Launching as a small-ship, luxury expedition line in late 2019, Atlas Ocean Voyages had no way of knowing about the significant challenge just over the horizon. But while the pandemic stopped global travel and cruising during early 2020 and into 2021, Atlas—much akin to "The Little Engine that Could”—not only survived but thrived.
Today, Atlas sails the globe with three 200-passenger, luxury expedition ships, World Navigator, World Traveller and World Voyager. Plus, three more sister vessels will be delivered in 2025-2027. Given the line’s recent capacity growth, booking performance and brand differentiation initiatives, Luxury Travel Advisor recently spoke one-on-one with James Rodriguez, president and CEO, Atlas Ocean Voyages.
Soaring Demand, Fares to Rise
Assessing current market conditions, “I think demand is going to continue to grow for 2024 and into 2025,” says Rodriguez, a 25-year travel industry veteran who joined Atlas in August 2022. “We had the most successful booking week in company history this past week, the week after Black Friday. It was a large increase year-over-year." And the Black Friday period in 2022 was good, as well.
Citing high-demand market conditions and the brand’s value proposition with many inclusions, “we feel very comfortable that we’re going to be able to raise all of our fares on January 1,” Rodriguez tells Luxury Travel Advisor. That dovetails with the cruise industry's preferred pricing approach, which begins with big discounts coming early in Wave Season. Then, as inventory fills and availability drops, the lines can raise fares, maintain price integrity and avoid close-to-departure-date fare slashing.
With robust marketplace demand, Rodriguez expects “a huge run-up of bookings between now and the next 30 days” in advance of those fare hikes. “But we wouldn’t feel that comfortable doing that if we didn’t feel the demand was there for our product and that our product is resonating well.”
For instance, Europe next summer looks good for Atlas. One reason is that the line’s 200-passenger ships are right-sized for attracting full-ship charters, many now on the books for summer 2024. "Affinity groups are also really big for us, especially year-over-year for summer," Rodriguez adds.
Hybrid Product: Luxury and Expedition
If there’s one element that’s evolved since Rodriguez’s arrival about 16 months ago, it’s more precise brand differentiation. “One of the things that I focused on from the very beginning was really defining the brand—who we are, where our market share is and what the brand is,” he emphasizes. In other words, where does the line fit? “Our goal is to better differentiate the product for travel advisors to be able to sell the product correctly.”
Today, he describes Atlas as a “hybrid expedition product,” the best of both a luxury cruise and an expedition. So, its competitors include such ultra-luxury players as Silversea and Seabourn, which operate multifaceted fleets comprising both cruise ships and expedition vessels. Other competitors are those heavy expedition players including Lindblad Expeditions-National Geographic, Hurtigruten Expeditions, Quark Expeditions and others that focus solely on the expedition product.
Now, Atlas seeks to get the word out that it offers that hybrid luxury/expedition experience and does so year-round. “Doing them both well, it’s certainly a challenge,” given the differences in the cold versus warm-water destinations, acknowledges Rodriguez. For instance, the line now offers three very different kinds of sailings—Polar Expeditions, Epicurean Expeditions and Cultural Expeditions.
Atlas' Polar Expeditions offer a full range of expedition activities such as Zodiac cruises, kayaking, hiking, camping and more. That appeals to those true “guest explorers” who can’t wait to get to the next great place and have plenty of active adventures ashore. But, in turn, “not everyone on the ship wants to get off and do heavy expedition,” Rodriguez says.
He emphasizes that soaring demand has resulted in many more travelers with totally different expectations visiting Antarctica. One guest in a stateroom/suite may not be as adventurous or active as their travel partner, spouse or friend. “So, we offer things onboard for them to do as well, such as the SeaSpa by L’Occitane with floor-to-ceiling sea views. We now see guests who are expanding the market, and the best of both worlds is needed.”
Repeat Polar Guests?
Luxury Travel Advisor asked Rodriguez if Atlas is seeing repeat guests in polar regions? Or, is it a once-and-done, bucket-list experience? In terms of repeaters, “yes, we actually do see that” for those who’ve taken an Arctic or Antarctica cruise," he says. “We’ve had guests who, because of weather conditions, didn’t get the exact landings that they wanted or couldn’t go camping."
Yet, the repeat rate for polar regions isn’t as high as for Europe or elsewhere. In addition, “we do see more repeat guests who come back for the Arctic” versus Antarctica, Rodriguez points out. That’s why Atlas has expanded its Arctic lineup with more destinations, many off-the-beaten-path. For instance, Kangerlussuaq, Greenland, is a new turnaround port for 2024
If advisors have clients who’ve never cruised, here’s some interesting intel: “For both Antarctica and the Arctic, we have a lot of new-to-cruise guests,” Rodriguez says, calling that “a bit of a surprise.” He says those new-to-cruise expedition guests are often somewhat reluctant travelers who thought they’d never book a cruise. They’re not cruise people, so to speak. Yet, they do book a polar expedition ship because there’s really only one way to get to the ends of the Earth and see multiple destinations. And that’s by ship.
But then the "lightbulb moment" occurs. “They get aboard and say, 'I didn’t know that this existed,'” Rodriguez relays. “They had false expectations and preconceived ideas of what a cruise actually was.” But after experiencing a luxury expedition voyage, they ask: “Where else do you go in the world?”
Three Factors for All Expeditions
Rodriguez, who’s always cruised and loves the cruise experience, says he himself learned something on his Antarctica voyage in November 2022. He assumed, "This would be a cruise, right?” Instead, the expedition experience far exceeded his expectations: “I fell in love with the experience and came back inspired,” Rodriguez says. And that was the start of Atlas’ brand differentiation efforts to better define what the product truly is.
Rodriguez and his employee team isolated three factors that they thought would help the brand operate a robust year-round expedition portfolio. “One is that an expedition is an educational experience,” he tells us. So, guests learn about the destination from the expedition team. Second, Rodriguez says the expedition experience is also “immersive,” as guests actively experience—not just view—the areas of the globe where they’re traveling. And third, “the one component that I really love about the expedition experience is that it’s very inspirational,” Rodriguez points out. “You’re experiencing something with these fellow guests that you did not expect and it’s a little bit more than you thought. You’re coming back from landings or immersive experiences ashore and you’re discussing things with them that you normally would discuss with family and friends.” It becomes a shared emotional experience.
So, by combining those three components— educational, immersive, inspirational—Rodriguez said he asked himself: “How can we take that and bottle it up? How can we take it to other places that we go to?” As a result, every single Atlas voyage for 2024 has been designed as either a Polar Expedition, Epicurean Expedition or Cultural Expedition. Anywhere we travel in the world, whether it be the Arctic region, the Mediterranean or South America, we’re doing an expedition,” Rodriguez explains.
Of course, Arctic and Antarctica cruises are Polar Expeditions. Then in January 2023, Atlas introduced Epicurean Expeditions in the Mediterranean.
Epicurean Expeditions
Epicurean Expeditions are designed to be more active, in-depth and immersive than the typical Mediterranean voyage, where passengers might just go to relax on a more passive vacation. “I didn’t want to be just another product out there in the Med in summer,” Rodriguez stresses. "People want to experience the Med or the Greek Isles for their taste buds, their senses.” Yes, he says that typical shore trips are fine, “but when you come back and you’re talking to family and friends, you always talk about the pastas that you ate or the wines that you had. People bond through their dining experiences.”
So, guests taking an Epicurean Expedition will interact with expedition team members of a different sort—top chefs, "Gastronomic Guests," local vintners and different global vendors. “They'll really bring those areas alive and tell the story of the destinations as our guests are traveling through them," he says. Complimentary perks for all Epicurean Expeditions include: Cultural immersions such as local market visits, specialty tastings and more; a Josper Grill dining experience at the 7AFT Grill; culinary presentations and wine tastings; cooking demonstrations and cuisine tastings; events hosted by a Tastes & Traditions Expert on select expeditions; an Atlas Ocean Voyages backpack; and use of water toys on select expeditions.
(Tip: In early 2023, sister publication Travel Agent offered a firsthand report about a World Traveller Epicurean Expedition in the Mediterranean.)
activities for guests sailing on an Atlas Ocean Voyages'
Epicurean Expedition. (Photo by Atlas Ocean Voyages)
In addition to “great food and a Yachtsman Cookoff onboard,” cited by Rodriguez, plus chef demonstrations in the main dining room and wine tastings from local experts aboard the vessels, “the Epicurean Expedition experience is really about the immersive epicurean experiences that you can do off the vessel and the cultures that you visit, the people that you’re seeing.” Because Atlas’ ships stay in port longer and well into the evening many days, as well, “the entertainment, too, is really about off the vessel.”
Although the Epicurean Expedition program has only been on Atlas ships for one season, the line is already seeing repeaters for the epicurean sailings. To further appeal, the line has designed some back-to-back options without repeating many ports. As a result, some past guests have bought three, four or even six more cruises. “We also have someone who is coming on for six weeks this coming summer,” Rodriguez tells us. He’s also seeing “a huge group uptake with our travel partners who’ve been on an Epicurean Expedition and experienced it. Now that they know what it is they’re selling into it.”
New Cultural Expeditions
Starting in 2024, Atlas will debut new Cultural Expeditions for its Caribbean and South America voyages, as well as for some future voyages. “While those Cultural Expeditions are in areas of the world that still have a great culinary bent to them, we’re primarily focused on the cultural immersion in those areas,” Rodriguez explains. But what guests won’t find are rote, run-of-the-mile repositioning voyages or a typical luxury cruise experience either.
Guests on Culinary Expeditions will receive these complimentary perks (some the same as Epicurean Expeditions but others different): Cultural immersions; enrichment programs and workshops; authentic, local experiences and onboard events; a Josper Grill Dining Experience at 7AFT Grill; an Atlas Ocean Voyages backpack; and use of water toys on select expeditions (if local regulations and weather permit).
When the words “cultural immersion” are mentioned, Rodriguez explains that each Atlas voyage—regardless of expedition type—will offer at least one “Cultural Immersion” event/activity, something that all guests will experience at one time. “For example, I was in Valencia this past summer and everybody from the vessel went to a cultural immersion experience, which was as a paella-making contest,” he explains. Guests were split into teams, and everyone competed to create the best paella.
That’s when things got interesting. “People were walking to the next station and asking, ‘What are you putting in your paella?’ then somebody said, 'Oh, you put beer in yours, we’re going to put beer in ours,’” he says. That type of guest bonding experience helps “make our expedition experience a little bit different than what you would have on a passive Mediterranean cruise experience where everyone is doing their own thing much of the time.”
New Website, Sales Outlook
In early December, Atlas updated its website to be faster and more efficient, Rodriguez tells us. Coming soon in the first quarter of the new year is a new Atlas Ocean Voyages website. Expected to go live in February 2024, it's designed to better capture the year-round expedition approach in showcasing the three different types of expeditions. Most notably, it will have a booking engine for both travel advisors and consumers.
Since Atlas’ first nonstop post-COVID-era operations really started in the 2022-23 Antarctic season, “we’ve had about a year of solid sales and no breaks,” Rodriguez gratefully acknowledges. “We’ve also been able to increase our APDs (average per diem rate) significantly year over year since we started and also our occupancies.”
Operating World Navigator and World Traveller, Atlas was doing quite well. Then, capacity-wise, the line received a bit of a surprise earlier this year. Suddenly, it was given a third ship, World Voyager. That newly revitalized vessel had previously sailed for a sister brand of owner Mystic Invest Holdings. “We took that into our fleet, and earlier than expected,” Rodriguez acknowledges.
Since “our third ship, World Seeker, wasn’t supposed to be until 2025, we had to quickly adjust and acclimate to having three vessels in Antarctica and build up the occupancy for those, as well,” Rodriguez says. But despite the increased capacity, “our Atlas team and travel partners have done a phenomenal job in building occupancy and, at the same time, making sure our APDs didn’t drop from last year," when the line had less capacity. That’s now paving the way for those prices increases mentioned earlier.
Travel, Not Home Improvement
Rodriguez recently watched a TV financial program that talked about how consumers had stored more savings during the pandemic, but now those funds are starting to dip. The program also indicated, however, “travel being one of those expense items that continues to grow because people now value the experiences of their life a little bit more because of what happened," Rodriguez says. Before the pandemic, he adds, there was this balance between spending for home improvement and travel. But now, travel is winning out.
What’s been the secret to Atlas’ success in the past year? Rodriguez points to his internal team’s makeup. They’re highly experienced in the travel industry but across different brands and very different types of companies—some start-ups, others large brands. That creates different ideas on how to do business, he believes, noting that the diverse input is valuable.
For instance, some were previously with SeaDream Yacht Club, which operates 100-passenger ships, while others worked in the past for Regent Seven Seas Cruises or other big brands with larger ships. “And many of us are not from the expedition space, and I think that also gives us an advantage in creating different types of programs to support the hybrid nature of our product,” he adds.
Improving Guest Communications
The line also has worked to address one big hiccup it had at the outset. Some booked guests complained to their advisors (who also had concerns) about a lack of continuity in Atlas' guest communications, particularly pre- or post-cruise. Among steps to address that, the line formed a multi-disciplinary product development team with three members—all focused first and foremost on the guest’s journey from time of booking, the pre-cruise period, the voyage itself, post-cruise and throughout loyalty program communications. They're based at Atlas' Fort Lauderdale, FL, headquarters.
Within that team, Mark Rumbarger, senior director, brand operations and development, focuses primarily on voyage programming, while Mario Parodi, senior director of brand operations and development, focuses on itinerary planning. And the third member, Jason O’Keefe, senior director of guest experience and corporate communications, is totally focused on the guest experience—everything from acquisition to post-cruise loyalty. Consistency and cohesion are top goals. “So, before the cruise, during the cruise, back of the cruise, we’re really focused on the guest experience,” says Rodriguez. “We’ve really taken a look at the complete guest journey and aren’t just operating in compartments.”
In terms of reservations, the line has also increased the number of people on the phones with customers and advisors, shifting some existing employees into those roles, and going outside in search of other talent. Separately, on the air travel side, “when guests are looking for air, we offer the ability to price a package as needed on request,” says O’Keefe.
Rodriguez acknowledges that professional travel advisors have so many products to focus on as well as burgeoning client demand right now. Yet, from a brand awareness perspective, “you have to be the loudest one out there,” he says. So, look for a continuing proactive trade approach as Atlas works to further fine-tune and showcase its product. But Rodriguez believes that with better brand differentiation the path to a sale is much clearer than it was a year or so ago.
Soon, advisors will also have even more capacity to sell. The new World Seeker will debut in 2025, World Adventurer in 2026 and World Discoverer in 2027. And while Rodriguez believes the “revenge travel aspect has kind of played itself out, the lingering effects of that are the appreciation for travel and experiences. So, that’s what we’re seeing in the industry today with the demand out there. I don’t think the demand is going to go down.”
Related Articles
Intimate Explorers: Small Ships to Explore the Globe