The relaunched U.K.-based Swan Hellenic cruise line is taking aim at the U.S., the world’s largest cruise market, and enlisting some familiar industry names to hit its target.
Tom Russell, former managing director of North America for Silversea and past COO of Global Voyages Group, is general manager for North America, while Mitchell Schlesinger, who held sales positions with Norwegian Cruise Line, Orient Line and Voyages to Antiquity, heads up its sales team.
Russell described Swan as a “startup,” although one with a storied name in the cruise industry. The brand launched service 70 years ago and ceased operations in 2017 with the collapse of parent company All Leisure Holidays. A team of cruise industry veterans led by Andrea Zito, Swan’s new CEO and also formerly of Silversea, purchased the brand in 2020 and has already ordered three 152-passenger ships from Helsinki Shipyard in Finland. The first ship, the Minerva, is slated to launch in Antarctica in November.
A rendering of a balcony cabin on the Minerva, which is under construction and slated to debut in November.
Russell said the team’s North America sales focus is “all trade-driven.”
Schlesinger said Swan is reaching out to speciality expedition sellers and tour operators that offer small-ship expedition travel for group and charter business as well as tapping into both his and Russell’s extensive industry networks and the travel advisor community in general, which they both say has already expressed great interest in the product.
Knowing that approval to join a consortia could take a year, Swan launched its own training and loyalty program for advisors.
“We really want to introduce this type of product, and quite frankly the commissions that go with it, to agents who maybe haven’t had exposure to this kind of product before,” Russell said.
The Cultural Expedition Partner Program will enable advisors to get increases over base commission (from 12% to 14% upon completion of the first module) and educate them about the cruise line.
“It’s a 70-year-old brand that meant something for a long time,” Russell said, adding that relaunching Swan, versus starting a new expedition brand, “gives us a ready definition of who we are, the products we deliver and what people can expect from us. We are wrapping all of that into a training program.”
A rendering of the deck on the Minerva.
The program is aimed at both larger agencies, with which Swan is creating “preferred supplier” partnerships, and advisors who might not normally sell a product with such high per diems.
“So you’re going to give a rank-and-file travel advisor the training and knowledge and know-how to go from making a $400 commission to $5,000 commission,” Russell said. “In today’s environment, that’s really important, because there is all this pent-up demand to travel.”
Swan enlisted Marc Mancini and Denise Landau to create the program. Mancini has helped create dozens of training websites for various sectors of the travel industry, and Landau is the former executive director of the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators.
Related: Construction begins on Swan Hellenic’s second ship
According to Russell, the big difference between the Swan of old and new is the ships it is having purpose-built for the trips it offers.
“We are not trying to be ultraluxury, we are a luxury product. We are all-inclusive; that is different than the old Swan Hellenic. What’s not different is this really intense focus on delivering a cultural, educational experience,” he said, adding that like the Swan of old, the line will focus on people, destinations and nature.
“It’s like taking an Oxford course on that particular destination,” he said. “We’ll try to fulfill the legacy of the Swan Hellenic brand but in a way that is absolutely state of the art in every aspect.”