Expedition cruising is one of the fastest-growing sectors in the travel industry, with lines investing in more ships and expanding itineraries to destinations such as the Antarctic, the Arctic and the Galapagos.
Many specialist cruise agents have hopped on the trend, launching dedicated expedition arms to deal with demand. Last week, SixStarCruises launched an expedition website to showcase lines such as Silversea, Seabourn, Atlas Ocean Voyages, Ponant and HX Expeditions.
However, Nathaniel Sherborne, HX Expeditions Senior Vice-President and Managing Director for EMEA, ANZ and Global Sales Enablement said: “There is a huge opportunity to bring in more agents. If you have ever sold a safari, you can sell expedition cruises.
“A lot of people are more open post-COVID to ticking off those bucket list experiences, such as the Galapagos, Antarctica – the sort of trips that give them bragging rights.
“You need to look for curious travellers, not those who just want to lie on a beach, but those who want to get off the beaten track.
“If a customer says they want to go somewhere new, somewhere different, they could be open to an expedition cruise.”
While pointing out that customers need plenty of disposable income for an expedition cruise, he said they might still be right for customers who might want to push the boat out (excuse the pun) for a special occasion.
“It could be a once-in-a-lifetime trip for someone, or a trip to celebrate a big birthday,” he added.
When considering what age groups agents should be targeting, Nathaniel said that although the average age of cruise line customers is typically quite high, expedition cruises also attract multi-generational families and younger guests.
Obviously, selling expedition cruises requires more knowledge than your typical package holiday, but Nathaniel said HX is making it easier for agents to get the information they need with the launch of an online training platform later this year.
It is also planning to organise three more agent mega fam trips, two in 2027 and 2028, following its first one, to Helgoland off the coast of Norway, earlier this year.
Nathaniel said feedback from agents who attended the HX mega fam to Helgoland had been ‘overwhelmingly positive’, but he said future trips will give agents more of an expedition experience.
“Agents [on the mega fam] were surprised by the quality of the ship, the dining and the expertise on board,” he said. “It helped bring to life for them what a day on an expedition cruise might look like, but what came out loud and clear was that they wanted more time so that they could experience the Zodiacs, the kayaking and the other expedition elements, which we didn’t have the opportunity to do, so we are planning slightly longer trips.”
He’s aiming to run two fams in 2027; one from Reykjavik, Iceland on board MS Fram in the autumn – for up to 170 agents – and one towards the end of 2027 on MS Spitsbergen – for up to 190 agents – to an as-yet-undecided destination.
Nathaniel is also hoping to get agents on board MS Fridtjof Nansen for a three-day megafam in autumn 2028, sailing from the UK. The ship, which hosted the HX megafam in May this year, holds 490 passengers.
HX Expeditions will launch its 2028/29 programme on 15 September, which will include shorter, seven-night cruises to Greenland and Alaska, among other highlights.
