FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
ABOUT SELLING SMALL SHIPS
WHAT ARE THE MAJOR SELLING POINTS OF CRUISING ON A SMALL SHIP?
It’s a different kind of sell – you aren’t selling a floor show or gambling or glamour or glitz. You sell the uniqueness, the camaraderie, the intimacy, the ability to go to out-of-the-way places and really get to know the people and culture of the area visited. Your client can be comfortable while visiting some of the world’s most inaccessible and fascinating places.
Some things are the same with small ships as with big ships. Just as in big ships, the small ship gives you a "home away from home". You unpack once and still see many locations. You don’t have to drive from place to place, or change hotels, or worry about reservations or keeping a schedule. You just relax and wake up in a new location the next day without having had any hassle to get there.
But on a small ship you come back to that same security, comfortable clean stateroom, hot shower, well-prepared meal and good company as you find on a big ship, but you will have been able to explore more remote and sometimes even rugged environments by day. Small ships are friendly places, and there is a sense of camaraderie, usually with sharing the day’s experience on the top deck at the end of the day, getting to know fellow passengers, making new friends. In fact, it is a common experience on small ships for passengers to exchange names, addresses, and emails and keep in touch after the cruise. And important for men – they may never have to wear a tie!
AREN’T ALL SHIPS BASICALLY THE SAME?
Ships come in all shapes and sizes. Even "small ships" can have great variation. They may have only a few passengers, more like a private yacht, or several hundred passengers.
Ships can be diesel-powered, have paddlewheels, or be sailing ships. Some have bow ramps that let you walk directly onto a beach, others have a diving platform/sports deck at the stern from which, when at anchor, you can scuba, water ski, windsurf, swim, paddle a kayak or sail a sunfish.
There are river boats that go along the Danube or Rhine, the Volga in Russia, the remote jungle tributaries of the Amazon, the Yangtze, the Nile, the Snake River in Oregon, or up and down the Mississippi and the Ohio. There are icebreakers that can slice through ice in the Antarctic and Arctic. There are barges in Europe, and freighters, and even boats that can you drive yourself.
WHAT IS CRUISING ON A SMALL SHIP LIKE?
A small ship is part cruise ship and part private yacht. You have many of the advantages of cruising, but you can go to remote locations and out-of-the-way ports where big ships can’t go. Many have a fleet of zodiacs for quick access to coves and beaches.
Typically, there will no games, few announcements, no assigned dining room seating. Instead of bingo, you have the opportunity to visit the bridge at any time and stand at the helmstation, or on a very small ship perhaps take the helm yourself. Instead of a cruise director, you have historians, naturalist guides and other experts who know the area who give talks and slide shows and join you at dinner. There may be a best-selling author or a wildlife photographer. Sometimes there is a casino, more likely not. Sometimes there is a piano bar or a band and a dance floor, but just as often there is a local band brought on board for dancing on the aft deck. Instead of spending much time inside the ship, you spend most time outside at destinations or on deck looking at the scenery. On some ships passengers dress up for dinner occasionally or all the time, on others not at all.
Usually there is focus on learning about the environment, people and cultures of the area, with lectures by naturalists and historians, wildlife excursions with guides and a library with books and videos on the destinations. You might be learning about ancient roots of civilization while viewing Mayan ruins or archeological sites in the Greek Islands or you might be getting close to nature while watching the courting dances of blue-footed boobies in the Galapagos, being inches away from sea lions belching and belly-flopping on the beach, or feeding bananas to a lemur on your shoulder in the Seychelles. Because there are fewer people, you have the opportunity to meet with speakers in informal conversations. The lectures, the artworks, the closeness to the environment all provide a profound sense of place to the destinations. Because of their turn-on-a-dime maneuverability the small ships can get into secluded coves and remote places inaccessible to bigger ships, they can go up rivers to where they are just navigable, and visit secluded places that can be reached only by water.
Because of the small number of passengers, the itinerary can be flexible. You can stay for the evening for a local festival, stop to watch a whale, or launch the zodiacs in minutes if there is something special to see.
WHAT ABOUT BEING BORED OR FEELING CONFINED?
People who haven’t cruised or who haven’t cruised on small ships sometimes are afraid that they might be bored. On some small sailing ships there are few shore excursions, it is the experience of sailing that is most important so you indeed could spend time just reading a book or talking to people. It is important to help your clients pick the right cruise for them. Some people want nothing more than to lie in the sun on the aft deck and read novels all week. Others want to hike, snorkel, dance, wander through towns, or get up at dawn for birdwatching. On one vessel there may be more things to do than a person has time for. On other really small ships being confined could be a real problem. It is important to understand what your client needs. Don’t sell a small ship to a big ship cruiser. Don’t put a client on a 10 person schooner in Maine if they want a Broadway show or group shore excursions or hiking in the woods. It all comes down to the experience the client is looking for.
DON’T YOU HAVE TO BE RICH TO CRUISE IN A SMALL SHIP?
No. You can assure your clients that you don’t have to be a millionaire to vacation like one. Some of the small ships are expensive, such as the luxury ships with spas and all-day caviar, but others are casual and inexpensive, especially if you find off-season specials for your clients. To keep up on the latest specials, check our Deals & Discount section each month. And, to get the best prices for your clients, always ask them if they are over age 65, are on a honeymoon, celebrating a birthday or anniversary or are past passengers of a cruise line; and when you check with a cruise company on fares and availability, see if these will get them a price reduction or other benefit. It will show the client your thoroughness and fare reductions or cabin upgrades will make you a hero.
WHAT ARE THE BEST AGES TO SELL?
Passengers on small ships are all ages. On some cruises physical condition is important, but on most of the cruises you have a choice of whether to take easy strolls or difficult hikes, do whitewater rafting or leisurely paddle a canoe in a quiet cove, dive a reef or be lazy under a palm tree on a secluded beach. However, on many small ships there is a chance that there will be some wet landings from a zodiac or tender directly onto a beach so you should be agile enough to handle that.
CAN I SELL TO SINGLES?
Singles often go on small ships. In fact, the camaraderie of the small number of passengers makes it easy to make friends. Some small ships have cabins for singles with no single supplement, a wonderful selling point. More important than age or single versus couple is the state of mind. The people who cruise usually have a spirit of adventure; they are curious about the world and ready for the next adventure around the bend.
WHAT ABOUT FAMILIES?
Small ship cruises are good for family travel too. Some have special activities for kids, but even if they don’t, there are plenty of physical things to do so that boredom is not a problem. A ship is a secure environment where children can enjoy their experience with their parents or be safe doing things without them. A small ship cruise gives kids a real-life way to appreciate the environment and relate to different cultures. Thousands of years of history can come to life for them in visits to historic ports.
HOW ABOUT ACCOMMODATIONS?
On some expedition type cruises, accommodations can be basic, with a shower that gets the entire bathroom wet and a rack on the wall for clothes instead of a closet. Read descriptions carefully on the very small ships. But usually you will be able to hike through rainforests, swim, or sightsee all day, then come back to a fine cabin, a hot shower, and an excellent dinner with wine. On some ships you may have a VCR, cd, radio or phone in your cabin., or even an internet connection. Some small ships have hot tubs and pools, but most small ships do not. Some vessels have a masseuse, some have a sauna and some have elaborate spa facilities, but brochures sometimes don’t keep up with changes so be sure to check if this is important to your client.
You get friendly service and personal attention on almost any small ship. If you want to really be decadently spoiled, you can try the white-glove treatment of the luxury ships. Some of them have private verandahs, marble baths, terry robes, personalized stationery, and champagne and caviar at any time of day or night. And some have full spas.
WHERE CAN YOU GO ON A SMALL SHIP?
You can go all over the world. You can cruise the inlets of Alaska or among remote Canadian islands watching eagles ride updrafts and whales breaching, or snorkel in turquoise waters in the Bahamas and the Caribbean, visit ports in the Mediterranean and Baltic Seas, sail into the harbors of Tahiti and Bora Bora, dive on the great barrier reefs in Australia or Belize, visit small villages in Asia, go up the tributaries of the Amazon River, or visit Indian villages in the Darien Jungle. You can go to the Arctic or Antarctic on a Russian icebreaker, or to Big and Little Diomede Islands on the boundary between Alaska and Russia that were closed to the outside world for decades. You can go to the outermost islands of Micronesia to see atolls populated by massive colonies of frigate and tropic birds and be formally introduced to a village chief at each island as you go ashore.
Lamu, Zanzibar, Madagascar, Desolation Sound, Glacier Bay, the Sea of Cortez, the Galapagos, Bali, Fiji, Baja, St. Helena, the Norwegian fjords, Patagonia, the Northwest Passage, the Amazon, the Yangtze, Tonga. Have your client picture their fantasy, the place they’ve always dreamed of seeing, and chances are a ship goes there.
WHAT ARE SOME TYPICAL ITINERARIES?
* a cruise that goes through the Panama Canal and goes to ports in Costa Rica and Panama and visits nearby islands
* a cruise that combines an African safari with a cruise to Zanzibar, Madagascar and the Seychelles
* a river boat that explores up the Amazon, studying life along the river
* a Europe or California wine cruise, with lectures and wine-tasting on board and visits to wineries
* a cruise to Alaska to see glaciers and whales and visit remote fishing villages
* an icebreaker that goes to the Arctic or Antarctic
* a square-rigged windjammer that sails the Greek islands, Maine, or Caribbean
* a cruise to see the wildlife of the Galapagos Islands
* a cruise along the fjord-dotted 1,200 mile coast of Norway
* a luxury dive boat in the Galapagos, South Pacific, or Caribbean where you can dive two and three times a day
* a cruise that meanders along the coast of Scotland with stops along the way to golf
* a classical music cruise with string quartets on board and excursions to famous concert halls
* a river boat that goes along the St. Lawrence River
-- and many more … check our "Search by Destination" section.
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