Silversea Cruises launched an unusual promotion on Jan. 15 - two hours of free Wi-Fi daily and a free shore excursion in every port of call on 52 Mediterranean voyages in 2015. It was so successful, executives are considering expanding the program, said Kristian Anderson, Silversea's senior vice president and general manager for the Americas. We asked him about that and other developments at the luxury line.
TravelPulse: What has been the response from consumers and travel agents about the new included shore excursions and Wi-Fi promotion for the Mediterranean?
Kristian Anderson: It's really a model we put into the market. We had been receiving a great deal of feedback from our Venetian Society members, and Wi-Fi was beginning to be something of a consistent request.
There also was a great deal of feedback on the ease of having shore excursions as part of the experience as opposed to optional, sort of a one-call-does-it-all shopping experience. We went into this with a commitment to make sure we offer the same level of expertise our guests have become accustomed to.
Since we launched this, our Med bookings are up over a third and soon approaching double over the same time last year, so we're thrilled.
The response has been very affirming so far, so there is a possibility of expanding this to the rest of the market and rest of the fleet. So we're exploring whether we extend the program, do we expand it, or if it hasn't met the level of expectation we set forth, perhaps look at other options. But based on our preliminary results we've seen thus far, we're clearly looking to build upon the success of it.
TP: So that sounds like it's been a good Wave Season for Silversea.
KA: It's sort of a tired cliché, when you ask a cruise executive how Wave Season is, they always seem to say the same thing - "it's great." But I've got to tell you honestly this most certainly has been the best Wave Season we've had in the last five years since we launched the Silver Spirit in 2009. It's going incredibly well for us, exceeding our expectations and beating our forecast, especially in the Americas region.
We made some changes in our pricing model and distribution, and people are finding some of our itineraries for 2015 and 2016 really appealing. Our three expedition vessels are not just piquing people's interest, they're buying it, whether it's the Galapagos, Antarctica, the Russian Far East, Papua New Guinea, or the Kimberley region in Australia. Also the economy has helped, and there's pent-up demand. People are starting to splurge. All these factors come together to contribute to a tremendously successful Wave Season.
Not to mention our travel partners; we have some phenomenal relationships and that is evident in the amount of support we've been receiving.
TP: What has been the feedback from agents and passengers regarding the recent Silver Galapagos renovation?
KA: When we launched the Silver Galapagos, we did a soft refurbishment, and then last year we did a far more comprehensive refurb, spending several million dollars primarily on the interior décor of suites as well as functional enhancements. By every stretch of imagination, the vessel is now completely on-brand with what our guests expect. That is clearly evident; sales are up tremendously in the past few months. We're expecting to launch an exciting pricing initiative, probably in March, that we think will stimulate it even further.
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