Regent Seven Seas Cruises has stepped up the messaging centred on the luxuriousness of space on its ultra-luxe ships through a new “Unrivalled Space at Sea” strapline.
The tagline and push were rolled out last month and pivot around space now being a highly-sought commodity in the era of COVID-safe travel.
Steve Odell, Regent Seven Seas Cruises’ SVP and MD Asia Pacific, says the cruise line is in a “very unique position” with a fleet of ships still large in size but small in passenger numbers.
Speaking exclusively with LATTE, Odell highlighted Regent’s newest vessel, Seven Seas Splendor, as an example.
“Splendor is 55,000 tonne but only carries 750 passengers. What does that mean? It means you get a lot of personal space,” he said.
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“The rooms are bigger, the balconies on the suites are bigger, you are getting a very high ratio of space-per-guest and that means a few things as well. You’re not going to see crowds of people. You’re not going to be in lines.”
“We’ve got many dining spaces with tables for two, you can dine in your suite if you want to, you can dine outside three times a day,” he explained
“In this world of being more cautious and requiring more space between people, we can really deliver something that is unmatchable in the cruise business,” Odell told LATTE.
Odell says the same can be said for off-the-ship experiences and Regent Seven Seas’ shore excursions which only operate as small, intimate groups, sometimes with only four guests.
“Our Unrivalled Space at Sea positioning is talking to this new world we live in where you are conscious about being among too many people and you want personal space everywhere you go.”
Cruise passengers jumping ship to Regent
The Regent Seven Seas Cruises regional boss remains confident that the luxury segment will show its resilience through the new COVID era of travel.
“I think luxury will come back faster than other categories of cruising because these ships have more space per customer.
“We’ve noticed a bit of a switch along the way already,” Odell said, revealing to LATTE there are increasing numbers of customers jumping from other cruise lines to Regent Seven Seas.
“[Customers] from, say, some of the higher-end big ships like Princess and HAL [Holland America Line], Crystal, for example, we’re seeing a bit of movement from those brands because of our fewer people, more space.”
Regent’s attention on “space” is being pushed out in video form (see above) and carried over into a dedicated 30-page “Unrivalled Space at Sea” brochure – view it here.
Within its pages is a comparison between Seven Seas Splendor and a rival “Premium Cruise Line”.
The list highlights the differences between passenger numbers, private balconies on the ship, lead-in suite size, staff-to-guest ratio and space-to-guest ratio (per below).
“What we are trying to do in this brochure is talk about how as a guest you will be in the best environment at sea,” Odell added.
The Unrivalled Space at Sea brochure also hones in on Regent’s all-inclusive offering.
Odell said it was important for customers, and travel advisors, to look at what defines “all-inclusive” with other cruise lines and what are the “hidden-extras, because even in inclusive pricing you can find additional costs”.
“In our case, we do have the most inclusive, specialty restaurants, free unlimited shore excursions in every port. We have a truly all-inclusive product with no hidden parts and I would encourage any agent or consumers to really look at the detail cause not all cruise lines are made equal in terms of this all-inclusive message – there’s a difference,” Odell concluded.
