- Cruise Passenger’s River Cruise Collective held its third year of events in Sydney and Melbourne.
- The events are a unique opportunity to allow river cruisers to ask questions directly to cruise lines and compare offerings.
- Record numbers of readers turned up for each event at InterContinental hotels in both cities, and many took advantage of exclusive deals which saved over $1,000 and free flight offers.
The River Cruise Collective has marked its third year with its biggest events yet, attracting hundreds of Cruise Passenger readers to showcases in Sydney and Melbourne and generating on-the-night bookings for its river cruise partners.
The two events brought together readers and representatives from four of Australia’s leading river cruise brands – AmaWaterways, APT, Avalon Waterways and Travelmarvel – for an evening designed to allow potential passengers to get beyond the brochures and ask the questions that matter before spending on a river holiday.
Hosted by Cruise Passenger’s Rose Kelly and Cruise Passenger Editor-in-Chief and Publisher Peter Lynch, the events combined short presentations from the river cruise companies with reader questions, one-on-one discussions and an opportunity to book special offers.
The Sydney event was held at the InterContinental Sydney, with both programs specifically allowing time after the presentations for readers to meet cruise representatives and reservation teams individually.
Melbourne also saw a big crowd, with cruise lines reporting strong interest in special offers and cruises in Asia.
Special event deals offered savings of more than $1,000 on selected cruises, with a number of readers taking advantage of the opportunity to make bookings on the night.
Lynch said the success of the two-city program demonstrated the appetite among Australian travellers for hearing direct information about river cruising from cruise lines and asking questions, then comparing offerings.
“These two events represent unique opportunities for our readers to hear what the lines are doing and book river cruises at great prices – and many of them did,” he said.
“We look forward to hosting more such events next year.
“We would like to thank this year’s sponsors — AmaWaterways, APT, Avalon Waterways and Travelmarvel — for supporting us in providing Australians with independent, inspiring river cruise information.”
What the lines thought
APT State Manager Rashelle Thompson addressed the audience in Sydney, and said after the event: “The calibre of the people was great. They were engaged. They asked really great questions; they were curious not just about the Amsterdam to Budapest sailings, but also looking at the other rivers as well.
“There was a lot of high energy in the room, with fun and banter. That’s really a great indication for me of engagement. So when you’re presenting, they are joining in on your laughs and having a good time. I thought it was a great event.”
AmaWaterways’ Head of Marketing Angela Smith said many guests were interested in rivers other than Europe. “I think we always surprise people by all of our exotic programs that we have. So, Colombia – AmaWaterways being the one and only river cruise line in Colombia – is always quite interesting, but the Mekong definitely piques some interest tonight, so it was really great to chat about that.”
And Avalon Waterways Babs Baron said the famous Avalon difference – the beds all face the window – got a lot of attention.
“It is a big talking point, and sometimes people don’t remember the brand; they come up and say: ‘Oh, you’re the one with the beds that face the view’.
“‘I say: ‘the ever-changing views, not the never-changing wall!'”
River Cruise Collective Melbourne event
Readers at the events also had the chance to win an impressive collection of lucky-door prizes. In Sydney and Melbourne, Avalon Waterways supplied $500 worth of L’Occitane products, APT offered monogrammed JULY luggage and AmaWaterways provided a case of Veuve Clicquot champagne. The River Cruise Collective added an InterContinental hotel stay.
Across Sydney and Melbourne, the InterContinental accommodation prizes alone were worth almost $1,000, while champagne, luggage and luxury amenities ensured plenty of guests stayed for the final prize draws.
The River Cruise Collective was established by Cruise Passenger to create a dedicated source of independent river cruise information for Australians at a time when the sector is expanding rapidly, and the number of ships, destinations and styles of river cruising available to Australians continues to grow.
Join us at cruisepassenger.com.au/rivercruise for our fortnightly newsletter and regular reports.
Rashelle Thompson — APT and Travelmarvel
Hi River Cruise Collective
Peter, Rose, Bern
We had a most delightful evening at the Intercontinental Hotel, Sydney.
Presenters were informative, spoke well and entertained on their own river cruise product.
The canapés, food tempters and wine also were a highlight.
Excellent slide shows in their talks were backed up with brochures and assistance to book. Special evening offers helped peak interest for all attendees.
With so many destinations and vessels to enjoy, dreams and wishes to fulfil, making a choice is not easy.
Thank you Cruise Passenger, (River)
and Belinda Harris event
Co-ordinator., and the
Intercontinental Hotel , Sydney
Beautiful venue.
Keep up the great work, cheers