Cruise Lines Predicting a Robust ‘Wave Season’

Kristin Karst says she’s “pumped up” about Wave Season, a limited-time series of cruise promotions and special deals that, for some cruise lines, has already started. Wave Season traditionally kicks off in early January and runs until late February or early March, but December has been a lively month for deal rollouts in recent years, including this one.

The promotions are designed to make a cruise vacation top of mind during winter, as travelers ponder where and how to vacation during the coming year.

As executive vice president and co-owner of luxury river cruise line Ama Waterways, Karst says it’s her mission “to bring the product to the people,” knowing that many will become repeat customers. And that’s a boon, she notes, not only to her company but to its travel-agent partners.

“From my side I anticipate a robust Wave Season. Ama Waterways works very closely with the agent community, we are constantly in touch with them, and we hear from our best partners that there is a lot of interest,” Karst says.

Ama Waterways is poised to roll out special fares and value-added offers in January and February, and will highlight some of the line’s new itineraries. Karst says she’s particularly excited about Ama’s new Bordeaux cruise, which sails roundtrip from the Garonne River port city starting in late March and visits castles, chateaus and other unique places during the seven-day trip. Stays in Paris and in the Loire Valley can be added on, pre- and post-cruise, respectively.

The line already has some promotions in effect; it’s offering up to $1,200 off fares on certain 2016 Europe cruises, including wine-themed ones and the new Bordeaux trip, plus free air on select cruises, also in Europe. But more deals are in the offing.

Karst says it’s important that river cruisers have incentives to book well in advance, so agents can get the accommodations they want and secure reasonable air fares. “Our customers don’t like to wait and have to book their air fare close in to departure. It’s too expensive. A low cruise fare doesn’t work if the air fare makes the cost of a trip [prohibitive],” she says.

Ama also will reach out to younger, more active cruisers through its new partnership with Backroads, which began in 2015 and brings groups of cyclists onboard. And Ama’s new ship, the 158-guest AmaViola, will launch in early 2016 and host clients booked through Adventures by Disney, also a new partnership for the line.

The AmaViola is being custom-designed to accommodate family groups with larger suites that accommodate more people, twin balconies for more outdoor space, and other family-friendly amenities—a pioneering move in river cruising. Both of these products are expected to experience a lively pace of bookings as the new year unfolds, Karst said.

On blue water
Blue-water lines are revving up for Wave Season, too, and like Ama some already are whetting the appetites of potential cruisers with early deals.

“Wave season is a very important time frame during which we take a significant amount of bookings that provide a strong base for the balance of the year,” says a Carnival Cruise Line spokesman. “Carnival [already is] offering great Wave Season offers for our travel agent partners, including a Cruise Countdown Sale, with great rates plus two-category upgrades now through Jan. 31.”

The line’s business development managers will be on the road throughout Wave Season hosting training sessions, making office visits, and joining trade shows to show support for agents, the spokesman said.

The Fun Ship line will kick off its 2016 Carnival Conversations and ship inspection season, he adds, and agents “should stay tuned for emails in early January” containing the event schedule and invitations.

The new Carnival Vista is launching in May and the 3,954-guest mega-ship will be included in Wave Season promotions, says the spokesman, although he declined to reveal details just yet.

The top drawer
Luxury lines, too, are getting their best deals ready for Wave Season and in some cases have rolled out early incentives. Knowing that even the most affluent customer still appreciates a value, Silversea Cruises in late December launched its Welcome & Welcome Back promotion.

Valid through February, this offer gives cruisers who are new to Silversea a $1,200 on-board spending credit per suite while returning guests — members of the line’s Venetian Society — can choose either a $1,500 on-board spending credit per suite or a two-category suite upgrade.

“This type of value-added offer is extremely popular with consumers and contributes to our efforts during the Wave Season. Most all cruises lines receive the bulk of their current year bookings within the first few months of the year and we’ve always enjoyed a robust Wave as a result,” says Kristian C. Anderson, senior vice president and general manager-Americas.

Noting that Silversea is not a robust discounter — “we see little need to do so when a product of our caliber is consistently able to exceed our guests’ expectations” — Anderson says that the best time to buy a cruise with Silversea is near the beginning of the year, as prices tend to increase as the calendar flips forward.

Overall, adds Anderson, the line is expecting a very good year and is optimistic that world events, such as the Paris shootings, will not dissuade potential vacationers from booking a cruise to Europe and elsewhere in the next few months.

“As we’ve already seen, hotel occupancy rates took a hit in the immediate aftermath of the Paris shootings but are beginning to rebound. Safety should always be a priority. This is certainly the case at Silversea and we always make our decisions based on the safety of our guests,” Anderson said. “The advantage of a cruise on Silversea, in contrast to a land package or even a river cruise, is that we have the most flexibility to alter course if circumstances merit. Our travel partners are well versed in these distinctions and can help guide the consumer in their decision process.”

Retailer rewards
Along with offering lower cruise fares for consumers, Windstar Cruises has a Wave Season promotion for retailers already under way.

“What’s new for us this year is that we’ll heavily promote our focus on agents. We have a Sell Three Sail Free promotion that had a soft launch in December and will run through March. An agent who books three cruises by March 31, with departures in 2016, sails for free,” says Joe Duckett, vice president of marketing and sales.

For customers, he adds, Windstar is coming out with its best Tahiti deal — reduced cruise fares plus free air fare and free hotel stays, starting in early January.  

“Air fare is the one hurdle the consumer has when it comes to Tahiti. It’s eight hours from Los Angeles,” he notes, but it’s harder to resist when a discounted cruise fare is coupled with free air.

Wave Season fosters a “natural increase in demand,” Duckett said; searches double for cruises in January and February versus other times of the year.

“The holiday distractions are gone and the consumer really has an eye at that time to think about cruising. It’s a great time to plan, and like every other line we’ll increase our spending in that time compared to other times of year,” he said.

But, like other lines, Wave Season for Windstar is starting earlier. “Wave Season is getting much longer but for us it’s not that it’s extending into March — it’s starting sooner, in December. In past years we haven’t had our best offers out in December but we did notice spikes in bookings in December, so we [launched] a holiday sale now through Dec. 31. For us, Wave Season is December, January, and February.”

Pic: Roger W