Amadeus claims 75% rise in cruise bookings
Amadeus has claimed a 75% year-on-year rise in UK cruise bookings after signing 30 new customers since November.
The GDS now distributes cruises to 486 locations and has seen a 27% increase in Amadeus Cruise bookings in the January peak against the same month last year.
Globally, the UK accounts for 30% of all bookings made through Amadeus Cruise Reservations, according to figures from the GDS.
Oceania Cruises is the latest company to distribute via Amadeus in the UK, bringing the number of cruise lines available up to 15.
Amadeus UK recently released the latest Amadeus Cruise Reservations software update – version 3.8 – deployed automatically to all UK users.
A statement said: “Version 3.8 has been designed to further enhance the cruise booking workflow based on local and international user-group feedback along with input from cruise line providers.”
Amadeus UK managing director Stephane Durand said: “The outstanding success of Amadeus Cruise Reservations in the UK is largely a result of agents recognising the revenue potential of diversifying their sales to include more non-air bookings.
“After identifying the potential, agents naturally wanted to use the easiest and most cost-effective booking method, which is why Amadeus Cruise Reservations beats telephone and viewdata bookings hands down.
“Our graphical cruise booking tool – the first of its type – was introduced five years ago. Since then, Amadeus has worked closely with UK cruise specialists, travel agents and cruise providers to ensure the application meets current requirements.”
Cruise lines available through Amadeus Cruise in the UK include: Carnival Cruise Lines, Celebrity Cruises, Costa Cruises, Cunard Line, EasyCruise (via AgentNet portal), Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, Norwegian Cruise Line, Ocean Village, Oceania Cruises, P&O Cruises, Princess Cruises, Royal Caribbean, Swan Hellenic, The Yachts of Seabourn and Oceania Cruises.
Report by Phil Davies
Phil Davies
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