PHOTO: The Norwegian Escape is scheduled for delivery in November. (Courtesy of Norwegian Cruise Line)
Norwegian Cruise Line is increasing the size of its overall sales force by 40 percent, an expansion that will almost double the number of sales representatives in the field.
It's a "significant investment" in the company's Partners First travel agent initiative introduced in April 2011, said Andy Stuart, executive vice president of sales.
"One of the main things we hear from travel partners is that they don't see us often enough, and if we were a bigger presence locally, in their office, sitting across the desk, it would make a huge difference," Stuart said.
He credited Frank Del Rio, the new CEO of parent company Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd., for spearheading the investment. "He is a passionate advocate for travel agents, as he strongly demonstrated with Oceania and Regent," Stuart said. "It is a significant investment, but one we know will pay back in a very positive way."
The move comes as Norwegian plans major increases in capacity, first with the Norwegian Escape in November and three more ships for delivery in spring 2017, spring 2018 and fall 2019.
Leading the expansion are three veteran sales executives: Nathan Hickman, who recently joined Norwegian from Oceania Cruises as vice president of field sales and national accounts; Alex Pinelo, a long-time Norwegian manager, who was recently appointed vice president of key accounts; and Katina Athanasiou, vice president of charters, meetings and incentives for Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises, and Regent Seven Seas Cruises.
Stuart declined to specify the size of the sales team, but did say there will be 40 business-development managers. He hopes to have the new sales reps in place by mid or late April. The sales managers will represent only Norwegian; there is no move to combine the sales staffs with recently added sister companies Oceania and Regent, Stuart said.
The company also is hiring more people in the national accounts, key accounts, charters, meetings & incentives and inside sales teams based in Miami. "The idea is to take some of the administrative burdens off the sales staff in the field to give them more time selling and less time administrating," Stuart said. "We're basically adding to every area of the sales team."
As part of the expansion, new field sales representatives will be added throughout the U.S. and Canada, including multiple positions in California, as well as an expanded presence in New York, Texas, and the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions. In Canada, the line will add a new business development manager and a director of sales to the four managers already in place.
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