Atlas Ocean Voyages is a new name in the market but the company has a long history in its cruise heritage and executive leadership. The Fort Lauderdale-based line is a subsidiary of Mystic Invest Holding, an international travel and hospitality company that owns and operates a large river cruise fleet in Europe.

Heading up the new line is Alberto Aliberti, who led strategic development and commercial operations at Mystic Invest and its river cruise line, DouroAzul, for nearly 15 years and also held management positions at Seabourn and Cunard.

Leading the trade side as vice president of sales and trade partnerships is Brandon Townsley, who has worked at Royal Caribbean, Norwegian and other cruise lines.

Authentic Adventures

The focus for Atlas will be on authentic, active and adventurous experiences in far-flung destinations, including Antarctica, the Baltic, the Mediterranean and Central and South America. Aliberti summed up the line as offering a “luxe adventure” experience, ranging from jumping out of planes to glamping and softer adventure activities.

The first vessel, World Navigator, is under construction and scheduled to launch in mid-2021, offering seven- to 15-night itineraries in the Black Sea and the Eastern Mediterranean—avoiding “big ship ports” when possible

There will be an additional ship in 2022 and two more in 2023. Each will carry 186 passengers. All four vessels will be polar capable.

Onboard Community

Townsley said a key differentiator for Atlas will be creating an onboard community among guests and crew. “Our most important job will be hiring the right crew, who will be chosen for their personalities and ability to engage with guests,” he said. Dining room servers, for instance, will talk to passengers about their plans and help them with their decisions.

Atlas is launching a website this month that will be “informational” initially with bookings becoming available on Jan.

“We like to do things differently, so our platform will be geared toward educating travel advisors to make them better salespeople and to provide information on how to sell certain destinations,” Townsley said. “While of course we will train them on our product, the platform will be geared more toward professional performance.”

Generous Commissions

An e-commerce website will be available by the end of the first quarter of 2020 and ancillary items like shore excursions will be bookable—and commissionable. In fact, everything except air will be commissionable if booked before the trip, Townsley said. While the site will have e-commerce capabilities, the line will not sell proactively to consumers, he said.

The advisor compensation program will be “generous,” said Townsley, with advisors able to get to the 15 percent level quickly and cancellation penalties commissionable at 10 percent.

Sales Tips

—Prospective passengers range in age from 35 to 70. They have a passion for travel and adventure but typically avoid cookiecutter tourist experiences.

—Excursions will include such experiences as spending a night on a kibbutz in Israel or skiing in Zermatt for a few days before a cruise.

—Prospects are those who might have previously sailed on luxury ships but thought there was not enough activity or wanted more of a community feel.