ON A smoky evening in Sydney last night, Virgin Voyages founder Richard Branson personally welcomed Aussie agents aboard by announcing the brand was now officially open for business Down Under (CW 30 Aug). Referring to agents as First Mates, the “disruptor” cruise line is encouraging advisors to register via its...
ON A smoky evening in Sydney last night, Virgin Voyages founder Richard Branson personally welcomed Aussie agents aboard by announcing the brand was now officially open for business Down Under (CW 30 Aug).
Referring to agents as First Mates, the “disruptor” cruise line is encouraging advisors to register via its dedicated online home for the trade, FirstMates.com.
Speaking with Cruise Weekly last night, Virgin Voyages Chief Commercial Officer Nirmal Saverimuttu said the cruise line had “cleared the hurdles” as much as it could so that agents can sell Virgin Voyages with ease.
“We talk about setting sail the Virgin way but we also are very much encouraging our First Mates to think about what it’s like to ‘sell’ the Virgin way,” he said.
“We’ve eliminated non-commissionable fares, we pay on everything, we’ve got lots of different things in place to make sure we are as brilliant to do business with as anybody out there,” Saverimuttu added.Virgin Voyages also revealed a new agreement with Virgin Australia (VA), enabling the launch of new “Tail to Sail” deals.
Packages are now available through Virgin Australia Holidays for cruises on Scarlet Lady in 2020 that combine VA flights from the east coast of Australia to Miami
Prices start from $3,420ppts.
Pictured: The human headline Richard Branson with VA’s CEO and MD Paul Scurrah last night, inset, Branson officially popping the cork on the Aussie market.
