A-Rosa River Cruises Aims for North America

 

A-Rosa
A-Rosa is offering 13 European river cruises in 2013 exclusively for the North American passenger market.

 

Rostock, Germany-based A-Rosa, a 10-ship operation which has been catering to German-speaking passengers for the past 10 years, recently launched a major initiative to tap the competitive North American passenger market for European cruises. The strategy is being initiated by the line’s two managing partners and owners Lars Clasen and Markus Zoepke.

A-Rosa is offering 13 European river cruises in 2013 exclusively for the North Americans on select dates spanning from spring through Christmas market season, with even more sailing dates aimed at U.S. and Canadian travelers promised for 2014 and beyond. A-Rosa’s aggressive run at its competitors involves two key strategies outlined during a 2012 Christmas market cruise of the Danube for U.S. travel agents and media representatives. The preview sailing was personally hosted by Clasen and Zoepke and their new North American marketing partners at David Morris International (DMI) aboard the new 174-passenger A-Rosa Silva, which launched in July last year.

 

Agents’ Onboard Reactions

Travel agents who experienced an A-Rosa ship for the first time in late November praised several aspects of the onboard product while expressing confidence that some needed upgrades (such as ensuring the Wi-Fi system works consistently) would be addressed in time for the line to compete in the U.S. market later this spring.

Noting that A-Rosa has previously done only buffet meals onboard for its German passenger market, James Berkeley, president of Destinations & Adventures, based in Beverly Hills, CA, said “everyone is impressed” with the cuisine and service aboard the A-Rosa Silva.

Berkeley also noted that “Most of the staff speaks pretty good English and the 50 employees on this boat have become a real team.” However, Rudi Steele, owner and president of Rudi Steele Travel in Dallas, a Virtuoso member agency, suggested that there was still something of a language barrier, but joined others in praising the “wonderful dining.”

Mary Kleen, general manager of Pisa Brothers Travel in New York, called the food “superb” and declared the A-Rosa product “almost ready” for North American passengers.

Steele said he will seek future feedback from one of his agents before recommending A-Rosa to his clients. Kleen concluded that, “For Americans who have sampled the coastlines of Europe and want to see the interior, but don’t want a motorcoach tour, this is ideal.”

Key Marketing Strategies

 

The first strategy executed by the owners last September was to tap DMI, the Newport Beach, CA-based marketing firm headed by two veteran U.S. luxury cruise executives David Morris, president, and Marilyn Conroy, executive VP of sales and marketing, to represent A-Rosa in the North American market. The second strategic move was to reposition A-Rosa’s luxury cruise value proposition as an all-inclusive product for North American passengers.

DMI is including in the package price for each vacation A-Rosa’s cruise fare plus transatlantic roundtrip airfare from the U.S. or Canada, combined with complimentary alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages throughout the ship, open dining, gratuities, selected shore excursion, ground transfers, taxes and more. According to David Morris, the all-inclusive pricing is sought after by the U.S. market and will differentiate A-Rosa from its North American-oriented river cruise competitors in Europe.

The four-day, three-night preview cruise roundtrip between Nuremberg and Regensburg provided the opportunity for the DMI team and A-Rosa owners to present their onboard product to several prominent travel agents, explain their all-inclusive marketing strategy, and introduce two of the famous German Christmas markets that clients may visit on A-Rosa during the 2013 holiday season.

In an onboard conversation with Travel Agent, A-Rosa CEO Lars Clasen explained why, after 10 years of successful cruising in Europe, he believes that now is the right time for his company’s expansion into the North America-originating market. He explained that A-Rosa wants to “seriously” control the quality of its onboard cruise product and operate its own ships, which is possible for the company in Europe, but not in destinations such as Egypt, Russia or China.

“We are the strongest brand in the German-speaking European river cruise market,” said Clasen. “And we are the No. 3 or No. 4 brand in the overall river cruise market. So how can we grow further? Instead of just building new ships we want to expand our originating market. Together with David Morris and his team we will have a separate distribution market for North America and we will adjust to add some product features specific to that market…we will not mix our source markets on our cruises.”

Value Proposition

In her onboard presentation DMI’s Marilyn Conroy discussed the additional factors that have brought A-Rosa and DMI together for this strategic push. “The river cruise industry is seeing an average growth of 23 percent per year,” said Conroy, noting it is the fastest growing sector in the travel industry.

Conroy reminded travel agents that river cruises are more convenient for travelers than land tours because they provide all the benefits of a tour while allowing guests to “unpack only once” in their floating A-Rosa hotel. She also noted that river cruise passengers are getting younger, and that younger luxury travelers have high expectations. “To define a luxury brand you need to be more inclusive,” she said.

 

Among the all-inclusive A-Rosa features described by the DMI team were the following:

*   Free economy airfare from 11 U.S. cities to eight European gateways.

*   Onboard gratuities, port charges and airport transfers included in the cruise tariff.

*   All onboard spirits, including beers, wines and mixed drinks.

*   Open dining room seating every meal.

*   Water, bathrobes and a welcome champagne bottle in every stateroom.

*   Three included excursions in each port of call.

*   An active, sophisticated and casual onboard atmosphere.

*   Optional and customizable shore excursions available.

*   Outdoor dining on sundecks when the weather is favorable.

*   Coffee and tea included all day, plus afternoon and evening snacks.

*   Breakfast service available in staterooms. 

 

Booking A-Rosa Cruises

According to A-Rosa executives, the most popular river cruise for the American market is expected to be a seven-night cruise to France, including Burgundy and Provence, aboard the A-Rosa Stella, sailing roundtrip from Lyon, with an included TGV rail transfer from the Paris gateway. All-inclusive prices range from $4,862 to $6,328 per person.

A 10-night Danube cruise aboard A-Rosa Silva between Passau, Germany (gateway Munich), and Budapest is priced at $6,120 to $8,180, with a balcony suite priced at $14,720.

 

Christmas market in Nuremberg.
Christmas market in Nuremberg.

 

A nine-night Rhine cruise aboard A-Rosa Aqua between Amsterdam and Basel, Switzerland, visiting Germany, Switzerland, France, Belgium and the Netherlands costs $5,963 to $7,556.

An 11-night Danube cruise aboard A-Rosa Silva between Budapest and Passau is priced from $6,567 to $8,833 for standard staterooms or from $12,430 to $16,027 for a suite. There will also be eight-night Christmas market roundtrip cruises from Frankfurt, starting at $4,600.

Agents can get more information by reaching out to Joe Proto ([email protected], 855-55-AROSA), A-Rosa’s vice president of business development.

 

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