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CLEAN SHIP WITH ADVANTAGES CRUISES:
IDEAL FOR INCENTIVES AT SEA

By Peter van Oyen

The floating luxury hotels, cruise ships, are today's trend. They are an ideal location for organising incentives. To start with, they are equipped with any imaginable infrastructure in order to make an incentive or meetcentive into a success. Cruise ships have meeting rooms and other function rooms for groups. As to relaxation, they are packed with a variety of swimming pools, fitness rooms, right up to casinos and shows. An extra advantage of an incentive at sea is that the organiser has better control of his incentive guests because the radius of action of the passengers is limited to the ship. And yet, using cruise ships for incentives has not become common, the reason being that there are a lot of misunderstandings and prejudices regarding the cruise business.
In this article, BBT Online would like to make clean ship.

One the most obstinate prejudices is that cruises are synonym of a floating old age pensioners' home full of wealthy people, who tend to fall overboard our of boredom. This is a double (but obstinate) cliché. The prejudice that you have to be retired in order to enjoy cruises, is completely overrun. Research shows that the average age is about 45 years. Moreover, the average age depends on the destination. In the Carribean the passengers tend to be around 30, whereas the cruisers to Alaska are older.

Another obstinate statement is that a cruise per definition has to be extremely pricey. This perception is mainly the result of all the media focussing on the suites and penthouses (like in the case of the Queen Mary 2 maiden trip), with gigantic price tag attached to it. However, we should not forget that cruises are already available as from €800, and group bookings get more discounts. Also, according to experts, the price/quality balance is excellent. Taking everything into account (meals, transfers, accommodation,…) a cruise is even cheaper for organising a meeting and/or incentive than a traditional hotel.
A tremendous advantage of a cruise for inventive groups is that there is wide array of activities on these floating luxury hotels. And do not forget that the guest regularly leave the ship to explore different countries, islands or towns without having to pack and unpack their luggage all the time.

Destination as criterion
Despite the advantages, incentives at sea have not really been successful. Apart from the prejudices, one reason for this is that incentive houses and meeting planners find it difficult to get a survey of the cruise companies and routes. This may be facilitated by Cruise Kompas, a publication by Cruise Travel, a specialised agency based in Antwerp. Because Cruise Travel is not a general agent for one or the other cruise company, it can offer objective information. In this so-called 'Cruise Bible' the present cruise offerings are described in a complete and clear way. Cruise Kompas has recently got an digital sister with a search engine (www.cruisetravel.be), which makes finding an appropriate cruise easier.
It is clear from Cruise Kompas that the (prospective) clients can choose from a wide variety of ships, from small sailing ships for 100 passengers to mammoth ships for 3,000 people. On some ships the stress is on the life onboard (with animation and shows), and others are small expedition ships focussing on the discovery of new regions. Most cruise companies push forward specific types of ships and travel formulas (see box).

The most obvious criterion to differentiate may very well be the destination. The Caribbean is most popular and extremely suitable to worship the sun. The advantage of this region is that the climate permits to sail here all year round. Because there is a lot of cruise action in this area, the rates are in most cases interesting. The disadvantage is that smaller ports, which cannot welcome large masses at the same time, may be very busy.
Cruises to Alaska and Northern Europe are season-linked, and are only possible during summer. As a consequence, the offer is smaller and the prices are higher. These cruises are more suitable for passengers interested in nature and culture.
Finally, also the Mediterranean area scores very well. Other regions (Oceania, Asia, South Africa) are less popular, and are mostly used by experienced crusaders. South America and the Tierra del Fuego area (also season-linked) has been emerging. Antarctica remains for the 'happy few' willing to pay a high rate.

Trends
Observes foresee in the near future two co-existing formulas. On the one hand cruise companies build increasingly bigger ships carrying up to 3,500 passengers. In this way they try to lower the costs and offer democratic rates. At this moment the Queen Mary 2 (Carnival) is the largest ship. However, Royal Caribbean Cruises is having the 'Ultra Voyager' built in Finnish shipyard. This ship will make its maiden trip in 2006 and carry no less than 3,600 passengers. Alongside with this trend, there are small and exclusive ships for 100 to 400 guests. Shipping companies like Silversea Cruises, Seabourn and Seadream Yacht Club are active in this segment. On these smaller, exclusive ships (often with an extensive all-in formula) the stress is on pure and straightforward pampering. It will be clear that this has its price.
The fitness and health craze has also reached the cruise world. Some new-generation ships house genuine spa centres onboard, inclusive of fitness rooms and hydro- and thalassotherapy. Cruise companies like Celebrity Cruises and Princess Cruises have various ships with an extensive offer in this respect.
An increasing number of passengers also want a stateroom with a balcony, and this is taken into account when designing new ships.
Furthermore, cruises on sailing ships are getting popular. Although these four-mast ships have all state-of-the-art technology onboard, they offer a special sense of romance. The atmosphere onboard is rather informal and something for sports freaks. Star Clippers and Windstar Cruises are the best known companies in this branch.


Shipping companies and their characteristics in a nutshell:

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