Norwegian Cruise Line anticipates ‘additional opportunities’ for agents this summer
Sales chief says ‘attractive rates’ will soon become available for Europe sailings
ShanonG
Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) anticipates “additional opportunities” for UK agents to sell European sailings this summer, according to its international sales chief.
The cruise line is preparing for more capacity to become available in the next few weeks as several US airlines have cut flights to the continent, meaning there will be fewer American passengers booking.
Speaking to agents on board the inaugural sailing of Norwegian Aqua, NCL vice-president and chief international sales and marketing officer Jason Krimmel said: “We are going to have some additional Europe opportunities [for this year], and we will have clarity around that in the next week or so.
More: Norwegian Aqua embarks on maiden voyage from Lisbon
“The reason is because US airlines – United and Delta in particular – have announced that they are cutting back on some published lift into Europe, so the pendulum will swing over to the UK and Central Europe teams to fill that remaining capacity.”
He added there will be some “attractive rates” in the short-term for specific sailings, but stressed the line’s focus is still on longer-term bookings for next year and beyond.
His comments were made after agents reported a lack of availability across the sector for the coming summer season
Krimmel confirmed the UK market remains NCL’s second-largest source market outside North America.
Looking ahead to next year, he added: “Europe is still our number one product worldwide and to the UK market, Europe still remains important.
“The good thing for us is that in our 2026-27 [Europe season] we will have more seven-day product because I think that was [previously] a bit of a challenge as we had mostly longer cruises, which prohibited the UK from being able to contribute as it has historically done.
“The Caribbean is the number two market for us from the UK, and so this expansion into the Caribbean [with Aqua] gives us the ability to flex back, even though we’re not really shifting back into being a Caribbean cruise line.”
Krimmel also identified “tremendous opportunity” with its Asia and Alaska cruises for the UK market.
