Steve Odell, Senior Vice President of International, Regent Seven Seas & Oceania, reflected on the company’s growth from a team of six back in 2015 to nearly 200 today.
“It’s been an incredible journey and those of us who have been here from the very beginning feel very proud,” he told a gathering of colleagues, cruise industry personnel and travel media, who gathered to also open the company’s new Sydney office.
“I think the longevity of the management and the consistency of the management has been a key to our success in this market. It’s been very stable and we’ve managed to grow together and learn together.”
Above: Steve Odell at last night’s function
Looking ahead to the future, Mr Odell said the luxury division of the business was going through a “revolution”, with six new ships being built for the Oceania and RSSC brands by 2035.
“We’re very heavily invested in this region, not only as a source market but as a bucket-list destination.
“There’s been a lot of talk recently about ships leaving these waters and capacity is dropping. That’s not happening in our company and it’s not happening in luxury. There’s no change or reduction happening at NCLH.
“There’s lots more news coming. We will definitely have some more news about Regent’s expansion, so watch out for that. It’s an exciting time for our business and this market is so, so important to us.”
Ben Angell, Vice President & Managing Director APAC, Norwegian Cruise Line, spoke of the huge opportunity in the fly-cruise market.
“I’ve always scratched my head as to why we didn’t talk more about fly/cruise as an industry down in Australia and why we didn’t try and expand what is essentially uncapped growth opportunity for cruise from this part of the world,” he said.
“I’m delighted that many voices have now joined that cause. Now I think we’re literally on the on the cusp of re-examining what cruise can be down here.
“There are huge opportunities, both for domestic and also for fly/cruise, and I think that’s going to be an ongoing topic of conversation, which is phenomenal.”
Mr Angell revealed that Norwegian Spirit would be operating a series of round-trip sailings from Sydney in 2026/2027 for the first time.
“The beautiful thing about that ship is there’s nothing else like her, because she is a perfect size for the demographic that we’re targeting.”
Main image: Ben Angell does the honours, officially opening the new NCLH office
