FRESH off opening a local office, Ambassador Cruise Line’s inaugural local employee, Head of Sales & Marketing Dean Brazier, has told travelBulletin the brand may consider committing a ship to Australia.
Ambassador recently announced its second ship Ambience will be cruising to Australia in 2023-2024, and Brazier said the line is in the market for expansion opportunities, including a third vessel.
Depending on the Australian market’s performance, the potential third ship could be tabbed for local cruising.
“They are certainly looking to grow the fleet, and if and when they are able to do that…I wouldn’t say it’s a definite, but I’d say this is a market that they would be seriously looking at,” he said.
“The opening of this office is kind of a key part of that because if we can start to grow the business through here, start to see some really good sales coming in, then I can look to open up a [larger] office, and then we’re in a better position because we’re contributing to the overall income for the company.
“It’ll make it an easier decision to say, ‘third ship, let’s sail it to Australia’,” he said.
The opening of Ambassador’s Australian office is the second step to introducing the brand to the local market, with the cruise line now looking to partner with wholesalers and tour operators.
Brazier said it is hoped strong trade partners will help sell Ambience’s sojourn Down Under, in particular her “line voyage”, from London to Sydney or vice versa.
“[It’s] a really interesting itinerary because it goes to Melbourne, Adelaide, Fremantle, Singapore, Cape Town, over to South America, Rio and then it goes up to the UK, so an interesting cruise both out and back,” he said.
Ambience’s inaugural arrival into Australia will be marked by trade promotions, which will see members of the cruise sector able to board her for a close-up of Ambassador’s cruise offering.
