Editor’s letter

To rebuild the industry we must celebrate it EDITOR’S LETTER

THE ONLY DESTINATION FOR THOSE SELLING CRUISES

Each month, in this space, we invite you to explore our latest issue, highlighting the merits of the beautiful

APRIL 2020

destination pictured on our cover and the cruise

lines that sail there. In recent months we’ve featued destinations as diverse as Antarctica, Mexico and

Norway – but this issue, with borders closed, ships

CA-46 The latest news, comment and analysis amid the coronavirus pandemic – plus a celebration of this wonderful industry A love letter to cruise

drydocked and aircraft grounded, things look a little different. As we write in our love letter to cruise on p18, cruise has experienced such growth that its continued

rise seemed assured. What has happened instead is unthinkable.

With a number of cruise ships caught up in the Covid-19 pandemic, whether through staff and guests catching the virus while on board, or vessels facing logistical nightmares getting guests back on land as ports deny them entry, the industry has become a very visible representation of the pandemic. Rebuilding consumer confidence in our industry is not going to be easy – but together we can do it and make sure cruise returns stronger than ever.

To make sure that happens, we need to be shouting from the rooftops about why this is the most fantastic kind of holiday. In this issue, therefore, you’ll fi nd a news section dedicated to stories covering the changing landscape of travel (beginning p5), including a comprehensive list of cancellations and suspensions (p12), but we also want to encourage you to celebrate cruise holidays, which is why we’ve kept many of the original features planned for this edition, from Mekong river cruises to the midnight sun in Norway and Jane Archer’s How to Sell column, this time on luxury travel.

It’s a strange time, but it’s also an opportunity to celebrate this wonderful industry, its people and its opportunities. We believe it is crucial during these troubling times to remember what it means to travel and why we do it. We hope you fi nd this issue useful but also uplifting – take care and we will see you all again soon.

How we are helping you during the pandemic Across Waterfront Publishing titles, which include cruise adviser, our aim is to report, reassure and rebuild. That is: report news as it happens, reassure the trade, and help to rebuild confi dence in the industry.

To facilitate that we have:

Launched a new weekly email for Cruise Adviser, The Cruise Digest, which is out every Wednesday Launched a blog on cruise-adviser.com covering the latest developments Produced a guide to cruise line cancellation policies

We will be inviting industry leaders to share their thoughts on what the future of tourism looks like, to pressure the government to take urgent measures to protect the travel industry, and to educate and reassure agents. As the government now advises those who can to work remotely, we have produced this special digital-only version of the April cruise adviser and will be doing the same for May to ensure it is not landing in empty shops.

CRUISE ADVISER is brought to you by Waterfront Publishing

Publisher Sam Ballard sam@cruise-adviser.com

Publisher Anthony Pearce anthony@cruise-adviser.com

Senior sales manager Bryan Johnson bryan@cruise-adviser.com 020 3865 9338

Sales manager Rory Collins rory@waterfront-publishing.com 020 3865 4815

Graphic design Matthew Coles

Sub-editor Nathaniel Cramp

Waterfront Publishing 12-18 Hoxton Street London N1 6NG info@cruise-adviser.com 020 3865 9360

Digital cruise-adviser.com facebook.com/cruiseadviser twitter.com/cruiseadviser

CRUISE ADVISER is published 11 times a year by Waterfront (registered no: 08707515). All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is strictly prohibited.

Waterfront Publishing is an award-winning independent magazine publisher based in central London. It creates print, mobile and online media and provides editorial, design, proofreading and marketing.

Trade magazines Waterfront has two in-house magazines: Cruise Adviser, a multi-award winning cruise magazine, and Solus, the only travel trade publication dedicated to solo travel, both of which are aimed at travel agents. Waterfront also produces ABTA Magazine on behalf of ABTA, the Travel Association. The magazine forms the centrepiece of a range of ABTA publications including an ABTA Magazine World Travel Market special edition; a series of ABTA Magazine destination and trend supplements; ABTA Golf and the ABTA Country Guides. In October 2019, ABTA Magazine won Trade Publication of the Year at the Travel Media Awards.

Contract publishing Waterfront offers contract publishing services and has produced magazines for Travelzoo; Emerald Waterways, the Cruise Lines International Association, UK and Ireland (Clia); Cruise & Maritime Voyages; The Travel Village, JV Pastor Groupe and Advantage Travel Partnership.

The Studio In September 2018, Waterfront launched a new creative agency. The Studio by Waterfront specialises in design solutions across print, web and social media. The Studio offers a tailored approach for all clients, with copywriting, proofreading and design elements available. It has produced advertising for the likes of Saga, the Egyptian Tourism Authority, Royal Caribbean International, Visit Miyagi and Azamara Club Cruises and has provided proofreading services for Reed Smith, Cruise & Maritime Voyages, Widgety and AMA Marketing & Media Relations.

Trend forecasting In summer 2019, Waterfront Publishing formed a joint venture with Globetrender, a trend forecasting agency dedicated to the future of travel. It specialises in forward-looking, consumerfacing editorial, as well as trend reports, research and consulting services for the travel industry. See Globetrender.com

Contents

FORWARD

Editor’s letter

5 News The latest developments in the world of travel as the Covid-19 pandemic causes unprecedented disruption

11 Q&A: Clia Clia’s Andy Harmer answers some of your pressing questions about the e ects of the pandemic on cruise

14 Picture page Cruise lines such as P&O

Cruises and Saga celebrate the NHS and CMV performs a remarkable mid-ocean guest transfer How to Sell: Luxury, p35; below, the everbreathtaking lanscapes of Norway, p28

18 Comment: Love letter to cruise We’re blessed to work in

this industry – and we must celebrate it in order to rebuild it, writes cruise adviser copublisher Anthony Pearce

20 Interview: Coral Expeditions We talk to Ian Morris, naturalist and expert guest lecturer for Coral Expeditions, about meeting the Aboriginal communities of Australasia

MIDSHIP

24 Temple run Claire Boobbyer sails on the vibrant Vietnamese delta on the brand new vessel Victoria Mekong on a slow journey upstream to the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh

28

White nights James Litston joins Viking in search of the midnight sun on a sailing to the ever-beautiful Norwegian fjords

35 How to sell: Luxury Cruise expert Jane Archer shares her tips for selling high-end cruises

AFT

39 Directory All the cruise line contact details in one place

Email info@cruise-adviser.com to share your thoughts