The judges praised Regent as a “true ambassador for ultra-luxury cruising, offering impressive and creative trade support from an expanded in-house team.” Tell us about the support you offer agents
For us, it’s all about people. Regent Seven Seas Cruises combines a highly personal, UK-based approach with global luxury expertise.
I’ve been here 14 years, and many of my team have been here for 12, 15 or even 20-plus years. So we have trusted people that know the product very, very well, and that empowers them to better take it forward and to know every single little detail within the brand when supporting trade partners.
Regent's long-standing Reservations team includes Clive Jones and Anita Hobdell
Our Southampton-based sales and reservations teams deliver a consultative, relationship-led service, supporting agents throughout the booking journey. We have team members in our Reservations team who have immense longevity with Regent, such as Clive and Marta, who have been in the team for 15-20 years. It's experience agents can tap into and use.
This is underpinned by bespoke luxury training and trade support, alongside tools like Regent Connect, online training and in-person agent training and trade communications helping agents confidently sell at the top end. We have a dedicated, closed Facebook group, and agents can find out more about our offering at rssc.com/agent.
Regent does the fundamentals, but we have to go above and beyond that. Backed by the scale of the Luxury Group (Regent and Oceania), Regent offers global insight with local expertise, and a fleet that delivers exceptional breadth of itinerary choice – giving guests greater flexibility and access to destinations worldwide.
And we're working on other exciting projects too. For example, we have the Global Hotel Alliance Collection partnership, where we combine fabulous hotels with cruises, to help our travel partners take an off-the-shelf solution they can go and sell to high-net-worth individuals. And we have all those other partnerships that trade partners will have heard about in the past, whether it be Aston Martin or Fabergé.
The judges also praised your largest-ever ship visit programme last year. Why are agents so important to Regent’s success?
We have a dual strategy. In the next 10 years we have four brand-new ships coming in – a new class of ship. This allows us to work strategically with partners who can deliver that volume. We’re actively looking for partners who have the clients to help us build this volume. Equally, we are also searching for those ‘hidden gem’ partners who have high-net-worth, top suite, luxury bookers.
The Penthouse Suite living room on Seven Seas Grandeur
For example, we recently had a client book a Regent Suite through a small, independent travel agency. The guest has since travelled, and while they were onboard they went on to book a much longer voyage. And that automatically goes straight back to the travel advisor in order to give them their commission. These are high margin opportunities, with the right client, simple booking process and the even simpler follow-up booking going back to the agent. It’s what we do.
Your ultra-luxury offering is all-inclusive – tell us what’s included
So the specialty restaurants are included, along with 24-hour in-suite dining and premium drinks as well.
All WiFi, gratuities, taxes and even laundry are included. That’s the whole concept of the product itself, guests do not need to budget for extras once onboard.
The American steakhouse Prime 7, onboard Seven Seas Splendor
Excursions are also included, and that's one of our key selling points. I imagine we have more people from our little ships enjoying excursions and exploring the ports than some of the big ships do, because they're charging for it. We have local tours where they can go shopping with a chef, and they can go to local towns or farms and villages, and meet local people. So it really gets you behind the tourist facade, and that's what Regent helps facilitate.
And how can agents use this proposition when discussing Regent with their clients?
It’s about focusing on value over price. While our headline fare may initially appear higher, the total holiday cost is often comparable – or better – once inclusions are considered. This reframes the conversation around value, quality, and peace of mind.
Agents can also talk about the personalised service and curated experiences that elevate the overall holiday value.
Our spacious ships have no more than 411 suites and a crew-to-guest ratio of nearly one-to-one. When you're in a port, you're going to walk on and off with no problem whatsoever. And you’re going to go to ports where only the smaller ships can go.
Regent boasts a crew-to-guest ratio of nearly one-to-one
If you want the ultimate, you go to Regent. It’s as simple as that. There isn't a more inclusive luxury offering at sea, and one that provides what we do. It's a phenomenal product.
And what are the benefits of working with Regent for agents?
We want to make selling ultra-luxury straightforward, so there are no bolt-on packages or upgrades for agents to have to manage. Our ‘all-inclusive' proposition makes it easy for trade partners to sell and articulate the value it offers. When agents understand this and they can explain it with confidence to their clients, they'll sell Regent, and it's a win-win.
They earn high margins from the whole amount, as they are earning commission on all the inclusions that would normally be bought onboard the ship with other lines. If you’re making higher value bookings, the margin you retain because of the size of the booking, is material. It’s cash that pays your mortgage, not %.
Agents can leverage the luxury expertise and knowledge from the whole Regent team, a team who have been purely focused on ultra-luxury for 35 years, and have the insight to go with it.
The spa lounge area onboard Seven Seas Grandeur
And finally, as an agent, you can be reassured that our product is going to absolutely deliver and very likely return. We’re very trade-friendly and will never undercut any travel partner price.
The judges also praised “the huge investment being made in Regent’s portfolio". What are the highlights agents need to have on their radar?
It's a game-changing time for us at the moment. We have four Prestige class ships coming, starting this December, and every two to three years after that. Inside, we have new restaurant concepts, such as Azure Mediterranean restaurant.
And these ships are 40% larger but carry only 10% more guests, so there’s even more space. The Prestige Skyview suite is 9,000-square-feet of ultra-luxury inclusivity – that’s a real highlight in there.
So, other cruise lines may claim to be luxury, but we start where others finish, while also moving past them at the same time. With Regent your clients will enjoy a truly uber-luxury offering, and once they've sailed with us once, we are confident they'll book again.
