Power cruising

Princess Cruises, in the 1970s handed the cruise business a life line when its signature ship at the time, the “Love Boat,” starred in a television series, winning the hearts of vacationers and burning a hole in the pockets of those yearning for something different.

More than 30 years later, Princess, one of the largest vacation companies in the world, is reconfiguring its Caribbean strategy by putting Trinidad and Tobago on its itinerary. The “Sea Princess,” one of the smaller of the Princess fleet, has already commenced sailing into Trinidad and has docked in Port-of-Spain since the year began.

But TT is more than just another destination for the premier cruise line, a subsidiary of Carnival, Princess, which has made a name for itself in the upscale cruise market, is using its brand name and marketing savvy to try and lure TT vacationers who are sitting on the fence into its plush lounge.

“They are looking at TT as a port of call,” said Joanne Johnson of Princess’ intentions, one of the company’s agent representatives based at Lazzari and Sampson in Port-of-Spain, the general service agency (GSA) that represents not only Princess Cruises but Caribbean Star, United Airlines, Avior Airlines, Marriott Hotels International and Hertz Car Rental.

GSA companies, like Lazarri and Sampson, represent those that do not have a base in Trinidad.

Princess, said Johnson, wants to convert those now sitting on the fence that a cruise must be now considered when planning any vacation. The Caribbean market is one both Princess and Royal Caribbean are keeping their eyes on as both see the region as profit centres. Just to give an idea, both companies recently launched massive floating giants — the “Crown Princess” from Princess and “Freedom of the Seas” from Royal Caribbean.

So confident are Affonso and Johnson of Princess’ potential that they have already worked out a cruise package deal with RBTT for their passengers. “RBTT likes the idea and we convinced them that there was a market for this,” said Johnson.

Both agent representatives acknowledge that Princess has not been aggressive as other cruise lines in marketing and advertising but both say that this can easily change, once the TT stop works as planned.

From its modest beginnings in 1965 with a single ship cruising to Mexico, Princess has grown to become one of the premiere cruise lines in the world. “Today, its fleet carries more than a million passengers each year to more worldwide destinations than any other major line,” the company’s web site said. The line sails to all seven continents and calls at nearly 260 ports around the world.

Johnson’s colleague, Nina Affonso, also a GSA representative, explained that Princess’ competitors, Royal Caribbean and Carnival, both make stops at Barbados but they move on, leaving TT out of the loop.

The new strategy, they said, would be to add TT to the list of countries the cruise liner visits along the route, which starts in Ft Lauderdale.

She explained that while TT is on the list, passengers still have to take a flight to the US city to take the 14-day cruise that zig-zags its way through the Caribbean. The first stop is the Princess Cays, then to Tortola, St Marteen, St Lucia, Barbados, St Vincent, Trinidad, Bonair, Aruba and back to Miami. What about boarding in Trinidad? Forget it, but boarding can be done in New York and Puerto Rico and Fort Lauderdale.

According to Johnson, while passengers can book out of TT, Princess thinks that given its foray in the TT market, there might not be enough volume to warrant such a move yet.

But the feeling on the ground is that Princess will consider this, but only if Trinidad proves lucrative.

But Trinidad, unlike its other Caribbean neighbours, still has to tweak a lot of its tourism portfolio before it gets its formula right. With a gritty and grimy city staring at you from your balcony, a massive waterfront project under construction and with hardly any duty-free shopping in Port-of-Spain, Princess knows it has its work cut our for it.

But outside of TT, the cruise line is well-known, the agents said, noting that the name is well-known across the region.

The trump card though, said the agents, is that TT is the richest island in the Caribbean and given our penchant for travel, a cruise is within the reach of most people here.

Princess, they admit, is considered as being in the high end of the cruise market but they quickly dismiss this. “From the type of holidays we have booked, Trinidadians can afford it,” said Affonso, noting that people here still think that a cruise is unaffordable.

Johnson said that Princess wants to build an awareness among Trinidadians that cruises can be considered an alternative vacation. “We want to try and encourage people to take a cruise,” she said in an interview. They are both convinced that once one goes on a cruise, there is no going back.

She explained that they want to shatter the perception that a cruise is going to put you in debt or leave a dent in your pocket.

One big bonus, they said, is that it is a lot less hassle than taking a trip to another Caribbean island or any other place for that matter.

For one thing, passengers are picked up and dropped off at the terminal and there are no lines to get on board the ship. Once there, nothing is left to chance.

“It’s like clockwork,” said Johnson.

“We think we have found the correct niche,” added Affonso. “We know our market. We just go out and do what we have to do.”