Oceania Cruises to recruit five agent brand ambassadors

Oceania Cruises has unveiled a competition with a sailing for two to be won, as the line seeks five travel agent brand ambassadors.

 

The five winners will become official Oceania Insiders and work with the cruise line to promote its offering, with preferential access to training, events and trips.

 

Each winner will receive a £100 gift voucher, with one “standout” Insider winning the ultimate prize of a seven to 10-day cruise for two.

 

Paul Beale, vice-president sales for Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises UK and Ireland, and Louise Craddock, Oceania sales director for the UK and Ireland, launched the competition on a webcast with Aspire’s sister title Travel Weekly.

 

They urged agents to enter by submitting a short video, showing why they love Oceania.

 

Craddock said: “We hear it from you all the time. We see your wonderful comments on our Facebook page. We love working with you [and] want to find these five amazing individuals that we can work with through the coming years.”

Beale added: “We are looking for enthusiasm and passion.

 

“The videos can be short, punchy, make us laugh, be engaging.”

Entrants don’t need to have sailed with Oceania, but could talk about working with the cruise line or feedback from a guest.

 

Both highlighted Oceania’s key pillars, such as the smaller ships which can reach more boutique-style ports; dining and culinary offerings; service and hospitality; and the global portfolio of more than 600 destinations.

 

As ambassadors, the agents can help train colleagues and will be invited to ship visits and other events.

 

A new training programme will launch in May and Oceania Insiders can help shape the content  “to make sure it’s perfect for the rest of the trade”, Craddock added.

 

“The agents will be absolutely on our radar, so we can work with them, get them on board and on trips where we can,” said Beale.

 

They also highlighted how the cruise line managed to sell 15% of the inaugural season for its new ship, Oceania Sonata, in the first week of being on sale.

 

The inaugural season – from August 2027 to April 2028 – opened for sale in January.

 

“It is the most popular ship at the moment,” said Beale.

 

“It has been a phenomenon to launch that during wave campaign, with all the other noise in the market. It really went through the roof.”

 

Commenting on current trading over the past couple of weeks, with the ongoing Middle East conflict, he said: “Trading has actually still been really good – 2027 and 2028 are still booking very strong…the Americas, the Caribbean, Alaska.”

He said there are now some better deals in the Mediterranean as the line has “tweaked” its pricing.

 

“There is a real opportunity now for our UK travel agents to fill some of this Mediterranean capacity,” he said.

 

Beale and Craddock also hailed agents for their support of recent changes such as becoming an adult-only line.

 

“We are not afraid of making bold decisions. Adults-only is fabulous. We only had a small fraction of children that did travel with us anyway,” he said.

 

“Likewise, with the dress code enhancements [so] tailored jeans, smart jeans, are now allowed in the restaurants.

 

“We are making changes to the evolution of the luxury brand for the next decade and beyond. We certainly are seeing the bookings coming as well.

 

“Our demographic generally is empty-nesters. They want to travel in luxury with like-minded guests, so they are very happy with the decision.”

Craddock agreed the response from agents about the adult-only move was “amazing”.

 

“Before this decision was made, we had a lot of conversations with our trade partners and with our consumers, and it was definitely something that they wanted,” she said.

 

“Some of our larger travel partners have done surveys, and adult-only cruising was very high on the priority list for some guests. This shifts us more into that luxury space.

 

“We have got some amazing new collateral, some beautiful new brochures and videos, available for trade partners. They are very sexy pieces and really bring the brand to life and will really attract new cruise guests as well.”

 

Entries for the Oceania Insiders competition must be submitted by April 30. For details, click here.