The ‘Collaboration Through Crisis: Shaping the Future of Cruise Operations in Northern Europe’ panel at Searade Europe, Hamburg (September 6-8) began with various cruise lines sharing their perceptions of the Baltic region and the impression it gives to their passengers.
‘St Petersburg is the jewel of the region,’ said Martin Lister, head of itinerary planning & destination experience, Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines. ‘It’s like McDdonald's no longer having a Big Mac [burger] on the menu.’ So you have to ‘explore the menu.'
He said ‘St Petersburg has been that main headline for so long,’ explaining that while some destinations do not have a ‘headline port' – for instance, Norway – when it comes to the Baltic, ‘if you take St Peterburg off, where is the appeal?’
He continued, ‘We’re here to strategize and to see what we have to do… [but] it comes down to communication. We need communication between the destination and the cruise line.’
Chris Martin, director, port operations, Holland America Group, said that when it comes to passengers, ‘The Baltic to them is St Petersburg so despite great destinations around the region, it’s difficult to entice people without the destination on the itinerary.’
He hastened to add that for Baltic countries, it is hard to come back ‘from a ‘safety and security perspective,’ with concerns Baltic states ‘could be invaded at any time.’
Working on a new narrative
‘We can hear it loud and clear here that we need to be better at telling you guys what we’re good at in the region,’ conceded Louise Røssell, senior manager, Cruise Baltic. The association is hosting fam trips this autumn in order to showcase some of the destinations in the region.
Cruise Baltic is also working on a new narrative to garner the interest of cruise lines and their passengers. Rising from the the crowd, director of Cruise Baltic, Klaus Bondam, asserted, ‘First of all, it's important to understand that even though the war may end, hopefully, in a short time, I think St. Petersburg will be off of itineraries for years to come. It will take some time before people feel comfortable about returning there.
‘So I really think that we all have to open our eyes and... show who we actually are.
‘But there's one thing that I want to put an emphasis on: the title of the narrative is responsible cruising. And that also tells a story that we want to be a part in changing the industry.’
He continued, ‘We very much see ourselves in our part of the world as a front runner… We've done it with LGBT rights, we've done it with equality, we're a very equal society. And we also want to do it with cruising.’
Røssell said, ‘making a lot of noise about the region’ was needed and revealed that the association would favour the opportunity to visit cruise lines’ sales teams to provide knowledge that would support them in selling voyages to the region.
The solution
‘The biggest thing we need is to find a way to rebrand the region, the perception for so long has been St Peterburg on the front cover [of marketing materials], for sure,’ said Martin.
Marcus Puttich, director destinations, TUI Cruises, strongly recommended ‘different strategies for the different source markets.’ He said, 'What do certain source markets maybe require?
‘The sales channels in Germany are much more different than they are in the US… we actually need to have different strategies for the different sorts of markets.’
Lister said he values being asked what he is looking for by a destination and having a discussion that informs on the region, advises on the port and the activities available to passengers.
Moderator Luis de Carvalho, commercial cruise director, Copenhagen Malmö Port and Cruise Europe Council Member suggested more cooperation with politicians, while advising ‘Ports should think like cruise lines, cruise lines should think like ports.’
Positive indications
Puttich said TUI is sailing at 106% capacity and that the brand-new Mein Schiff 7, coming May/June 2024, would be deployed to the Baltics, homeporting in two German homeports.
He went on to reveal that TUI has decided to launch winter cruises, for instance, from Germany to Norway to capture the northern lights, with Røssell stating, ‘We are an ideal all-year-round destination… we can cater to all your target groups’ before highlighting the region’s culture, cuisine and nature.
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