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FORT LAUDERDALE — Who shouldn’t sail on your cruise line?
It’s an unusual question that cruise line leaders answered on Friday during the Presidents’ Panel at CruiseWorld.
For MSC, it’s the traveler who wants the ship to feel like home, said Roberto Fusaro, president of MSC Cruises North America. Fusaro said MSC is arguably one of the most international cruise lines. No one market represents more than 20% of its total sourcing, and guests will hear many languages spoken onboard.
“There are some kinds of guests who take the ship as a linkage to home, and after they visit the destination they want to feel they are back at home on the ship,” he said. That might not be the most ideal MSC cruiser.
Hurtigruten CEO Daniel Skjeldam said expedition cruises appeal to a broad swath of travelers, including experienced cruisers who want to try something different and people who don’t think they’re cruisers. However, if he had to pick a person who wouldn’t be a good fit on a Hurtigruten ship, he said it would be the guest eager to party in a club until 5 a.m.
Norwegian Cruise Line CEO Andy Stuart said he typically sees a wide variety of customers, from value-conscious travelers to affluent couples to families to solo travelers.
The commonality, he said, is “they all want their own journey through the ship. They want to design the vacation on their own terms.” It’s reflected in Norwegian’s marketing, that focus on freedom and flexibility. It’s also why more traditional cruisers might shy away from the brand.
“I think there are people for whom the traditional experience is important,” Stuart said, like a consistent dining experience with the same waiter for the duration of their cruise. “There are people who love that, and we don’t do that.”
Source: travelweekly.com
