Seven Hot Tips forr Selling Alaska Cruises
Learn (summary) how you can you bump up your Alaska cruise sales this year, including selling the latest-and-greatest luxury expedition cruises.
Ah (body) Alaska, the Last Frontier … the land of magnificent glaciers, quaint fishing villages, the aurora borealis, and jaw-dropping wildlife sightings. A long-time favorite cruise destination for North American and international travelers alike, the region continues to gain momentum as cruise lines sailing there increase their fleets – including the new, luxury expedition vessels.
How can you bump up your Alaska cruise sales this year? Here are some tips from your travel agent peers.
1. Focus on the spectacular wildlife.
Whales breaching, bears catching salmon at the water’s edge, a massive moose spotting you as he strolls across the landscape (or even the street, in some towns up North) – these are the kinds of spectacular wildlife sightings that inspire people to travel to Alaska. When pitching Alaska to your clients, focus on these immersive experiences and Instagram moments.
For example, here is a recounting of an unforgettable travel experience that says it all, by Susan Valentine, senior travel advisor at Preferred Travel of Naples, in Naples, Florida, who specializes in trips to Alaska: “We took a private group out in Juneau [which has weather like a rainforest, misty and damp]. But five minutes away, it’s sunny and beautiful, and it’s where the whales are. As luck would have it, a mother whale came up to the ship with her calf. That calf breached right out of the water in front of us! That’s a picture that will forever be in my brain. That’s why people go to Alaska, for the chance that might happen.”
On another cruise, Valentine saw a whole pod of killer whales, orcas, off to the left in the distance. On a Caribbean cruise, you don’t usually see wildlife out in the ocean. But, in Alaska, your chances of seeing wildlife are very good – and that makes it a very special place to visit.
2. Sell the new luxury expedition experiences.
Luxury cruises to Alaska are becoming popular, and the major cruise lines have made it easy for travelers to experience the wildlife and breathtaking vistas in upscale style and comfort. While mass market products also continue to flourish, it is the luxury expeditions that are really turning heads.
“You can get suited up and go out on your excursion, and come back to a butler to serve you and 5-star dining,” described Valentine. “The new expedition ships are all suites. They go beyond the traditional cabin with a porthole to a luxury experience with butler service.”
3. Offer cruise tours to your clients.
By land and by sea is the best combination for experiencing, and selling, Alaska. For instance, if you can sell beyond an Inside Passage cruise, the cruise tour brings an even bigger “wow.” You might suggest an itinerary that takes your clients up to Denali to explore the national park; to the Kenai Peninsula for fishing and outdoor sports; and all the way up to Fairbanks to pan for gold.
4. Arrange customized excursions with local vendors.
Some agents have made it a practice to privatize excursions. They look for local vendors and tour operators that add value to and can comply with the needs and wants of a group that is traveling together.
The cruise lines all offer shore excursions, but they can be “pretty cookie-cutter,” said Valentine; and when you look at local suppliers, you can customize the experience better for your clients. For instance, she arranged a private seaplane to take clients to see the bears in their natural habitat in Ketchikan. On another trip, she took clients out for sport fishing, ideally salmon; the supplier she works with even fillets and ships the catch back to the travelers’ hometown.
5. Hold cruise nights at your agency.
The ole tried-and-true cruise night. It may seem passé, but it still works for many travel agencies. One travel advisor that Travel Market Report spoke to mentioned that her agency does a lot of consumer nights. They recently held one that was all about expedition cruising. Luxury clients want to see it, touch it, feel it. They want that in-person interaction before they book.
6. Address the unpredictable weather in advance.
The weather in Alaska can be inhibiting. Truth is, you never know what you’re going to get. Sometimes, it’s glorious and sunny; other times, there’s so much fog that you can’t see beyond your own hand. It just comes with that vast, expansive territory.
But, it’s a good idea to let your clients know, ahead of time, that inclement weather is a possibility; and if that happens, it’s just another way to see the region. Let them know that tours operate in all types of weather.
7. Go there – and then sell from your personal experiences.
Nothing sells travel better than storytelling and personal experiences. “When I talk to people about what I’ve done and seen, it wins hands-down,” said Valentine. “They really get a taste of what it’s like when you personalize it. It works to be able to say, ‘I’ve been there, and this is what I’ve done.’”
So, get your photos and videos of your travels up on Facebook and Instagram. If you own the agency, incentivize your agents to do the same. And, run videos of your experiences – and not just the videos generated by suppliers – up on a big screen in your agency, for all to see.
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