New Seabourn president hails trade as UK market up 22% in 2024

The new president of Seabourn has hailed the importance of British travel agents as he visited the trade in the UK during his first week in the job.

 

Mark Tamis took over from Natalya Leahy last week and flew to London on his second day, he told a Travel Weekly webcast.

 

The UK is Seabourn’s second most important market, after North America, he noted, with about 90% of sales in the UK coming via travel agents.

 

“It is such an important market – that’s why, literally, in my first week…having the opportunity to come here and meet our trade partners in week one is so important,” he said.

 

His visit to UK agents came as the cruise line’s UK and EMEA vice-president, Lynn Narraway (pictured right), revealed the UK market is up by more than a fifth year on year.

 

“We’ve had a fantastic year and finished 22% up year on year. We are going into 2025 in a really strong position,” she told the webcast.

 

Tamis said he plans to spend his first 100 days listening to stakeholders, “of which our trade partners are probably some of the most important”.

 

 

He also aims to visit all six ships in the fleet of the Carnival Corporation cruise line to meet captains, hotel directors and crew to “[listen to] what we need to be doing to continue to elevate the luxury experience because that’s what the mantra is about, continuing to elevate service excellence”.

 

“I don’t know if anything actually needs my attention, because it’s an excellent product,” he said.

 

“It’s a fantastic product and it is just about elevating. I am very passionate about delivering that experience – delivering those Seabourn moments through our crew.

 

“That’s why I feel like it’s a dream job; sometimes big scale is great, and sometimes it is more challenging, so the scale of Seabourn…being able to spend time on every ship, as opposed to being in charge of 30, 40, 50 ships, I feel like I can have a personal impact.”

 

He added: “My personal goal is to bring the brand to a position where, when we’re talking about new ships for the corporation, we’re very much in that conversation.”

 

Narraway added: “I’ve only spent two days with Mark, but I’ve already seen and heard a lot of things that are new to our brand – things Mark has done in his other roles that I thought, wow, that will work.”

 

Noting cruises are already on sale for 2026-27, she added: “What we need to do in the UK is push that booking curve further out.”

 

As well as agents, she also hailed partnerships with Clia, the cruise trade body, and the Association of Touring and Adventure Suppliers (Atas), who help raise awareness about classic and expedition cruising.

 

“[With] joining Atas, we’ve got all the touring and adventure travel agents there who may not have thought about cruise,” she added.

 

Tamis continued: “Adventure travellers know that there’s scarcity in the availability to go to these destinations, and why not go with the best?

 

“Part of the mission is continuing to elevate the product, so that that booking curve – because there is scarcity in the availability – does get pushed out because you’ve got to book soon.”

 

Narraway said expedition cruise sales are “doing really, really well” and offer “fantastic” revenue opportunities for agents.

 

A dedicated expedition month in June highlighted the line’s cruises to the polar regions and the Kimberley in northwestern Australia.

 

“That really helped from an education point of view. That will help future bookings,” she continued.

 

“What I love about our travel partners is they ring us, they email us and say, ‘I’ve just done a £43,000 booking, or a £100,000 booking’.”

 

Tamis added: “A younger, wealthier generation is coming up – experiences are everything, and there is no better place to get those experiences [than] through that accumulation of moments that we create along the voyage.”

 

Narraway recounted the recent example of a ‘Seabourn moment’ on a cruise that visited Turkey, during which every passenger received a gift of baklava from the captain, which had been sourced overnight from a local Turkish baker.

 

Tamis also highlighted the importance of personalisation: “It is about really understanding the needs and getting to know that guest.

 

“We have the ability to do that on the ship. We have the ability to really understand what drives them, what motivates them, and what’s really going to connect with them authentically.”

 

Tamis joined Seabourn after serving as global president at Aimbridge Hospitality, leading the business and operations for its 1,500 hotels. Previously he worked at Royal Caribbean International and Carnival Cruise Line.

 

He also worked for more than 20 years in the luxury and boutique hotel market with brands such as Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts and Ian Schrager Hotels.

 

“This is a dream job, and this brings together everything I feel like I’ve done in my life,” he told the webcast.

“Early in my career, I really learned luxury from Isadore Sharp [Four Seasons founder and chairman] when I started.

 

“Then I met Ian Schrager…and that was really about creating experiences but delivering in a very luxurious way.

 

“Then I went into cruise, at Carnival Cruise Line…it was like going back to school for me – how to apply many things I learned in the luxury and boutique side of hospitality, but then applying it around the world, with such a diverse population, amazing crew on the ships and delivering a cruise experience.”

 

Pictured from left: Lucy Huxley, Travel Weekly, Mark Tamis and Lynn Narraway.