River Cruising: Agents Review the New Avalon Panorama
by Dori SaltzmanThe Avalon Panorama, Avalon Waterways’ newest ship, recently completed an inaugural sailing on an abbreviated Danube, Main and Rhine rivers itinerary.
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Wes Rowland was one of a handful of travel sellers onboard. The quality of the ship and size of the rooms “exceeded my expectations,” said Rowland, president of The Cruise Experts in Visalia, Calif.
“For me, having been on river cruises in the past, there was a leap in quality. Both the quality and the hardware surpassed what’s in the market right now,” he said.
Travel Market Report spoke with three cruise sellers who sailed on the inaugural of the Avalon Panorama. Here are their experiences, and their sales and positioning recommendations.
Design and amenities
“I was amazed at the size of the suites. The way the suites were configured with the beds and the bathrooms being placed in certain ways, and the color schemes – it just seems like you have a lot of room. Also, it was very smart as far as storage availability.” – Lisa Bertini, director, cruise sales, Virtuoso
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“I liked the extra space that not having a balcony provides, and you certainly get the fresh air sensations when you open those windows.” – Greg Nacco, vice president, Cruise Specialists, Seattle & Novato, Calif.
“I think they did an extraordinary job on the design. I love the openness and I would pay for it; that’s a value-add for me. I look forward to more ships with the same design because I think it’s what the consumer wants.” – Wes Rowland
Who is the buyer?
“I would say river cruising in general is probably for people 55-plus, and the Panorama would be right in there, geared for people in their mid- to late 50s. Agents should focus on someone who wants to get a more in-depth look at Europe in general.” – Lisa Bertini
“The target market is a more upscale client as opposed to the mainstream customer who just wants to do a river cruise. Those who are a little more discriminating and who already travel at that [luxury] level will appreciate and pay more for the difference in the hardware and the onboard experience.” – Wes Rowland
“There needs to be a certain level of comfort and amenities to bring [upper premium clients] happily over to river cruising – and certainly the Panorama has that. River cruising used to be a step down, and these people might do it but then they were unhappy.” – Greg Nacco
Key selling points
“There is a lot of opportunity to explore somewhat untapped areas. A lot of villages were started along the rivers, and the primary way to get into them is by river boat. It’s all about the experience.” – Lisa Bertini
“There are certainly all the advantages of being on the river. For the Panorama in particular, the food was sensational. I really thought the history and – for lack of a better term – port lecturing was outstanding. It was actually a highlight to get that information while cruising.” – Greg Nacco
Potential barriers to the sale
“Price point. It’s not that it’s out of line for what it should be, but river cruising is more expensive and if people haven’t done any research, there’s always a little bit of a gulp.” – Wes Rowland
“You’re going to have to be sensitive and candid with folks who are in wheelchairs or scooters, or use walkers. They’re going to have challenges getting on and off the ship, and getting around the ship; there’re no elevators, so you need to make that clear. It just will not be for everybody.’’ – Greg Nacco
Repeat sales potential
“In my experience people do a river one time, and then they want to go to different rivers. If we’ve already had people on the Danube then it’s unlikely I’m going to get them on the Panorama just to experience the ship. So the repeat potential will be there once they bring out the additional ships that are placed in the other river markets.” – Wes Rowland
“It needs to be one of the things that they [Avalon Waterways] promote. We cruised by plenty of cities that we didn’t stop at. So there’s certainly a way to design an itinerary where you can visit other cities and villages along the river. Although, I have to say, some of the cities are like San Francisco – there’s more than nine hours worth of things to do there so if you were to go back again you would get to see different things. And, with some things, just because you’ve done them once doesn’t mean you wouldn’t want to do them again.” – Greg Nacco
