What Travel Advisors Should Know About Margaritaville at Sea
Margaritaville at Sea, the Caribbean’s newest cruise line, is set to debut on April 30, 2022.
But it’s positioning itself quite differently than traditional cruise lines, offering shorter cruises, fewer destination ports and a new Cruise & Stay program that allows guests to sail and enjoy the benefits of a cruise experience while also spending a few nights on Grand Bahama Island at one of two participating resorts before sailing back, all with Margaritaville’s signature style and atmosphere.
Margaritaville at Sea was once the Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line. Its first ship, Grand Classica, is now renamed the Margaritaville Paradise and has been undergoing a top-to-bottom renovation to give it the beloved Margaritaville atmosphere, colors and even dining venues that are unique to Margaritaville resorts, such as JWB Prime Steakhouse, 5 O’Clock Somewhere Bar and more, as well as a few ones unique to the ship.
Francis Riley, Chief Commercial Officer for Margaritaville at Sea, helped debut the new cruise line at the CLIA 2022 Cruise360 convention that was held last week. He mentioned that pent-up demand for cruising and the line’s signature short cruises, which are three days and two nights long, might attract people who are new to cruising: “The fact that it’s a quick escape is going to be a real differentiator for us.”
The Cruise & Stay program includes one night at sea on Margaritaville Paradise, followed by two or four nights at one of two resorts on Grand Bahama Island and ending with one more night on the ship as it sails back to Palm Beach, Florida. Travel advisors can seamlessly book a cruise and land package together in the same time it would take them to book the cruise option, but with more commission.
“For the travel industry, it’s a great new product to sell, with a much higher average booking value than a two-night cruise, and therefore the opportunity from a commercial point of view, from the commission base that we’re providing, is going to give them a higher earning potential…” said Riley. “That is the ‘aha!’ moment that travel advisors are hooking into.”
Riley believes Margaritaville at Sea will also attract customers who have been loyal to the Margaritaville Resorts brand, emphasizing that Margaritaville at Sea offers a unique experience that differs from larger cruise lines.
“Our experience is going to be focused on the authentic lifestyle experience that people get at a Margaritaville resort,” Riley began. “The service of our crew is going to add to that experience…We’re the only cruise line sailing out of Palm Beach. We’re the only cruise line that is doing the three-day, two-night cruises, literally every other day…We’re the only cruise line where you go and every single customer gets valet parking.”
The cruise line will allow both vaccinated and unvaccinated guests on-board its ships, and is continuing the CDC’s recommendations around testing and cleanliness.
“Currently today, and we don’t have any plans to change it right now, we are still asking for vaccinated guests to provide an antigen test 48 hours prior or, what we have done now for the last month, is we’re providing complimentary antigen tests at the port for any of our vaccinated customers…” said Riley. “Literally all the customer needs to do is show their vaccination card, and they get a free test and they’re on the ship.”
“For unvaccinated guests, we are trying to make it as easy as we can. First of all, because the Bahamians changed the rule for cruise lines about three or four weeks ago where unvaccinated guests could now travel on a cruise ship, we have opened that up and obviously, we have a lot of our guests who are not vaccinated.”
Unvaccinated guests must make up no more than five percent of the ship’s guest capacity. Guests who are not vaccinated are required to complete a PCR test 72 hours prior to departure and must also test upon arrival at the port in Palm Beach.
Travel advisors can register at BookParadise.com, its travel advisor-specific website which launched in late March, to begin learning about the brand through training modules, how to sell it and to receive marketing tools and other resources, including invitations to Margaritaville at Sea’s next events.
Currently, travel advisors who book groups for Margaritaville at Sea through May 15 for travel through the end of the year can receive up to $1,500 in extra commission bonus as an incentive. Additionally, travel advisors can request a travel advisor rate online for one of Margaritaville at Sea’s sailings through the end of this year.