Copyright: @Caroline Maber, Antarctica 2018
Caroline, you are head of the Latin America and Polar team at luxury tour operator cazenove+loyd -tell me a little bit about the organization and the type of clients you book holidays for.
The company started off thirty years ago as an Africa destination specialist and over the years it developed to offer other regions. It was founded by two ladies and one of the original founders, Henrietta Loyd is still in business and Christopher Wilmot-Sitwell joined years later bringing experience of new regions he extensively travelled. This helped the business expand into Latin America and Asia. Latin America became an important destination, and last year myself and my colleague Jonathan, who is head of product, launched the polar regions. As a company, c+l organised trips to Arctic and Antarctica, but with my knowledge and Jon’s experience we were able to bring extensive first-hand expertise and information to our clients and it is proving very popular. At cazenove+loyd, we cater to high end, luxury market clientele, including couples, families, and groups. Our clients value authenticity and cultural immersion and are interested in experiencing the very best travel experiences on offer.
As part of your role, you often go on familiarization trips – what are the key benefits in your opinion to be able to experience the product yourself?
Sunbathing in the Arctic. Copyright: @Caroline Maber
I think having been somewhere yourself always helps you sell the product better. When you speak to your client and can share first-hand experience and enthusiasm for the places you’ve been to and loved personally, you establish trust. It also makes it easier to speak to that client and to sell the product you are talking about. Fam trips are really key to being successful in this role – I often come across people when I am travelling, both potential clients and general public, whom I tell what I do for living, and they often say how happy they are that I get to experience places, and that they would love to be able to deal with travel personnel who have seen things themselves like we do.
In the context of expedition cruising, please tell me which destinations you were able to visit and what expedition cruising brands you travelled with?
Caroline in Vanuatu, Galapagos, and onboard a ship in Antarctica. Copyright: @Caroline Maber
Several years ago, I went to Antarctica onboard MV Ortelius, one of the Oceanwide Expeditions’ ships. MV Ortelius is a Russian icebreaker and a simple vessel, but it had an excellent expedition crew onboard. I joined a deep South voyage that crossed the Antarctic circle and it was a fantastic trip, my first real experience of expedition cruising. I also had a chance to experience Galapagos many years ago on an expedition cruise with Metropolitan Touring. More recently, I travelled to Solomon and Vanuatu islands in South Pacific with Silversea – another remote place that you could not visit by land. A year or so ago, I explored the Arctic with AE Expeditions onboard their new ship called MV Greg Mortimer that features an innovative X bow. Last November, Silversea invited me to join inaugural voyage onboard their new ultra-luxury expedition ship Silver Endeavour to Antarctica. That was a fly-cruise voyage– instead of reaching Antarctica by crossing Drake Passage we flew to King George Island- something a little bit different and good to experience to be able to discuss different options with the clients. And very recently, I returned to Galapagos on a much smaller ship, just 20 passengers’ yacht with Ecoventura.
Spotting sharks at night in Galapagos. Copyright: @Caroline Maber
I certainly have couple of ships to compare and to draw on experience from.
What do you look for during FAM trips onboard expedition ships? What do you pay attention to?
AE Expeditions' Greg Mortimer in the Arctic. Copyright: @Caroline Maber
I think the health and safety aspect is always a number one priority. Different clients expect different levels of comfort so that is important too. Luxury is such a personal thing: some people want to experience expedition in utmost luxury, for others luxury is visiting a remote and unique place and they will happily forfeit the comforts of the most luxurious cabin in exchange for the ability to camp on the seventh continent. I also pay attention to the level and range of activities offered as this can be a deciding factor for someone too. Not forgetting food; our clients spend a week or two onboard the ship, so the quality and variety of meals matters. And of course, one of the most important factors I evaluate is the expedition team who will deliver the expedition experience. In addition to their leading skills, engagement with clients, and friendliness, I also pay attention to the lecture program onboard the ship, the range of subjects covered and the interpretation during shore activities- the educational element to the trip is often what sets expedition cruising apart from other forms of travel so it plays a crucial role.
Then, it is the matter of matching the right experience to the client.
In your experience of selling expedition cruising, who is a typical expedition cruise traveller?
In the past, I would have said that generally it would be people who are no longer actively engaged in employment because they are retired or took a career break and have disposable income, but it is hugely variable now. During my first expedition trip to Antarctica onboard Oceanwide’s MV Ortelius, most guests were below fifty years old and a real mix of ages. The reasons people travel to these remote regions vary too: for some it is a bucket list destination, the others travel to celebrate a personal milestone or as a multi-generation family trip. Just last December, I sent a family with a twelve- and eleven-year-old because they wanted to have a White Christmas.
Antarctica. Copyright: @Caroline Maber
Longer trips tend to attract people who are retired or have more time. US clients are perhaps more inclined to take fly cruises to Antarctica to save travelling time. If they are still working, they have less holidays, but they still want to experience the destination.
For travel companies or individual travel designers who currently do not sell expedition cruising but would like to do so in the future, what would be your advice? Where should they start?
The best thing to do to understand expedition cruising is to try it yourself. Obviously, this may not always be possible if you are only beginning to sell expedition cruising.
Firstly, research expedition cruising destinations, read about the different places, gather some information about the geography and wildlife in the area, watch wildlife programs, learn about different explorers that visited the region. Then, when you are familiar with the destination, learn about different companies and ships that go there. Look at the companies’ websites – most of them have excellent tools to help travel consultants sell their product. Know the key differences between itineraries, expedition cruising brands and the ships. That’s a great starting point.
When the client reaches out to you about their future trip, listen carefully why they want to travel to these places, the reasons they are choosing a particular time of the year or if they want to see a specific wildlife species. It is important to listen and to know the reason your clients are travelling and making that correct match. But if you can get out there and experience it first hand, I think it’s the best thing that travel consultant or travel advisor can do to be able to sell it.
And for expedition cruising companies, what would be your advice when sending travel trade partners onboard their ships to experience the product?
I think offering fam trips is a very good start. By letting travel advisors experience everything onboard, whether these are different activities or dining options, really helps to get the whole picture and selling it to the client. Of course, it would also be great to experience different types and lengths of voyages, but you also need time in the office to make those bookings. The more first-hand experience you acquire throughout the years, the easier it becomes selling it.
What is the most memorable trip you went on onboard an expedition ship? Do you have a favourite expedition cruising destination, which one and why?
I have to say that was probably that first trip to Antarctica. All others were incredible, but that first trip certainly stands out. On our way there, crossing Drake Passage was very smooth. Once we got there, there were days we couldn’t get off the ship due to bad weather, so we built a snowman on the upper deck and attended various lectures. We had a magical day with about thirty humpback whales playing around our zodiacs and it will be in my mind forever. Another thing that really stands out about Antarctica is how remote it is: we didn’t see another ship except Greenpeace, and the only other people we saw were the team in Rothera British scientific base waving at us from the shore. That was it for two weeks, and it was magical, and it felt like if we were on another planet. On our way back we got to experience the full Drake, which was 8-meter waves crashing over the top of the ship. I am glad I’ve got to experience this as it gave me a taste of what the explorers of the yesteryear endured during their crossings and their ships weren’t anywhere near as stable as the ones we travel now.
What do you think makes expedition cruising a unique form of travel?
Local Children in Solomon Islands. Copyright: @Caroline Maber
Expedition cruising often takes you to places that you just can’t reach otherwise and offers a unique way to experience destinations. I often think it isn’t just a holiday, it’s also an education. You are going to remote places, and you are learning about them whilst you are travelling. And for me, going to such places like polar regions or the Galapagos is about learning to protect those very delicate and fragile ecosystems and beautiful places of the world. It is a privilege to be there. I heard this from one of the guides: you have your pre-Antarctica self and post-Antarctica self, and once you have experienced it, you often want to do a little bit more to protect the world and its uniqueness, and ultimately, you leave as a better person.
Thank you, Caroline.
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