Don't Miss The Boat!
Selling Small Ship Cruising Is Well Worth It

by Vanessa Lee

I have received a lot of interest about my
article
on my recent sailing aboard Wind
Surf, Windstar's 310 guest sailing vessel
which is one of my all-time favourite ships. So I thought I would expand a
little about the onboard dining experience and why so many industry folk
really do love small-ship cruising but aren't selling
these special experiences to their clients.

And it is a mystery to me in that regard: many small ship
lines, along with river cruise companies are suffering a little bit as it
really is an odd time in the industry. I wish I had a crystal ball and could
figure out what is going on as the summer of 2015 seems to have been swept into the doldrums. And the big boys aren't having
the best time either but they seem to be able to manage to get enough
last-minute business to boost guest boardings and
ensure they get the required onboard revenue.

I have voiced a few
reasons for this slight drop, others have their opinions but no-one seems quite
able to pin it down. Clearly the CAD taking
a dive didn't help, and maybe Viking Star
with its 1,000 guests every 2 weeks or so has poached some people from river
and niche. But there are still some missing
pieces to this puzzle. Turkey has sadly dropped off
many wish lists resulting
in weaker Eastern Med demand.

These issues are often cyclical and as long as we are
all doing what we can as much as we can, we will still drive cruisers to book –
maybe not right now but likely in a few months or for
sailings in 2016 (which does actually
seem to be trending well).

Having been in this biz for more than 36 years, I suspect I
have pretty much seen it all. But, what I
still don't always understand is that so
many “real people" frequently approach me to ask about small ship cruising. They tell me they
want to do it; they like the sound of it, but they are not being offered such trips.
River is different as there has been such a huge wave towards river people don't seem to need much of a push in that
direction.

Anyway I would love to hear your thoughts about what
you feel is going on in the industry right now, how your clients are reacting
and where you are seeing some successes or indeed if you also have some
puzzlement at what is, or is not selling.

Back to the Wind Surf and my fabulous cruise earlier this
month.

This ship has 3 dining venues for dinner which is one of its
key features for me. The main dining room, AmphorA has a variety of table sizes to accommodate couples or small groups of new found
friends who wish to dine together. The menu changes nightly and it is a
very pretty room.

However much as I enjoy it, most of the time I like to dine
outside on this ship so Candles on the top deck by the Verandah restaurant is a
hot spot. The menu at Candles is naturally limited and has lots of seafood,
steaks etc and a few salads and soups. However,
it is very good and you can get all sorts of sauces for your steak or chop. The
service is friendly, informal but still excellent and on a lovely evening
you can enjoy the warm breeze and the sounds of the ocean as you sit,
under cover, on deck. Candles does require reservations, ideally at the
beginning of the cruise and the ship limits how many times you can reserve (same at nearby Stella Bistro, the alternative restaurant). However if you show up around 8 or 8.30 and
they have tables, they will seat you. And
this does happen and it usually works.

Stella is a lovely French Bistro with a fixed menu but it is
very, very good. Lobster, rack of lamb, lobster bisque
and French onion soup are staples on this menu and the staff here are
also outstanding.

The other great thing about Windstar is their outdoor
barbecue party on one night each cruise. Everyone sits outside, the chefs cook
all manner of tasty things, the band plays, guests dance and misbehave and then
the crew entertains. A fabulous time for all - and suitably casual of course –
in the style of Windstar.