Cruise Line Presidents Encourage Travel Advisors to Experiment & Make Mistakes

The 24th annual Cruise360 conference, presented by the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), kicked off this week in Fort Lauderdale to a sold out crowd of more than 1,250 advisors in attendance for several days of certification courses, general sessions, product seminars, a trade show, ship inspections, and more.

Getting in was like winning a Golden Ticket, CLIA’s vice president of industry and trade relations Charles Sylvia joked, referencing Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

“You’ve got your Golden Ticket for all of the wonderful experiences in store over the next few days,” he told the packed audience during the first General Session of the conference.

Sylvia took his Charlie and the Chocolate Factory analogy farther. “What makes Willy Wonka such a beloved figure is how he surprised and delighted his guests at every turn. They never knew what would happen next… Willy left his guests with experiences they would never forget and he made an impression on them that would last a lifetime.”

Travel advisors, he said, do the same thing. He recommended that advisors make strategizing ways to turn first-time customers into lifelong clients the focal point of this year’s Cruise360 experience.

“Ask fellow attendees how they retain their clients and foster repeat business, and share your best practices if you’re succeeding at it.”

Jeff Anderson, co-CEO of Avoya Travel, who moderated the two-part President’s Panel, similarly encouraged the audience to find ways to grow their businesses.

“For all of you who are in the audience, I want you to achieve the most that you possibly can as travel advisors,” he said, before explaining the challenge he issued to his panel of cruise line presidents and CEOs.

“The challenge I issued was help us find answers that help the audience generate six figure incomes.”

One of the topics the six presidents discussed was the need for businesses to take risks and try new things.

“We make mistakes all the time,” said Gus Antorcha, president of Holland America Line. “I very much encourage my team to make mistakes.”

He added that at any given time, Holland America is actively running 20 to 30 pilot programs (either on the commercial side or the operations side).

“We fully expect some of these are going to fail, but they’re set up with an appropriate measure of risk and we learn from the mistakes we’re making and we get better.”

He emphasized “appropriate” risk. Businesses should not risk losing an entire month of revenue or putting themselves out of business. “It’s measured risk where you know the downside and you’re going to learn, whether it works or it doesn’t, you’re going to learn.”

John Padgett, president of Princess Cruises agreed.

Mistakes, he said, are more about the “infinite amount of adjustments that you make along the way” to success. “If you’re fearful of mistakes, that’s a really bad thing. You can’t go into anything afraid to fail.”

Michael Bayley, president and CEO of Royal Caribbean International, shared a similar philosophy.

“What’s important is not making mistakes but the speed in which you recognize the mistake and the ability to correct the mistake. If you’re not willing to make the mistakes and take the risks you’re never going to move the business forward,” he said.

Three of the presidents on the panel shared specific learnings they’ve taken away from mistakes that they believe the audience of travel advisors can learn from.

Laura Hodges Bethge, president of Celebrity Cruises, said she’s learned over time to be less immediately decisive about things.

“I learned early on that it’s better to hold that back when you have folks in the room with you and listen more rather than drive when you’re going in to build something. You need lots of players around the room in order to drive new ideas. I learned early on in my career to sit back, listen, and ask lots and lots of questions,” she said.

Frank A. Del Rio, president of Oceania Cruises, said he’s learned not to always react in the moment, particularly when emotions are high.

“We always want to react quickly to a situation or issue that arises and a lot of times you’ve just got to let the sun go down and wake up the next day and sometimes things correct themselves,” he said. “I think sometimes we try to find solutions to problems and only we do is create a new one.”

David J. Herrera, president of Norwegian Cruise Line, offered up a learning most of the advisors in the room could probably relate most to.

“Everyone in this room is a sales person. I remember early on in my sales career letting the highs get me really, really high, and getting really bummed out when I didn’t get the expected outcome. That was a mistake because neither the highs nor the lows are going to last forever. You’re on a journey. It’s a marathon. You’re going to hear no a lot more than you hear yes. You have to be positive. You have to have that positive outlook. You have to be consistent. And you have to appreciate slow and steady.”

Looping back to Sylvia’s initial ask — strategizing ways to turn first-time customers into lifelong clients – Anderson asked the panel for one practical tip that advisors can use to provide more value to their clients.

“Make a real personal connection with their clients, get to know their families, get to know their likes and dislikes and then take all of that information, make sure you’re staying connected with them throughout the year. Even if they come to you for just that one vacation a year, don’t make that the only time that you’re connecting with them,” advised Celebrity’s Hodges Bethge.

Oceania’s Del Rio echoed Bethge, telling advisors to really customize travel for their clients.

“The role you play in building and curating the experience, especially among the luxury segment of the cruise industry, [they] want more programmability,” he said. “It’s all about understanding who these clients of yours are and what is the right cruise line for them and then what are the experiences that you can build onto the cruise that really make a memorable time for them.”