5 perfect luxury travel pitches at CruiseWorld: Travel Weekly

Luxury travel means different things to different customers, which means that advisors must pay attention to what makes their high-spending customers.

In turn, the suppliers must have what the advisers need to get the sale, and this was the basis of the Pitch Perfect: Luxury session in Travel Weekly’s. Cruise World on wednesday

Travel agency executives Nick Pena (franchise owner, Cruise Planners) and Sanya Weston (CEO, Your Premier Travel Service Group) presented the scenarios, and sales executives answered how their product could satisfy customers.

Scenario 1: A woman is celebrating a milestone birthday with her close friends, and they want to do all of the above, be waited on hand and foot and dressed to the nines for dinner every night.

Heidi Verschaeve, Commercial Director, Blue Diamond Luxury Boutique Hotel
• Presidential suite, located in an oceanfront mansion, with butler service
• The private chef prepares a six-course gourmet dinner in the jungle – a traditional Mayan dinner with a modern twist, pairing mezcal and tequila with each course.
• The hotel’s resident shaman performs a ritual

Jamie Paiko, Vice President of Sales, Cunard North America
• Two Queens Grill Suites with an adjoining room on a transatlantic crossing
• Treatments in the mareel spa
• Exquisite dining on private areas, complete with flambees at the table.
• Gala events, such as a masquerade ball or the Roaring ’20s event

Erica Richey, of Seabourn vice president, marketing performance and growth
• Mediterranean cruise with travel advisor working with Seabourn to “create a beautiful personalized experience”
• A “marine day” spent in a cove, with access to the water games of the ships. Guests can jump on the deck or “ride the banana boat and have a blast.”
• Variety of restaurants, from sushi to the outdoor concept Earth & Ocean to the new Mediterranean concept Solis.

Scenario 2: Two couples prioritize once-in-a-lifetime experiences

Chanel Knight, Regent Seven Seas Cruises’ director of national accounts and business development
• Cruise on the new Seven Seas Grandeur
• An opportunity to see the first Faberge egg at sea and other works of art
• Stay in the 4,000-square-foot Regent Suite and adjoining Penthouse
• Enjoy private dining and spa treatments

Erica Richey, Seabourn
• Cruise in Antarctica Seabourn Venture shipping vessel
• The expedition team curates an adventure around the guest
• Spa treatments to recover from the Drake Passage trip

Scenario 3: The traveler wants a luxury cruise experience and a seamless land experience back-to-back

Diana Rom, Windstar’s vice president of sales
• A cruise in Tahiti on the Star Breeze
• A three-day overwater bungalow experience before the cruise
• Daily canoe breakfast at the resort and romantic dinner on the beach

Shanel Knight, Regent Seven Seas Cruises
• An Iconic Explorations package that combines an Angkor Wat tour with a Singapore-Hong Kong cruise

Scenario 4: A couple in their 60s from New York owns a restaurant and knows food. What can impress them and elevate their culinary experience?

Dianna Rom, Windstar
• Windstar is small enough to ensure all food is locally sourced and the chefs cook to order
• Immersing less with the place visited
• Guests go shopping with the chefs in the local markets

Jamie Paiko, Cunard
• A winter Caribbean cruise departing from Brooklyn in a Queens Grill Suite
• Upscale dining, white glove service that is not pretentious

Scenario 5: Honeymooners have $30,000 to spend and want to start longevity with a brand

Tomas Baca-Cruz, Explore Travel business relations expert
• A cruise sailing in the south of France Explore I
• Explore attracts a younger and more active demographic than some competitors. The average age of passengers is 52, Baca-Cruz said
• Since Explora is a new line, it will give young travelers the opportunity to discover something new

Heidi Verschaeve, Blue Diamond Luxury Boutique Hotel
• Romantic breakfasts and dinners
• Instagrammable moments, snapping pictures of wild animals, like monkeys stealing apples
• Swim in the cenote on the property
• Experience the temazcalgolden sweat lodge