Travel advisors clearly have support at the highest level with Regent Seven Seas Cruises, as Andrea DeMarco, the ultra-luxury line’s new president and CEO, was most recently its chief sales and marketing officer. Taking the helm of the line in late 2022, she definitely knows the sales turf.
A few weeks ago, Luxury Travel Advisor briefly caught up with DeMarco at the line’s recent World Cruise Gala on Seven Seas Mariner at PortMiami. In a subsequent phone interview, we chatted one-on-one with DeMarco, who laid out her vision for the brand, and what advisors can expect.
Vision for the Brand
Not surprisingly, from DeMarco’s perspective, she views Regent Seven Seas as pinnacle in the luxury segment, citing the brand's all-inclusivity, its luxurious ships and the "family aura" that develops between guests and crew members. So, her vision looking to the brand's future focuses on two key questions.
First, she says: "How do I keep the lead status? Then, the second question I ask is that as things evolve over time, how do I continue to be at the forefront of what the consumer trends are and what people want?”
The Key is Innovation
“For us to be successful, we really need to innovate, adapt and execute," she explains. "We'll really have to listen to what guests want, and that will drive how we evolve into the future.”
So, where is the brand headed next? One factor that stood out to her and a process that she put in place at the end of last year, was “how can we invest more—and not just dollars, but education and information, too—[in serving] our travel partner community. Because, at the end of the day, our success is depending on their success.”
Describing the line's travel partners as "business critical," DeMarco says that "I want to make sure that we’re giving them everything that we can to make them successful.”
A Heavyweight Trade Investment
So, last year, Regent Seven Seas introduced a new webinar series about how advisors can grow their business. Specifically, that was about growing "your Regent business,” sayDeMarco. She says the line wants to ensure that travel advisors—particularly those new to selling luxury—really understand the different business models out there. In addition, the line wants “to bring the best practices of how we market and what’s successful for us," she says.
Instead of only using its research internally for sales and marketing purposes, Regent Seven Seas is sharing that important "intel" with travel partners.The sessions have helped advisors learn what a Regent Seven Seas customer "looks like" based on extensive research. The good news is that "it was just the start of a heavyweight investment and program that we’re looking to roll out to continue to find ways to help our travel partners,” DeMarco explains.The line recently expanded the series to assist advisors with data-driven strategies for sales growth.
In addition, Regent Seven Seas is looking at how to best enhance its technology. Specifically it's looking at its travel partner center and how to make that site more user friendly. What's next? “At some point, we’ll survey our travel partners because it’s helpful to hear what people like or what they don’t like, and then to build something that is useful for them,” De Marco says.
“It’s not always about what we envision,” she acknowledges. Rather, “it’s about how are they going to use it and what’s going to give them the best tools."
Seven Seas Grandeur, Cultivating New-to-Luxury
In addition, DeMarco says that a prime focus this year is “some exciting launches coming up throughout the year including Seven Seas Grandeur." That's the line’s newest 750-passenger ship, debuting in late 2023.
But in looking at the cruise industry's evolution as well as the latest research, she believes that it's also quite important to learn more about how to take premium cruisers and upgrade them to luxury. That can create both new-to-brand and new-to-luxury cruise guests.
During the pandemic era, families and friends missed celebrating birthdays, anniversaries and other milestones as they weren't able to gather together as a group. Subsequent research has shown that "special occasions are really a great way to bring new guests into our brand,” she adds. Now, “people are looking to splurge on these special occasions,” she stresses, noting that there’s "no better way" to splurge than to move up to a luxury cruise experience. That's why in fourth quarter 2022, the line launched its “Unforgettable Moments” campaign, which she calls “still very fresh and new.” The message is clear: “Come celebrate with us.”
Premium to Luxury
DeMarco says Regent Seven Seas is working to convert more premium cruisers to luxury cruisers—and not simply for one voyage, but for a lifetime. She urges advisors to do this: “Just look at your database of premium cruisers or people who don’t typically sail luxury," then point out that “this would be a perfect occasion for them to try it." She adds that this could also bring new business to the agency.
Given her strong sales and marketing background, look for DeMarco to continue to remain "hands on" in that arena. “I’m going to continue to play a big role with my sales team and having travel partners be a very key focus for us."
She credits travel partners as "one of the main keys to our success. My goal is to make sure that I can help them grow their business.”
New Luxury Entrants
Luxury Travel Advisor asked DeMarco about the competitive landscape in luxury cruising for 2023. For example, Seabourn and Silversea Cruises are strong, ultra-luxury industry competitors. Plus, there are many small-ship luxury players, including Windstar Cruises and Ponant, among others. In addition, the former Crystal Cruises’ brand name and its two classic oceangoing ships are now owned by A&K Group, led by Manfredi Lefebvre and Geoffrey Kent. That experienced travel/cruise group is launching the new Crystal. As well, Explora Journeys, a new luxury lifestyle brand of MSC Group, is on the horizon to set sail this summer.
"We’re definitely seeing new entrants into the luxury market, especially in cruise,” she acknowledges. “On top of that, we’re growing, there are other lines that are growing in this space, so there’s definitely more capacity."
Her "take" on the competitive seascape? "The good news is that we do all have our own specific offering that we have and go to market with.”
An All-Inclusive Approach
Being truly all-inclusive is a big part of that for her brand, she stresses. For Regent Seven Seas, “it’s not one shore excursion in a port. We have over 2,000 shore excursions in our portfolio, and they’re unlimited throughout your cruise.” She sees that as a big talking point, “especially when you look at the fact that we do typically have a higher price point. So, the value of what you’re getting certainly resonates with all the inclusions that we have.”
That said, “at the end of the day, when you think about cruising—the 50,000-foot-view—cruising is still a very under-penetrated vacation experience,” DeMarco believes. With that in mind, “there’s such an opportunity to bring people who are land-based vacationers and to show them cruising…because it’s a seamless experience," she says. "You unpack once, you visit multiple destinations, everything’s taken care of. It’s very different than going to a landside resort.”
And according to DeMarco, price-wise, “cruising has become even more of a value, because you know you’ve seen this price jump in hotels and resorts around the world where it’s almost pricing people out of the market." She adds that it may be time for those guests to consider alternatives. "That’s where cruise is really going to draw new guests," she says.
Guests’ Perspective About Luxury
Looking at what guests want, DeMarco addressed these questions: What has she learned in talking to the line's guests? What's their definition of luxury? And has that changed in the past few years?
“The first thing I would point out…is that there is such an affinity to our brand," she responds. "It’s not just the guests, it’s the crew.
She noticed this back in 2021 when the line relaunched Seven Seas Splendor, its first ship back sailing after the pandemic shut-down. In January 2022, "it really also resonated when I was dining on board with our guests for the World Cruise.” She was seated at dinner with a couple who hold top-tier status in the line's Seven Seas Society. “They do the World Cruise every year and they knew every one onboard. And they were bringing over people onboard—different crew members—and they were like, 'Oh, you need to meet this person, and you need to meet that person.'"
Bottom line? Guests and crew viewed each other as family, according to DeMarco. “They knew everything that was going on in their home life" and she says it was clear the guests and crew members had stayed connected even while separated following the conclusion of the previous year's World Cruise.
“That family environment where there's this affinity to the people, I’ve never seen anything like that before and I’ve been in this industry over 20 years," she says incredulously. "And at the end of the day, it’s the people who bring that experience and the vision to life.” She quips that “I was still meeting people (guests and crew) but they all knew each other.”
As for the definition of luxury and what different people like, it's simple, she believes: "A person has to define what luxury means to them." For some, it may be all about the upscale amenities, an all-inclusive luxury product or razzle-dazzle, opulent ships. For many others, it's totally about the itinerary and destination immersion.
But those taking a high-ticket World Cruise, for example, may have visited the same ports of call multiple times in their lives, she points out. So, what’s the point of taking that pricey luxury cruise? "It’s a lot of the same people they’ve traveled the world with," she says, again mentioning the crew/guest or guest/guest friendships formed aboard. "So, it’s kind of like coming home. Getting to be with your friends and family and exploring the world—it’s just such an amazing thing to be a part of.”
Tracking Guest Desires
To track what guests are seeking from the line, DeMarco explains that the management team works closely with the headquarters' hotel operations team as well as the onboard staff aboard the line’s ships. So, feedback is coming from the onboard team, guests or things that the line's HQ employees see themselves on board the ships. "It’s very much two-way communication and it has to be," she emphasizes, as the shipboard teams are out there on the front lines delivering the experience and they see things or have ideas. "They can get back to us and we can explore, and I think that’s what makes a brand great," she says.
By seeing what guests want “live” and in person, the luxury brand's management and onboard teams also have a better feel for what guests want. “Things change over time,” she acknowledges. “We saw that over the past few years where everything went more digital.” And that will continue to evolve, she believes.
Now, for example, some guests are asking for fewer brochures to be mailed to them, DeMarco says: "They may prefer to have emails coming to them with that information, So, you have to listen to those things and then tweak your strategy as you go forward in time to make sure that you’re meeting the needs of the guests and the crew."
Luxury Cruise Trends
“In general, the majority of our guests are from America,” DeMarco says, noting that the U.S. comprises the line’s largest guest complement. Plus, the U.S. and Canada packaged together as North America are “a big chunk of sourcing," she adds.
As for what they're seeking in luxury cruising, "people are looking for longer voyages that go to more exotic destinations, and places where people couldn’t travel to in the past couple of years. We see that not only in our research but also in our booking trends as well.”
The line's 2025 World Cruise sold out in record time and its Grand Voyages are proving exceptionally popular, too. “More exotic destinations and longer sailings are really front and center right now,” she tells us. “One of the things that we’re looking at is can we combine some sailings to create some back-to-back opportunities for guests to sail for longer and extend their time at sea.”
Another trend is multiple vacations in the same year. While people planning a luxury cruise typically book pretty far out, in 2023, there are people still making decisions to travel much closer-in than in the past—in fact, for travel in the same year. That's because "they might want to travel more than once in a year," according to DeMarco. So, a guest might have already booked their big cruise well in advance, but then they want one or two other voyages to other spots, too. This summer, Europe is hot for that, and she reports that sailings to Greenland and Iceland have been particularly popular.
“I was just in Iceland last summer and I have to tell you, it’s a spectacular place," she says. “Definitely put it on the list.” Norway and the fjords are also popular with Regent Seven Seas' guests, she adds.
For the first time in summer 2023, Regent Seven Seas will position Seven Seas Explorer in Alaska for many week-long sailings. While Regent offers many 10-night or longer cruises across the globe, “Alaska tends to have some seven-night sailings which are pretty short for our brand,” she notes. "It allows us to bring a lot of first time cruisers to our brand, because it’s a shorter cruise.”
“I would say Europe and Alaska are kind of key markets for some first time Regent guests to try the product and come in," says DeMarco. And with Seven Seas Explorer, they’re getting that week-long experience but also cruising on one of the line's most desirable ships.
South Pacific Issues
Much has happened the past few months in the South Pacific related to “ship hull” issues. Algae, snails or other organisms have contaminated many hulls of cruise ships from multiple brands. New Zealand, in particular, has been particularly strict about banning ships from entry until the issues are corrected—an eco-protection measure.
That’s affected several Regent Seven Seas' itineraries and those of some other lines, too. Cruise ships travel across the globe and different countries have their own requirements, notes DeMarco. She says that her brand strives to preserve the oceans and be environmentally friendly and “in this instance, we have to go by the guidelines of what they’re looking for.”
Some guests on those cruises, however, have complained about a lack of communication from Regent Seven Seas, particularly as a ship was refused port entry and itineraries changed. Often the situation is “dynamic and fluid,” she responds, but adds that "we did write quite a few letters to the guests on board."
Things do change globally, requiring itinerary changes, which isn't uncommon, she says: "I would say that we communicated to the best of our ability with the information that we had at the time.”
Airline Disruptions
Acknowledging that “there’s been some disruptions with the airlines” recently, DeMarco cites strong consumer demand with capacity constraints putting much pressure on the airlines. “So, it’s been a little bit of a challenge to work through that, but air is a part of our product,” she tells Luxury Travel Advisor.
She explains, though, that if a travel agency has contracted space with an airline, that if the agency sells air on its own, and if the agency can offer to do the air portion of the trip for clients, that’s an option, too, because Regent Seven Seas does offer air credits." So, "if you don’t want to take the air that we have, and as a travel partner you can provide the air for your client, that might be something that could be easier for people," she tell advisors.
One point she’s adamant about? “Because there are so many disruptions out there with the airlines, it’s so important to travel with comprehensive travel insurance. Would you ever buy a high-ticket-price car without having insurance?” She says if consumers are going to spend money for a high-ticket-price luxury vacation, “you want to have that insurance to make sure that you’re covered.”
Increased Capacity
With Seven Seas Grandeur’s arrival later this year, the line's overall berth capacity will increase. The additional ship also will give the line the opportunity to develop new itineraries, or to take more capacity into markets where consumers want to go.
“We’re always looking for ways to find new, creative itineraries, especially when we have such loyal, repeat past guests like we do,” DeMarco says. “We want to continue to find new and exciting places for them to visit. So, we’ll certainly look at that.”
Plus, Regent Seven Seas will use the opportunity to hone in on destinations which the research shows that consumers most want to go. In addition, more capacity also can mean looking at one’s sourcing mix, she says. Overall, De Marco believes that any line needs to ask itself where it wants to be 10 years from now and how can it get to that point as more capacity is added.
A "Remote" World and The Lure of Cruising
What about the shift to a virtual office and working remotely? Has that impacted the line’s mix of guests and bookings? “I certainly think remote working could play into people wanting to spend more time traveling and cruising,” she says. That said, the line’s past three World Cruises sold out in record time, and “I’m not sure if remote working is driving World Cruises” and those types of bookings, she adds.
Last month, while dining with one of the 2024 World Cruise couples, she learned that they were just on a Regent Seven Seas ship a week or so before, then stayed a few days on land before boarding the World Cruise. DeMarco says that’s quite telling: “Their point was: ‘Listen, I don’t have to be at home. I want to keep traveling and the ship is the best place for me to be. So why not?”
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