American Cruise Lines announced record sales in the months of August, September and October, creating a unique pre-Wave Season for the company and a strong start to the fourth quarter. Revenues and high early-occupancy levels followed the record sales numbers closely.
Each of the past 10 weeks has broken previous company sales records. “We predicted significant sales growth for 2012, especially with the launch of new itineraries on the Mississippi River, Alaska and Puget Sound,” said Timothy Beebe, VP of American Cruise Lines. The company has since scheduled more cruises on its most popular itineraries in response to demand.
Beebe attributes the sales growth to a number of other important factors, the largest of which may be American Cruise Lines’ strengthening travel partner relationships. “We are working with more new travel agents and our existing travel partners are booking more cruises than ever,” said Beebe.
As sales continue to grow, so is the company’s fleet. American Cruise Lines launched its brand new paddlwheeler, Queen of the Mississippi, on Aug. 4 of this year, and has already ordered another new riverboat, scheduled to enter service in 2014. Details such as the name of the new riverboat and its itineraries will be released over the next few months. Passenger response to the Queen of the Mississippi has been fabulous, with rave reviews about the new riverboat and the service provided.
For more information, visit www.americancruiselines.com.