The team at Cruise Circle received an enquiry for a 47-night South Pacific sailing onboard Regent’s Seven Seas Explorer in January, after a recent newsletter aimed at solo travellers piqued a customer’s interest.

However, the itinerary onboard Regent Explorer was originally priced at £47,000, carrying a 75% single traveller supplement.

Product development manager Mark Godden described how Cruise Circle was able to work with Regent to have the price reduced by around £16,000 - helping to win the booking and allow the client to upgrade to business-class flights.

“We were thrilled and it goes to show the relationship we have with Regent for them to go above and beyond for the benefit of us them and the customer,” he said. "It was real teamwork".

“It’s definitely a tough time out there for cruise, as you could consider cruise as being the worst-impacted travel sector, so it’s a real shot in the arm for all us and a fantastic boost for the team.

“We’ve made the customer aware of all of their options and even if they don’t necessarily end up sailing in January, due to the changing situation we’re facing, there’s a lot of flexibility so I’m sure we’ll still be coming away with a great result.” 

Godden said Cruise Circle had recently been targeting the luxury market and its database of solo travellers with positive results.

“We’re hunting down every single opportunity and we will be doing whatever it takes to work this end of the market.

“The luxury cruiser does still seem to be spending and is perhaps more resilient than others in the market. 

We’ve seen an increase in our business with luxury lines so it’s definitely encouraging and something to build on.”