Online travel agent On the Beach started selling cruises for the first time on 5 November, but it launched into the market with more of a pop than a bang, initially featuring just three lines: Celebrity Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Lines and Royal Caribbean.
However, its new Director of Cruise Si Morris-Green said another ‘five or six’ more mainstream ocean cruise lines will be added to its portfolio by the end of this month.
Si was previously with On the Beach-owned tour operator Classic Collection, until it closed down last month, but he has a solid background in cruise, having previously been Marketing Director at Planet Cruise.
He also founded the Cruise Club at The Travel Network Group, where he was Group Marketing Director until 2019. “Cruise is my passion, I take about four cruises a year,” Si told Travel Gossip. “They’re mostly family-focused. We went to Canada last year and we’ve done lots in the Med, so when On the Beach offered me this role, it was a no-brainer.
“Cruise is growing massively and the exciting thing for me is being able to come into the market with our technology and disrupt it.”
Initially, On the Beach will focus on selling ocean cruises, said Si. Currently, it is offering cruise-only, but fly-cruises will be available before Christmas, he added. “We are really early into the process, we are building the roadmap as we speak.” He said On the Beach only decided to launch cruises about six weeks ago.
River cruises will be added in the future, but ‘not imminently’, added Si. “We will focus on ocean cruises to start with, with choice being one of our key pillars, so we are also in talks with luxury and niche cruise lines, we aren’t just a mass-market agent, we already sell everything from three- to five-star.”
When asked if OTB would add expedition cruise lines to its portfolio, Si said: “We don’t want to run before we can walk. We will look at other sectors later.
“We are in this for the long haul, but before we add expedition cruising, we will need to have the technology to support it.”
On the Beach has a live chat function on its website, available seven days a week, but customers are expected to book online with little or zero personal interaction. “I don’t think that’s an issue,” said Si. “Our site is content-rich. Also, we will have a lot of information on social media and videos to promote cruises.
“River and expedition cruise customers require more handholding [than ocean cruise customers], but the industry, including [cruise association] CLIA have done phenomenal work in educating customers.”
One of OTB’s unique selling points, according to Si, is its Flexipay option, which allows customers to pay a deposit of £30 and spread the remainder of the cost over regular monthly payments.
“That’s been a real success with On the Beach packages,” said Si. “It allows people to book well in advance and plan ahead. Our other USP is that we are a trusted brand.
“Adding cruise has given us the opportunity to go after a customer’s whole travel wallet. It’s a good cross-sell product and, while it’s too early to tell if we will grow the market, we think it will appeal to existing customers who have never cruised before but trust our brand so they’ll book with us.
“It’s a natural next step as cruising offers great value compared with land-based holidays.”
