Silversea Targets Young Affluence, First-Time Cruisers

Silversea Cruises says it’s seeing year-over-year growth of about 10 percent in guests who have never previously sailed with the line. Currently, 54 percent of all guests are new to Silversea, the largest percentage the line has ever achieved, it says.

“We are aggressively targeting new-to-Silversea and first-time cruisers by going after a larger share of the lucrative baby-boomer market,” says David Morris, Silversea’s executive vice president of worldwide sales and marketing.

“We’re encouraging our travel agency partners to check their preconceptions at the door. Younger people have the money and time to travel, and can appreciate the exceptional value a luxury cruise offers when compared to land-based vacations. Our sales force has made great strides in showing our retail travel partners how to tap the client base of upscale hotels like Ritz-Carlton and Four Seasons, and the hard work has paid off, he went on to say.

Much of Silversea’s sales efforts are being directed toward Canada and emerging luxury markets such as Mexico and Brazil, comments Marilyn Conroy, Silversea’s senior vice president of sales and marketing for the Americas.