BOOKINGS from travel agents and trade partners account for around 90% of Australian business for Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) Steve Odell, Senior Vice President and Managing Director Asia Pacific of Norwegian Cruise Lines Holdings (NCLH) and Nicole Costantin, Vice President Sales, Australia and New Zealand, NCL told Cruise Weekly over...
BOOKINGS from travel agents and trade partners account for around 90% of Australian business for Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) Steve Odell, Senior Vice President and Managing Director Asia Pacific of Norwegian Cruise Lines Holdings (NCLH) and Nicole Costantin, Vice President Sales, Australia and New Zealand, NCL told Cruise Weekly over the weekend.
CW was on board the newly renovated Norwegian Joy for her inaugural US cruise and sat down with Odell and Costantin to find out how business is going.
“The trade is absolutely vital for the cruise line, and opening a local office hasn’t changed that,” Costantin said.
“Five years ago we were 90% wholesale and we’re still that now, split between retail and wholesale trade,” she added.
Steve Odell agreed, stating the cruise line takes less than 10% in direct sales.
“We don’t follow a direct strategy but we do take direct business.
“Our marketing is all about lead generation…but we don’t mind whether that enquiry goes to a travel agency or comes to us directly,” he said.
According to Costantin, travellers who ring and book directly with NCL’s Australian call centre still have a month to move that booking to a travel agency if that is what they decide.
Odell and Costantin also emphasised the importance of Australian travellers, who now are the third largest source market for NCL, overtaking the United Kingdom this year.
