Cruise Corner

Co-host Will Payne sits down with Scenic and Emerald Cruises head of sales Jonathan Davies to discuss the company’s standout year, the power of product diversification, and why travel agents remain central to the brand’s success story. Fresh from a stellar 12 months that saw Scenic report a 35 per cent year-on-year rise in trade sales, Davies reflects on his journey since stepping into the role in 2023. He also reveals how the brand’s growing river and ocean portfolios – showcased perfectly when Scenic Gem met Scenic Eclipse in Honfleur – continue to offer agents unique opportunities to sell across sectors.

Juggling parenting with running the sales operation of one of the world's biggest cruise lines isn't for everyone. But for Princess Cruises' UK and Ireland sales director Hayley Moore, Teams meetings and quarterly reports go hand in hand with Thomas the Tank Engine and tea parties

In this week's episode of the Cruise Corner, co-host Will Payne sits down with Moore to discuss the challenges of balancing the two roles, and her advice for her fellow parents in the cruise industry. We also take a look back at the special Princess Cruises edition of Cruise Trade News February, and what the line has in store for its travel agent partners in the coming months amid the launch of Star Princess.

Join us live from the 2025 Cruise Summit, as hosts Jack Carter and Will Payne catch up with speakers and delegates to get the inside scoop on this year's key takeaways. The annual event delved into the importance of the "critical" mature market to the future of cruise, how podcasts can be utilised as an effective marketing tool and why the likes of TikTok and Meta are crucial to enticing new customers. We also welcome our new co-host, Rashmi Narayan, who talks to HX's (Hurtigruten Expeditions) Mark Walter about the importance of knowing your customer to ensure repeat bookings and higher conversions. 

After two decades at Carnival House, which came to an end following the abrupt closure of Carnival Cruise Line’s UK office, Luke Smith finds himself at the beginning of a new adventure.

“It was a really great period of my life and I was lucky to work with people I consider family,” he says.

The new VP sales UK & EMEA for Crystal sits down with Cruise Corner co-host Jack Carter to discuss leadership, how agents can find value in the ultra-luxury market and his excitement to work for a cruise line with a start-up culture.

"The UK’s biggest cruise event” is back and bigger than ever (no, really). More than 3,000 agents have signed up for the CLIA Cruise Week campaign, which sees the industry come together for seven days of activations and events, all designed to champion cruise and drive post-summer bookings.

A variety of promotional activities, including customer-facing events, internal training, ship visits and social media campaigns will combine to support the largest-ever coordinated cross-agent cruise gathering in Cruise Week history.

Cruise Corner co-host Jack Carter sits down with Andy Harmer, managing director of CLIA UK & Ireland, and Lynn Narraway, Seabourn's VP of UK & EMEA, to find out what agents can expect from this year’s event and why it’s never been more important to shout about cruise.

From scoring in the FA Cup on national television to leading the line for HX’s global sales operation, Nathaniel Sherborne’s career has had more twists and turns than prime Lionel Messi. Nathaniel sits down with Cruise Corner co-host Jack Carter to explore how being a leader in the changing room enabled him to flourish in a sales environment, before revealing how HX is attempting to make the expedition product less ‘scary’ for the wider travel trade.

When Anthony Daniels took the helm of Ponant’s UK & Ireland operations just over a year ago, he was tasked with making waves in the luxury expedition market. Fifteen months on, the French line has boosted its UK market share and is on the brink of securing its own ATOL licence – but Daniels is far from finished. With both luxury and expedition cruising among the industry’s fastest-growing sectors, Ponant’s position is enviable.

This week’s Cruise Corner Podcast is a family affair as Daniels sits down with Cruise Trade News editor (and son) Will Payne to reveal how he plans to take the brand to even greater heights. The conversation also dives into Daniels’ career journey, his advice for up-and-coming cruise professionals, and what’s next for Ponant in the months ahead. 

With its growing fleet of state-of-the-art ships and ability to transport travellers to furthest reaches of the globe, the expedition sector is perfectly poised to help agents attract a new profile of client.

In this special episode of the Cruise Corner, recorded in Svalbard at the CLIA Expedition Showcase last month, the association’s UK and Ireland managing director Andy Harmer OBE provides a closer look at this market segment, providing tips on how the trade can capitalise on this fast-evolving sector.

Harmer also reflects on CLIA’s first-ever overseas showcase, which comprised business sessions, agent speed dating and ship visits with six operators, before casting his eye to the year ahead as CLIA prepares for the 2025 Cruise Week in September and the CLIA Winter Ball in December. 

As AI becomes more prevalent, companies are racing to understand how it can give them a strategic advantage over their competitors, but what ethical quandaries does it raise for marketers?

In the third and final instalment of our interview series with Force24 CEO Adam Oldfield, we cast our gaze to the ever-evolving AI landscape, predicting how it will influence the ways cruise lines and travel agents communicate with consumers.

We’re also joined by Cruise Trade News’ head of digital Richard Seal who examines how AI and automation can streamline the role of a marketer, giving them more time to focus on the work that really matters.

It’s been four months since Michelle Daniels was unveiled as VIVA Cruises’ new UK country manager, a role that came with clear remit: to grow the river line’s market share in the market from 3% to 10%.

Daniels, who has previously held roles with A-Rosa River Cruises as sales director and Light Blue travel as commercial director, wasted no time in spearheading VIVA’s expansion.

Fuelled by positive engagement at the CLIA RiverView Conference in Budapest in March, the launch of VIVA Enjoy on the Rhine and plans to launch a new ship on the Seine next year, Daniels is enthused by the trade’s reaction.

Daniels sits down with Cruise Corner host Jack Carter to explore how the trade will help the line achieve its ambitious growth targets while examining how unexpected demographic shifts are opening up a new line of business for the sector.