Search the Internet          Tips  Sites: Finance, Investment

Cruise firms entice clients with more freebies

Parul Gupta

If you have money to spare and don't know where to go for a vacation this year, you could try going on a cruise.

Cruise companies have made sure that the customer has a lot of choices at hand this summer. Unknown in India till not so long ago, the Rs 600-million business is growing at 25-30 per cent per annum.

While free cruise for two kids along with the parents and free products on-board are common to almost all cruise companies, some players have gone a step further to add value to the existing itineraries.

Princess Cruise is offering a 7-night Alaskan cruise for $670 (Rs 31,500) per person and a 12-night cruise from Barcelona to Istanbul has been priced at $1,175 (Rs 55,255) per person including port charges and taxes. It will take care of all food, accommodation, entertainment on board and health club requirements.

Princess Cruises is also in the process of introducing short duration segment sailing wherein the customer would be offered a cruise for short distances between countries. The formal packages would be finalised within 40 days, Princess Cruises country head Nishith Saxena said.

The Celebrity Cruise, a brand of Royal Caribbean Cruise, is not to be left behind. It has introduced a 'book one and get one free' offer to Alaska for a 7-night cruise in May. The customer saves about $1,800 in the process. For the Greek Isles and Turkey cruise, the company offers a free cruise offer for the third and the fourth passenger wherein, after paying $1,400 each for the first and the second passenger, the customer saves a total of about $1,000 on the other two passengers.

If you belong to the category who thinks that such luxuries in life should be exclusive, Radisson Seven Seas Cruises, the cruise travel wing of the Carlson Hospitality, which recently started operations in India and is targeting only the premium traveller, is promoting sailings in Tahiti islands in French Polynesia as the most premium destination.

As an introductory offer, on a 7-night cruise to Tahiti for about $5,000 per person, the company is offering a free economy class return airfare from Los Angeles to Tahiti where the customer would save about $600, Radisson Seven Seas Cruises sales manager Sushant Chandra said.

The other value-options that the customer has been offered include a free three night hotel option at Tahiti after the cruise so that the customer stays for ten days while paying for seven.

The customer can also choose between taking a $1,000 off from the brochure price or a two for one offer wherein two people can sail for the price of one.

For its sailings in Europe this summer, the Radisson cruises from Barcelona, Istanbul and Lisbon offer its guests a $1,000 off from the brochure price. In order to enthuse the travel agent to sell, the company has introduced a scheme "sell and earn a cruise".

Cunard and Seabourn cruise liners, whose fares start at Rs 73,325, have tried to lure customers by giving a hefty 30 per cent off in case of early bookings and that amounts to a saving of almost Rs 22,000. Besides, a Cunard cruise purchase in 2001 qualifies the customer for a 'patron preview status' for the Queen Mary 2 cruise purchases in 2003-04 in advance of the general public. QE2 would be the newest and largest liner built in 30 years, the company said.

And believe Royal Caribbean Cruises international representative Gautam Chaddha when he says that from about 25,000-30,000 passengers who sailed outside India last year, the number is likely to grow to 50,000 by next year.

Powered by

YOU MAY ALSO WANT TO READ:
The Rediff-Business Standard Special
The Budget 2001-2002 Special
Money
Business News

Tell us what you think of this report