Cruises International gets even more trade focused

IN AN effort to be more
present, relevant and
available to the trade,
Cruises International
has made structural and
operational changes to its
team.
Thaybz Khan, brand
manager – Contemporary
Portfolio, says the GSA
wanted to take a more
focused approach in
engaging with the trade by
assigning specific people
to function as a conduit
between the market and
Cruises International.
To do this, Cruises
International changed its
team structure to allow its
brand managers to focus
more on marketing and
its sales team to focus on
greater engagement with
the trade to grow sales.
If agents need any
assistance, their ‘goto
people’ are Nirosha
Sidat, senior sales and
operations manager and
Tracey Krog, business
development manager,
says Thaybz.
Nirosha is responsible
for the internal and
external sales teams
as well as operations at
Cruises. Tracey heads up
external sales.
With the appointment
of Amy Reynolds as
new brand manager
– Luxury Portfolio,
Cruises International
has also streamlined its
operations. Thaybz’s title
has also changed from
product manager to brand
manager. Although still
available to the trade, the
brand managers’ main
focus is to market the
nine international brands
the GSA represents.
“We wanted to
ensure that the right
message for each
brand is in the market
at the right time,” says
Thaybz. She manages
the Royal Caribbean,
Celebrity Cruises,
Azamara Club Cruises
and AmaWaterways
brands, whereas Amy is
responsible for Seabourn,
Crystal Cruises, Oceania
Cruises, Seadream Yacht
Club and Windstar Cruises
brands.
George Agyropoulos’s
role and function as ceo
of the company remains
the same.
“Although these changes
are very recent, the
initial feedback we have
received from our trade
partners is very positive,”
says Thaybz. “We want to
support them so that they
can take full advantage
of all the benefits selling
cruises offers them and
their customers.
“We also want to
increase their propensity
to buy a cruise and, most
importantly, encourage
them to buy their cruise
from a local travel agent
and not an OTA.