Q: Your father was an executive at luxury brands like Silversea and Crystal Cruises; most recently he became brand ambassador to Sea Cloud. What does it mean to go from growing up in the industry to leading a line?
A: My father had an amazing career in an industry that he loves, and so growing up I always got to see his vision and how he treated people. That's something that I try to carry on, obviously to make him proud but to keep our legacy alive, in a way, within the travel advisor community. I had the opportunity to bring Bill on as our brand ambassador. I talk about what we're doing here, and he's like, "I wish I thought of that when I was running Silversea." It's developed our relationship to a deeper experience.
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This interview has been edited for length and clarity.