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Tours - Thinking Outside The Box
By Darius Mehta, Director Land Programs - Regent Seven Seas Cruises
Regent Seven Seas Cruises, as the
No. 1 luxury cruise line, has really
put a focus on how we present the
port to our guests who yearly are
becoming more learned and more
discerning. Looking for that
unique experience is the goal of
most luxury cruise guests these days. We have striven hard to
re-educate the ground operators to think out of the box, and
in some cases, we have made changes from a cruise-specific
operator to incentive and FIT operations.
The most important thing, though, is not to just copy what
someone else is doing. Think unique, think different.
The starting point should be: What is unique about your
destination Brainstorm this idea and however bizarre or
outlandish some of the ideas may be, filter these down to
three or four workable excursions.
Everyone is doing cooking classes now, for example.
Everyone is doing visits with a local family. What we do is a
cooking class and a family with a difference. The family is
not your everyday household. It is the family of a government
minister in Peru, and he has knowledge of local politics
and the economic trends of his country that our intelligent,
well-educated guests want to hear. The cuisine is local and
guided by the chef of one of the best restaurants in town. Our
sommelier accompanies the group and provides suitable
wines of the region.
Would you expect to go Formula One racing in the Middle
East Well, you can in Bahrain, a tiny island principality where
we offer the opportunity to learn about the sport and participate
in a race. Everyone has heard about flying Mig jets in Russia,
but who goes behind the scenes at the famous Hermitage and
sees work in the restoration rooms where ancient wall frescoes
are being pieced together by experts who share their passion
for saving great masterpieces.
Another example of a common excursion going unique is a
visit to the famous Terracotta Warriors in Xian, China. Every
cruise line offers the regular tour. What we do is actually take
a select group into the trenches, face to face with these
ancient masterpieces.
More and more, with some application and determination
from ground operators, local museums and attractions can be
encouraged to open their doors for behind-the-scenes access.
All these unique experiences can be sold at a premium and
almost guarantee guest satisfaction, and though they may be
for a select few, these unique experiences cast a glow over
the whole program, enhancing everyone’s perception of the
programs offered.
28 Caribbean Cruising Third Quarter 2007