Signature Luxury Travel & Style
meetings at sea
Take to the seas for your next major meeting or incentive getaway. Ocean cruising creates a oneof-a-kind setting designed to achieve all your corporate objectives, writes robin Bayes.
Incentives set sail with all-inclusive cruise experiences.
There has always been an allure to cruising. It is a journey, a voyage, the crossing of vast oceans and seas, the discovery of unknown destinations – and of course the grandeur of the ships themselves, these days monoliths of modern-day luxury.
The ultimate meeting or incentive experience must surely be cruising in one of these grand, elegant ships surrounded by the vast, endless beauty of the world’s great oceans.
Luxury cruise lines Silversea Cruises, Seabourn, and Crystal Cruises are all tapping into this lucrative, exponential growth market with dedicated meetings and incentives managers tasked with handling the often high demands of this sector while at the same time creating unforgettable cruise experiences.
All-inclusive value The all-inclusiveness of the typical cruise ship product is also highly cost effective compared to land-based products. There is now much more focus on the luxury lines for corporate programmes because of their great delivery in value. Planners can budget for travel lodging, F&B and entertainment all in one.
In addition to accommodation, meals and entertainment, cruise ships offer their conference facilities at no extra cost and most provide complimentary audio-video equipment. Out-of-pocket expenses for the participants is low, with all meals
and entertainment included in the itinerary. They also get to experience the excitement of multiple destinations and the fun lifestyle on board, so it is a winning formula for both sides.
The cruising appeal
Add to all this that special ingredient money can’t buy – the sheer fun of the whole experience – and you can see why it’s growing into such a strong market segment with year-on-year growth.
Cruise lines across the board have – and are - upgrading their convention and incentive operations to meet this lucrative jump in demand.
Silversea’s Corporate and Incentive cruises – with its special interest, corporate and incentive products – offer spacious ocean-view suites, gourmet dining and an array of ‘exceptional’ amenities for clientele. It also includes special receptions, entertainment, dining and a range of shore excursions.
“We offer the highest standard, exceeding, we believe, some of the world’s most renowned five-star resorts,” Silversea general manager Australasia Karen Christensen says. “Our product definitely provides the ‘wow’ factor that delegates will be speaking about for years.”
Seabourn, meanwhile, aims to make MICE guests feel like they’ve been invited aboard a private yacht. Chartering one of Seabourn’s small ships ensures your attendees are the only ones on board – and that means more bonding and less distractions. Seabourn
Odyssey, Seabourn Sojourn and Seabourn
Quest each have 229 suites. The new
Seabourn Encore (to launch November this year) will feature 302 all-balcony suites. The itinerary and masthead on the daily programme can be customised to declare that this is exclusively your event. The ship can even fly your corporate flag.
Worry-free planning with a luxe touch
Crystal Cruises says its luxury cruise experience motivates and rewards company top performers with its convention and incentive packages. It prides itself on private cocktail receptions, penthouse butlers and highend dining such as Nobu Matsuhisa’s Silk road and The Sushi Bar, and Piero Selvaggio’s Prego.
“Conventions and incentives on Crystal offer a high satisfaction factor and are an ‘all-inclusive reward’ for the participants and the host company, delivering real value to their budget expenditure,” says diane Patrick, Managing director of Wiltrans International, Crystal Cruises’ Australian GSA.
“We have repeat companies who choose a luxury cruise as a reward because their participants’ satisfaction has been very high and the onboard service delivers worry-free planning,” Patrick says.
“It is exciting for the participants both onboard and shore-side with a wide choice of dining, entertainment, activities and relaxation combined with the experience of new ports and cultures nearly every day.”