Royal Caribbean expects the debut of Voyager of the Seas in Australian waters this summer to deliver a boost to bookings for its Asian cruising season from the local market.
The 3,114 guest megaliner will depart Australia after its first season down under in March, heading for Asia where it will operate a range of cruises from Shanghai, Beijing and Singapore.
Commercial manager Adam Armstrong told Travel Today that the cruise line was already seeing an uplift in bookings for the Asian season on the back of Voyager’s deployment in the region.
“I expect an even stronger following after the Australian season,” he said. “Once she goes back up to China and Singapore in March, I expect her following to be even greater then.”
The addition of Mariner of the Seas to the Asian program next year will deliver a further boost to sales, Armstrong predicted.
Meanwhile, he revealed that while the shorter itineraries will carry mostly local passengers, Australians are opting for the slightly longer voyages.
‘With the longer cruises of seven, 10 or 14 nights, that’s when we start getting British, Americans and Aussies in dominant numbers,” Armstrong said.
On board product will undergo similar “tweaks” as those undertaken for the Australian market in terms of language,entertainment and food, he confirmed.
