Cruise still has ‘a lot to do’ to be seen as mainstream, says Celebrity chief

The cruise industry still has “a lot to do” to be seen as a mainstream holiday option, warned Celebrity Cruises’ EMEA vice-president and managing director Jo Rzymowska.

Citing data collected by Clia, which found British and Irish holidaymakers took 1.7 million cruises last year, up from 479,000 in 2021, Rzymowska praised the increase in cruise sales over the past 12 months, but urged the industry to do more to highlight that “there is a cruise for everyone”.

“Collectively, we have a lot to do still to get people on board,” she said. “If we get to two million passengers this year then that’s great, but it’s still only two million out of a holiday market of 30 million people.

“As an industry, we have to ask ourselves whether we have done enough to get that message out there.

“The value in a cruise is a key part, but the overall message is that there is a cruise for everybody, and we all need to push that harder.”

She went on to reference consumer insights reports that have shown customers are continuing to view a holiday as “sacrosanct”, and urged both cruise lines and agent partners to highlight cruise as an alternative to other holiday types.

“If you look at consumer insights, a holiday is absolutely still sacrosanct, but within it is the value and that’s where cruise is shining, so we need to emphasise that”, she said.

However, Clia UK & Ireland managing director Andy Harmer argued the UK cruise industry should receive some credit, because despite a relatively small population, it is the third-largest cruise market globally.

“There should be credit where it’s due because we’re only a population of 67 million so we are clearly doing something right,” he said.