By his own admission, P&O Cruises’ Rob Scott is “a glass half full” kind of person, but even he concedes the prospect just over 12 months ago of having to fill an extra 40% fleet capacity was a daunting one.
Scott: ‘We would never have anticipated being booked so well for 2024, and for future years’
One year on, and Scott is “pleasantly surprised” with how the line’s latest ship, Arvia, and its sister vessel, Iona, have performed, and how agents have driven the higher booking volumes required.
This is despite Arvia launching under something of a cloud after some passengers reported long queues and lost dinner reservations during its two-week debut voyage last December. It was far from the start to an exciting new chapter P&O Cruises had hoped for.
“Any business with a 40% capacity increase over a 12- to 18-month period has to push hard to secure that volume,” P&O Cruises vice-president brand, marketing and sales Scott tells TTG. “Fortunately, I’m a glass half full kind of person – we would never have anticipated being booked so well for 2024, and for future years.”
