For Scenic Group, More Ships Mean More Opportunities for Travel Advisors

As Scenic Group celebrates 40 years in business, including 10 years in the North American market, it is also preparing to expand its Scenic and Emerald Cruises river and yacht fleets over the next few years. During a recent tour of Scenic Eclipse I in Miami, TMR sat down with Scenic’s president for USA/LATAM and asked pointblank could Scenic Group have made it this far without North America?

Ever the diplomat, Muskat told TMR, “Being born in Australia and having such a strong presence there, the Scenic Eclipse Discovery Yachts could have come out and easily been filled by Australians and Europeans.”

But, he added, without North America, the expansion into yachts probably would have remained at just a few ships.

“We want to keep building ships and we are very focused on repeat business, which is critical,” he said. “But with the amount of ships we have coming out and the amount of inventory, we need a lot of new people too. That’s where the U.S., a very experienced cruise market and vacation market, is always looking for new things and and new companies to travel with… at the end of the day, when you look at the U.S. market, the penetration is so small in in cruising, and there’s so much opportunity, and we want to be a part of it.”

While Scenic has made a lot of headway in the North American market, particularly on the river side, the line still has work to do.

“They know Scenic. They know Emerald, but they don’t necessarily fully understand the brands and where to position both brands within their business model,” Marilyn Cairo, Scenic Group’s new vice president of sales and trade relations for the U.S., told TMR.

Cairo said fixing this knowledge gap is her top priority for 2027, particularly on the yacht side.

“Yachts are newer to the cruise segment, so it’s still in the discovery process in general.”

For instance, while most advisors might know that Eclipse I and II have helicopters and a submersible, do they understand it has a 6,000-square-foot spa or 10 dining options on a ship with only 114 cabins?

It’s these nuances that Cairo wants to make sure advisors understand. To accomplish this, she told TMR that Scenic is “amplifying” its training calendar.

“More frequent trainings and not all the same. We may talk about theme cruises. We may talk about Antarctica, and that’s all we’re going to talk about, even though our portfolio offers so much more.”

The company is also launching Insider Sessions, which are consumer in-market events that advisors are welcome to attend if they bring a client with them.

“We will be there to sell the experience and ideally there’s an offer so they can close the sale,” she said.

The Nitty Gritty of Business Development

Another focus for Cairo is finding the right advisors to build relationships with and dive into business development with.

“We’re getting much for comfortable asking the right questions. Do you understand the brands? Where do we fit within your current business model? Do you sell small ships? Do you sell river? Do you sell India?”

Cairo told TMR that she approaches her relationships with advisors the same way advisors do with potential clients.

“I have Discovery Calls to learn about the advisor,” she said. “Sales at the beginning is more about listening than it is about talking, because then I can curate what it is that that advisor needs.”

In some cases, Scenic will invite advisors into its USA headquarters in Florida to do a deep dive into that advisor’s business and where Scenic can fit. One such advisor, Claire Maguire, owner of Island Girl Travel and Vacations, a Cruise Planners franchise, went from not having sold any Scenic before her meeting with Scenic’s sales team to winning the company’s Rising Star Agency award at this year’s Night of the Stars awards ceremony in Miami.

Expanding the Scenic Group Fleet

At the Night of the Stars event in Miami, Muskat took a moment to mention all the news ships coming over the next few years. The expansion includes river ships in Europe, India, and Southeast Asia, as well as new yachts for both Emerald Cruises and Scenic.

In France, Emerald Lumi will expand Emerald’s river cruise offering on the Seine River in 2027. Scenic’s growth in Asia will introduce journeys on India’s Hooghly River in 2027, with another ship planned for the Brahmaputra River in 2028.

Scenic Spirit II and Scenic Spirit III will also launch on the Mekong River in 2028.

On the yacht side, the expansion includes Emerald Raiya in 2027 and Emerald Xara in 2028.

One of the most exciting additions to the Scenic Group fleet, however, will be the Scenic Ikon, the third Discovery Yacht, set to debut in the Mediterranean in April 2028. Like Scenic Eclipse I and II, the ship will sail to the Poles, but unlike the first two yachts in the fleet, it is designed more for warm-weather sailing than polar sailing.

Traditionally, Scenic has differentiated Scenic yachts from Emerald yachts by the destinations the fleet focuses on – Scenic in the poles and Emerald in warm-water destinations. But Scenic Ikon flips that on its head.

“Whereas Eclipse class is a 70/30 split, 70% polar, 30% warm water, Ikon’s going to be the opposite – 70% warm water, 30% Antarctica,” said Robert Castro, vice president of marketing for Scenic Group USA & LATAM.  “She’s going to have a total of nine pools and whirlpools, so she’s meant for the sun… that’ll give another facet to the Discovery Yachts that we’ll be able to lean into.”

We asked Castro if the reason for making Scenic Ikon a warm-weather ship was because the company felt it had reached the limits of demand for polar capacity.

“We’re still increasing capacity to Antarctica… This offers an elevated yacht product [in warm weather destinations]. We have our incredible Emerald Yachts deployed through the Mediterranean, but this will have an even higher experience with the helicopters and sub. It’s like a yacht experience plus.”