FORT LAUDERDALE -- After watching the booking share from travel advisors sink during the pandemic, the "overwhelming majority" of Oceania Cruises' business this year comes from the trade, said Oceania president Frank A. Del Rio at CruiseWorld last week.
"I absolutely see a home for this distribution channel for a long time to come," he said.
Industry-wide, travel advisors booked 70% of cruises in 2019. That slipped to a low of 52% in 2021. Cruise lines on the road to recovery in 2022 noted upticks in direct sales, including Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, Oceania's parent company.
The trade has since bounced back. By the end of this year, travel advisors are expected to make up 70% of cruise bookings, according to Phocuswright's "U.S. Cruise Market Report 2023-2027."
Del Rio applauded the trade's use of technology. He said some trade partners are using tech that is "maybe even a little bit better than the what we have in-house, but we're working on that."
To further assist travel advisors, the upper-premium line plans to launch an interactive Oceania Cruises Academy in 2025. The educational platform will include videos and offer a "really cool way" for advisors to learn about the brand and keep up with the latest developments, said Nikki Upshaw, Oceania's senior vice president of global sales.
Oceania's fleet is growing
Oceania is in an expansion period. The line went 11 years without a new ship until 2023, when Oceania Vista joined the fleet. A sister ship, Oceania Allura, is coming in July 2025. The line currently has three ships on order.
Del Rio urged advisors to convert their premium clients to ultra-premium ones. He called Oceania an "aspirational brand" with an attainable price point.
Cruisers coming from from premium lines make up the most significant source of new guests, according to Scott Kluesner, Oceania's vice president of strategic accounts. Examples of premium lines are Princess, Celebrity, Virgin Voyages, Viking and Holland America Line.
About 55% of the line's guests will cruise again with Oceania, Kluesner said.