THE PRE-, POST-, AND OFF-

SHIP CRUISE EXPERIENCE

6
CRUISE ITINERARIES
Two major itinerary types exist:

Round-trip or circle ( the vessel leaves from and returns

to the same port).

One-way ( the cruise begins at one port and finished at

another ).
 INTERMEDIARY PORT STOPS
AND SHORE EXCURSIONS
When passengers arrive at each intermediate place visited, they
have five options:
1. They may purchase a shore excursion through the cruise
line.
2. They may buy it through a shore excursion company.
3. They may buy a tour or activity from vendors who
usually await them at or near the dock.
4. They may simply explore the port and its environs on
their own.
5. They may elect to stay onboard to relax, get some sun,
and feel like they have the ship almost all of themselves.
CATEGORIES OF SHORE EXCURSIONS
1. Sightseeing excursions. A group of people on a motor
coach.
2. Sports excursions. Golf, tennis, sailing, snorkeling-
you name the activity, and if it can be done at a
particular port, there’s probably a shore excursion
that will make it possible.

3. Miscellaneous excursions. Shore excursions may take

you to a faraway beach, to a legendary shopping are,
or to a world-class museum.
THE GEOGRAPHY
OF CRUISING
7
SOME MISCELLANEOUS THOUGHTS
Occasionally, cruise lines operate “cruises to
nowhere”.
Allied to this is the concept of the ship as a
destination.
Sometimes , a ship’s “culture” is strongly affected
by its crew’s countries of origin.
On rare occasions, a port on the itinerary may be
substituted or deleted.
Large cruise lines tend to feature newer and larger
ships at mass-market destination.
Some cruise lines call at their very own
privately owned islands.
Meals abroad ship are often themed with
appropriate food and water “costumes”.
Some cruise line chefs do believe,
however, that food should reflect the
region the ship is visiting.
CLIA publishes a handy grid that cross-
references major destination regions with
its member lines.
PROFILING THE
LINES
8
THE CRUISE LINES THEMSELVES
Cruise line promotional pieces, such a brochures,
ads, commercials, video, and Web sites, are rich
sources of information and insight.
Seminars are another source of critical information.
Ship inspection (while a ship is in port) and
familiarization cruises (offered at greatly reduced
prices) are powerfully effective ways for travel
professionals to experience first hand and personality
of a ship and its parent company.
Passengers who have just returned from
a cruise and veteran cruisers are also
prime sources of insights into each line’s
product.
Business development managers are in
important link between the cruise lines
and travel agencies.
CONSUMER PUBLICATIONS
The most popular books:
• Berlitz’s Complete Guide to Cruising and Cruise Ships
• Cruise Vacations for Dummies
• Fodor’s Ports of Call Series
• Frommer’s Cruise & Ports of Call Series
• Stern’s Guide to the Cruise Vacation
• The Unofficial Guide to Cruises
THE INTERNET FOR RESEARCH
There are some strategies you may not know about:
 Use more than one search engine. No single search has
information that covers the entire Web.
 Use a search directory
 CRUISE
MARKETING,
GROUPS, AND
INCENTIVES
10
WHAT IS MARKETING?
Marketing is determining a need and developing
products and services to meet those needs.
A solid and effective marketing campaign the following
elements:
1. Consumer and product research
2. Product / service design
3. Pricing
4. Promotion
5. Distribution
6. Follow-up
THE ELEMENT OF MARKETING
 Research
In marketing, two types of research are common:
consumer research and product research.
 Design
Once you’ve examined the results of your research, you
then design a product or service that addresses what
you’ve learned.
 Pricing
You need to budget out what it will cost to operate and
sell your product.
 Promotion
There two kinds of promotion: publicity and
advertising. Publicity is promotion that is nearly or
completely cost-free. Advertising is promotion that
costs: a listing in the Yellow Pages, a magazine ad, a
radio commercial, a poster, a brochure.
 Distribution
A tangible product is one that has physical form,
such as a Tv set, a toaster, or a tire.
A intangibles products or service that have no
physical form and are more experience ential-
distribution is less obvious.
Follow-up
A step once neglected in marketing has become highly
important.
MARKETING PLANS
A marketing plan is a blueprint for action and a map to
success.
Typically constitute a marketing plan:
 An executive summary
 A mission statement
 An analysis of market research
 An analysis of market attractiveness
 An analysis of you your products life cycle
Products have a “life” usually expressed as four stages:
• Introduction
• Growth
• Maturity
• Decline
 A SWOT analysis
You must determine your:
• Strengths
• Weaknesses
• Opportunities
• Threats
 An analysis of your competitors
 An analysis of your customers
 An analysis of your cooperators
 An analysis of your products and services
 Your marketing mix
They’re often referred to as the eight “Ps”:
• Product
• Price
• Profit
• Place
• People
• Politics
• Position
• Promotion
 Your promotional mix
PREFORMED GROUPS
A preformed group is one made up of people who belong
to club, association, or other pre existing organization.
For the success have three factors:
1. A clear match must exist between the group’s profile
and the line, ship, destination and departure date.
2. The promotion to the group must be well conceived.
3. A pied piper should anchor the cruise promotion. A
pied piper is a member of the organization you’re
targeting who is especially respected and admired by
its members.
CREATING AND MARKETING A
GROUP CRUISE DEPARTURE
The 15 steps you might follow to create, market, and
operate your own group departure:
 Select your group
 Research by qualifying the group
 Project what percentage of the “audience” will book
 Determine the purpose of their trip
 Establish the flexibility of their time
 Determine their value range
 Determine the itinerary, destination, and a cruise
line recommendation
 Contact and negotiate with the cruise line
 Review the contact
 If doing a preformed group, present your
recommendation to the group’s leadership
 Plan your promotion
 Establish your “fulfillment center”
 Plot your timeline
 Operate the group cruise departure
 Stage a post-cruise party
INCENTIVES
We said that there were three kinds of groups. The third is a
very specialized kind called an incentive group.
A travel incentive is a program to motivate people to perform
better through the potential award of an exceptional travel
experience.
What’s amazing is that with incentive groups ,everyone wins:
 The client company makes more money with minimal risk.
 The employees get travel and prestiges
 The cruise line fills prime cabins
 The incentive company or travel agency makes a handsome
profit.
END