Go-to-Market Bundling Paying Off for Norwegian

Posted on 10 November, 2018 by Spacejunkie2

Free air promotions for Norwegian Cruise Line sailings in 2019 are part of the company’s extension of its go-to-market bundling strategy, according to Frank del Rio, president and CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings.

Del Rio said it was an extension of the brand’s Free at Sea offering, which allows guests to bundle in various offerings, from internet access to food and beverage and shore excursion packages.

“The advantages of this next evolution of our unique bundling strategy are many. First, it overcomes a major hurdle of what high yielding long-haul customers need and want, easy to book in affordable air transportation,” Del Rio said, on the company’s third-quarter earnings call. “The success of Free at Sea has demonstrated that there is overwhelming demand for an inclusive contemporary cruise product. Free Air is the natural extension of that strategy.”

He said that travel agents are further incentivized to sell Norwegian products, earning an additional commission on air-inclusive packages.

“The offerings strategically focus on capturing more long haul, fly-cruise guests, reinforcing our strategy of sourcing the highest quality guests as long-haul guests tend to be higher paying consumers both in ticket purchase and in onboard,” Del Rio added.

Andy Stuart, president and CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line, explained that the free air promotion for Norwegian Joy’s 2019 Alaska sailings drove bookings, and moved pricing up.

“Because what you get is you get some people who booked inclusive product and some people who buy cruise only,” Stuart said. “And the result of that mix is that you end up with a higher overall pricing outcome. So we’re very happy with it. We are in the early days of the initiative. It’s a 100per cent strategic initiative. Our goal here is to evolve the bundling strategy that has been so successful for us.”

NCL’s Leonardo class to sail out of Southampton

Posted on 30 October, 2018 by Spacejunkie2

Image result for Norwegian Cruise Line Leonardo class ship

Norwegian Cruise Line’s new Leonardo ship class will sail out of Southampton after the vessels begin to launch in 2022.

Frank Del Rio, chief executive of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH), said at least one of the six Leonardo ships, which will carry around 3,300 passengers and are 140,000 gross tonnes, will operate from Southampton.

But he would not reveal which Leonardo vessel will sail ex-Southampton sailings.

Speaking to Travel Weekly, he said: “There are a handful of iconic ports of around the world – Port Miami and Barcelona, which caters Europe.

“Southampton is the one for northern Europe. We do seasonal departures from Southampton, but it is not enough.

“Southampton is a port in which we will put our Leonardo Class ships in.”

Del Rio called Southampton a “sophisticated” port that demanded new hardware.

He later said there were always times that a line had to “stimulate” a marketplace by “adding more value to the product” and that there were “dozens” of under-served markets around the world.

Del Rio suggested that older vessels, such as Norwegian Dawn, would operate out of new ports, such as Baltimore, Charleston and Texas, where NCL ships are expected to sail out of from 2022.

Leonardo vessels would then be free to sail itineraries from ports where NCL’s older vessels operated from.

“It is about controlling risk,” he said. “It means we have ships in both new and established ports.”

He dismissed overcapacity fears in the premium market, saying: “Every single one of our ships is packed. We are constrained by capacity.”