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Cruise & Maritime Voyages (CMV) recently celebrated Valentine’s Day with a survey highlighting why love and cruising go hand in hand.

The survey reflected a strong love of using travel agents, with the majority of respondents preferring to utilise an expert to book their cruises. CMV also expressed its love for travel agents around Valentine’s Day, hand-delivering heart-shaped cookie gifts to advisors around Australia.

The Valentine’s Day survey of more than 1,000 cruise enthusiasts revealed that:

When it comes to love and cruising…

  • 67% of respondents travel with a spouse, partner or significant other (across all holidays).
  • Almost one in five guests have celebrated a milestone/special occasion on board with CMV, with 30% of these being a wedding anniversary.
  • 42% have travelled on ten or more cruises, reinforcing Australia’s love affair with cruising.
  • 87% of respondents said they loved cruising because they only had to unpack once, and 85% indicated it was also because everything was taken care of for them.
  • Regarding the top motivators for booking with Cruise & Maritime Voyages, 71% of respondents selected “value for money” and 67% love that CMV crew members are “warm and friendly”.
  • The most romantic moments guests had witnessed on board ranged from grand displays, such as weddings and commitment ceremonies, to the little things like couples holding hands or slow dancing in the evenings.

When it comes to loving your travel agent…

  • Travel agents were the most preferred way to book among respondents.
  • 40% of respondents were loyal to their agent while 21% shopped around.
  • The top factors for using an agent were: having everything taken care of (e.g flights, hotels, transfers); being able to discuss options with a travel expert; and being taken care of if something didn’t go as planned.

Cruising really can be a life-long love for some travellers, with one loyal Australian CMV guest kicking this year off by completing ten back-to-back voyages.

 Mr Kevin McCann of Western Australia will have completed 37 cruises with CMV by the end of this season.

Dubbed the ‘back-to-back champion’ by the Cruise & Maritime Voyages team, Mr McCann undoubtedly loves cruising and has just returned from completing ten consecutive cruises with Astor this season (2018/19) over seven weeks.

This follows five back-to-back sailings on Astor in 2017/18. By the end of the 2019/20 season, he will have spent more than a year on board Cruise & Maritime Voyages ships.

As a solo traveller, Mr McCann said he enjoys the interaction with staff. “I like the intimate nature of the sailings and having contact with the entertainers, crew and Captain – even the maintenance people are friendly and approachable.”

When it comes to on-board romance, Mr McCann won’t divulge much except to say, “I have had fun on the ship.”

The avid sailor said he books with RAC Travel. “I have a really good agent and it’s all very easy. Before I went on my last cruise my agent contacted me to say theVasco da Gama brochures had been released so I could get in pretty early.”

(Mr McCann has booked eight Vasco da Gama cruises in 2019/20, including Christmas and New Year’s Eve.)

Ms Marilyn Clymo of Victoria will have completed 14 cruises with CMV by the end of this season.

Ms Clymo has sailed with CMV’s Astor and Marco Polo for more than 200 nights overall, after first trying the cruise line in 2014.

“I’d sailed with Marco Polo when it was known as a different ship and I just had to renew my acquaintance with her when she joined CMV,” recalls Ms Clymo.

“I’ve been around the UK twice with Cruise & Maritime Voyages; I’ve sailed up the Seine, and have been to Norway, the Baltics, Iceland and Canada. In 2017, I did the northbound cruise on board Astor from Fremantle to London and last year travelled on the southbound voyage [from London to Adelaide].”

Also a solo traveller, Ms Clymo said cruising made up around 99% of her holidays with approximately three quarters of her cruise travel being international.

In terms of on-board romance, Ms Clymo says she’s seen it “but that’s as far as I’ll go!”.

Other cruise research also shows the love…

According to Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), the cruise industry is projected to continue growth throughout 2019 with an estimated 30 million travellers expected to cruise, up 6% from 28.2 million in 2018 (2019 State of the Cruise Industry Outlook by The Numbers).

Locally, a report compiled for Australian Cruise Association in March 2018 estimated 1.633 million Australians would take a cruise in the 2017-2018 financial year, a year-on-year growth rate of between 14-18% (Cruise Industry Report, B Hive) .