Robin Shaw, chief executive, Saga Cruises, said: “We’re very happy with what we get through the trade and very happy with the progress.
“We are growing and we still have an awareness issue with the trade and making sure they know we’re in this for the long-term, because we are.”
Shaw was speaking to TTG onboard Saga Sapphire during the line’s first trade overnight ship visit in Dover, where close to 300 agents were treated to tours of the vessel, meals and evening entertainment.
Shaw also told TTG that the line had not ruled out adopting an all-inclusive offering onboard similar to Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL), admitting the move was a “conceivable” step for the over-50s specialist.
“We have a hybrid version of [all-inclusive] already, with wine, beer and soft drinks included with lunch and dinner.
NCL announced last month it would be offering all-inclusive only.
“Is it conceivable in the future that we go all-inclusive? Of course it is. It’s not where we’re going at the moment but it’s certainly something that you could conceive,” Shaw said.
Shaw further commented that in his opinion Saga Cruises “would be stupid not to” consider expanding its fleet further should the demand arise, and teased how upcoming vessel Spirit of Discovery would offer “the next phase” in the line’s history.
Spirit of Discovery – the first new-build ship, which will be a 999-berth vessel – is set to launch in summer 2019, replacing Saga Pearl 2.
“Is it conceivable that at some point we could have another ship? That will purely be down to demand,” said Shaw.
“If we find that we’ve got the winning ticket with what we’re doing, and demand is there, then of course we would look at that and we would be stupid not to; but at the moment we’re pretty focused on [Spirit of Discovery] and then we’re working on evaluating the options for a second ship by December, and who knows what the future will hold?”
According to Shaw, Spirit of Discovery will feature technology for the “increasingly technology-savvy” over-50s market, but he stressed that it had been designed to be “fit for purpose” and that the line was “nervous about putting in gimmicks”.
