Expedition cruising was one of the hot topics at the recent CLIA Cruise360 event in Sydney. Following a presentation about leveraging the experiential travel trend by Silversea’s Conrad Combrink, he spoke further to Karryon Luxury about everything from selling expeditions to the Silversea ‘difference’.
Conrad Combrink has a very long title – Senior Vice President, Expeditions Destination & Itinerary Management – that describes a very big role, one that many adventurous travellers envy.
During his 30-year career at sea, Conrad really has been everywhere, man! That includes more than 150 countries across all seven continents – and Antarctica 82 times.
How he got into expedition cruising
Combrink started working on cruise ships with a contemporary line in the shore excursion department. Following a series of “lucky breaks” he ended up on a small ship in Antarctica.
“Initially I thought I would do it for about a month, see the penguins and go back to contemporary cruising,” says Combrink.
“I got on the ship and got off nine months later, completely in love with expedition cruising because it is truly one of the most incredible ways to see our planet.”
In 2007, he was invited to join Silversea to help develop its new luxury expedition cruising sector and in June 2008, the company’s first ship, Prince Albert II, set sail for the Arctic.
“There was nothing else like it at the time and we wanted to provide the adventurous traveller with something luxurious,” says Combrink.
Why expedition cruising is so popular
Combrink says what’s interesting is that the expedition cruising industry has been around for more than 50 years, yet it’s only over the past five or six years that there’s been a big focus on the sector.
“It began in 1966 when Lars-Eric Lindblad chartered a ship and took the first non-scientific travellers to Antarctica. A year later, in 1967, he did it again in the Galápagos. There were maybe five ships going to Antarctica when Silversea Expeditions started going there.”
“Now there are 99 expedition ships in the world fleet – the industry has grown at an incredible pace. While saying that, there are still fewer than 10,000 berths in the entire expedition industry, which ultimately is not a lot,” says Combrink.
There has been a lot of marketing around luxury expedition cruising, he says, and the industry grew exponentially because several operators came into expedition within a short time.
“Luxury expedition cruising offers a great opportunity for multi-generational travel. Many itineraries are shorter – when I started, a voyage shorter than 14 days almost didn’t exist. Shorter voyages attract a younger demographic, so we are now seeing more guests in their 30s and 40s,” he says.
How travel advisors can identify potential luxury expedition cruisers
It’s a growing trend observed by many that luxury travellers increasingly seek immersive experiences – they no longer put so much value on material things.
“Experiential travel is nothing new. People have been going on safaris and travelling to incredible destinations for years. It’s only now that they are putting it into the context of cruising – and we are seeing a lot of non-cruisers coming to expedition,” says Combrink.
“It really is a very valuable product to invest in as a company, an operator and as an advisor. And the beautiful thing about expedition is that once you have the client hooked on an expedition, they are far more likely to repeat,” he says.
“Our repeat rate is massive. Once they’ve done one region, they will go on to the next because it is such an amazing product, whether it’s Silversea or any other expedition company. At the end of the day, it is not a cruise. Yes, we use ships, but it’s experiential. And that makes it different in how you sell it and how you approach it,” he says.
Combrink suggests that advisors don’t need to “invent” new expedition clients – suggesting that they most likely have them already in their midst. The advice is to not necessarily look for an expedition client within your cruise portfolio but to look for that client who will hike the Himalayas or wants to go on safari.
“That’s your expedition-cruise client,” he says.
Combrink’s definition of expedition
According to Combrink, an expedition is always about the destination first.
“The fact that we’ve got these incredible vessels to use as a platform to deliver the destination is really a bonus. But it’s about that immersive experience, about being with the expedition team. For me, the definition of an expedition really is when you leave that voyage and you’ve learned something that you didn’t know before,” he says.
Remaining wilderness areas
When asked if there are truly any wilderness areas that remain or are they becoming crowded, Combrink says that although more people are going to Antarctica, it is extremely well regulated.
“As an industry, different companies work very hard to ensure sustainable, environmentally friendly operations. You might have 10 ships down there, but you’ll probably only see two – it’s like a choreographed dance. It’s in nobody’s interest if we all show up at the same place at the same time – not in the interest of the environment or the guest experience,” he says.
He says that the situation is echoed in the Kimberley, Western Australia where the government has to approve all itineraries and if there is a conflict, the expedition leaders and captains work together to resolve it.
“I think we’re over-dramatising a bit – overcrowding in expeditions is having two ships together in one place. It’s not exactly Venice,” he says.
“However, geopolitics means we can’t access places such as the Russian Far East and the North East Passage, where we operated before the Russia-Ukraine war. We have to work harder at providing authentic, beautiful experiences and we’re taking a step back and revisiting our itinerary and product design,” he says.
The Silversea difference
With the growth in the industry and several new expedition staff coming onboard, Combrink is of the belief that Silversea is possibly the only company investing at the level it is in the professional development of its expedition staff.
The company invests heavily in staff knowledge, engagement with guests and the experiences they deliver.
“Our onboard expedition teams comprise 26 to 28 experts in a range of specialist fields who also have practical skills and knowledge – sea-kayaking and zodiac-driving just to name a couple. We provide ongoing training and development and encourage cross-training among Silversea staff – for example, two of our assistant expedition leaders were waiters on Silver Explorer when I first met them,” he says.
The company offer permanent employment representing a shift from the usual ‘contracts’ offered in this space.
“That means Silversea has become an employer of choice. We have a great expedition team that rotates between the ships. And when you have an amazing team, the experience for the guests is just so much better. They are the heart and soul of the product,” says Combrink.
For more information visit silversea.com
