Posted on November 2, 2003 - by Ralph Grizzle
The Advent of Active Shore Excursions
I have few friends who express an interest in cruising. Too boring, say some; too confining, say others. I understand their concerns. I know many perceive cruises to be, in the words of that old industry cliché, “for the newlywed, the nearly dead and the over-fed.” But I also know that those perceptions are greatly skewed. Sailing on the Golden Princess recently, I watched passengers sign up for lessons in web site design, workshops to develop computer skills and classes for snapping better digital photos. On sea days, passengers painted ceramics; master chefs shared tricks of their trade; and retired Princess Cruises’ Commodore Mike Moulin mesmerized audiences with his stories a life spent at sea. Cruise ships today practically buzz with intellectually stimulating activities to keep boredom at bay — on the ship.
Off the ship, however, I, like many others, crave physically stimulating activities. I disdain the thought of joining inert clusters of groups to board a bus and press my nose against a window to watch the passing scenery. I long for invigorating activity in port: bicycling, walking and kayaking — something to get the blood flowing and spirit soaring. That’ why I have been happy to find with increasing frequency, the active shore excursion — a genre that barely existed a few years ago but one that holds great promise to win over my skeptical friends.
“It’ a great opportunity for the cruise lines to attract another segment of the market that does not perceive cruising to be as active as it really is,” says Matt Cervone, owner of Clinton Township, Michigan-based Just Cruises. “There’ a whole adventure market out there that is totally unaware that these activities exist. They don’t realize they can come on a cruise and get this great land-based excursion.”
Three years ago, in fact, Royal Caribbean International passengers disembarking in Copenhagen were presented with but a single choice: to bus or bust. If they wanted to see something of this land of castles and kings, they had to climb on a bus. Even those who wanted only to see the city center, a mere 30-minute stroll from Langelinie Pier, were encouraged to board busses instead of walking along the picturesque waterfront past Copenhagen’ best-known tourist attractions.
“There were no active shore excursions in the whole [Baltic] region three years ago,” says Craig Milan, president of Royal Caribbean International’ cruise-tour division. “But the demographics and mindset changed.”
And so Royal Caribbean contracted with inbound tour operator Copenhagen’ Your Best Destination Partner (BDP) to add walking and bicycling tours to the lineup of bus tours. In the three years since, increasing numbers of cruise passengers come wanting to stroll the sidewalks or straddle a saddle.
“When we started three years ago, only about five people would participate in the bike tours,” says Charlotte Raun, BDP’ sales and project manager. “Now that number is tenfold. It’ the same with the city walking tours. We used to have 25 people from a cruise join in. Now we typically have 150.”
In Stockholm this past summer, an affable young bike messenger launched the eponymous “John’ Bike Tours.” Bicycling is the best way to see European cities, John told me as we and four others pedaled through Stockholm’ city center. “You don’t have to be Lance Armstrong to enjoy a tour,” he added, alluding to the physical prowess of the five-time Tour de France winner. “I had a 77-year-old lady who rode with my tour this summer.”
On Golden Princess this past October, my wife and I signed up for tours that promised similar soft adventure ashore: kayaking in St. John, New Brunswick; bicycling at Bar Harbor, Maine’ Acadia National Park; and cycling the city highlights of Boston. Of course, the majority of passengers still opted for bus tours, but joining us on each of our shore excursions were at least a dozen eager passengers.
None of the tours proved to be overly strenuous for the variety of age groups represented. Nor did any of the tours prove to be too staid for the physically fit. On some excursions, in fact, we were encouraged to go at our own pace and stop at specified points to allow others catch up.
Moreover, active shore excursions generally provide richer travel experiences than passive ones experienced from the seat of a bus. The beauty of the active shore excursion is that you not only travel at just the right pace to absorb the passing scenery but also conclude the trip — a bit tired perhaps — but certainly invigorated by the experience.
Cruise lines have been quick to respond to the emerging consumer desires of active travelers. With its rock-climbing wall and “Get Out There” advertising that shows passengers pursuing all sorts of active experiences, Royal Caribbean is leading the charge to change the way that people perceive cruise vacations. Because of the emphasis on active lifestyles, in fact, Royal Caribbean says the average age of its passengers is now 42 years old, one of the industry’ youngest passenger sets.
In early September, the company also broke with a policy that prohibits passengers from bringing bicycles aboard to do just that. Several dozen passengers wheeled their bikes up the gangway of Majesty of the Seas to participate in a triathlon, held in the Bahamas. The publicity garnered from the event underscored Royal Caribbean’ “Get Out There” campaign. The intended message to consumers was that cruises not only satiate and pamper but also offer opportunities to play and sweat — and that is exactly what many passengers are looking for.
“Three years ago, you wouldn’t have caught me dead on a cruise ship,” says Craig Milan, president of Royal Caribbean’ cruise-tour division and third-place finisher in the triathlon’ male, 40 to 44 age group. Milan says before joining Royal Caribbean, he perceived cruising as an experience where “all you do is eat and lounge by the pool.” Milan’ job has been to help crush that notion, and Royal Caribbean now offers more than 300 active excursions in addition to its on-board facilities that allow passengers to have an active cruise experience.
Before joining Princess Cruises a few years ago, Tori Benson spent her leisure time hiking the hills of Portland, Oregon. “I never thought I would be singing the praises of a cruise line,” says Benson, now manager of the company’ public relations department. But she found herself impressed with the standards of service, the fact that you pack and unpack only once to visit several destinations, and the convenience of not having to worry over the little things — like who is going to pick up the tab for dinner. But she’ also been impressed with the quality of active shore excursions. On a recent Princess cruise, she spent time kayaking in Alaska, an activity she had not associated with cruise ships before joining Princess.
One challenge for the cruise lines, in fact, is to strongly convey that the active lifestyle cruise extends beyond the ship. “So far the perception is that the active experience is on the ship itself whereas the reality is that there are these outstanding active shore excursions,” says Just Cruises’ Cervone.
If the cruise lines can convey the message that they offer active experiences ashore as well as on board, Cervone says, they will open up a whole new market to young, adventure-seeking cruisers.
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Ralph Grizzle is editor of Porthole Cruise Magazine.
