Teri West
The small-cruise business is ready for the right kind of growth, according to the team at Scenic Luxury Cruises and Tours.
The company said in October that it is constructing a third ocean vessel, the 270-passenger Scenic Ikon, that will be 672 feet in length.
Soon after the announcement, Scenic's leadership team went on a road show to spread the news and engage with advisors. I met the team at its stop in New York, where James Griffiths, the company's general manager of ocean operations, emphasized that less is more when it comes to ship size.
"What I'm excited about is the fact that we're staying small," he said. "People say, 'We're small.' Well, if you've got 600 passengers, you aren't small. Ten, 20 years ago, that would have been a solid medium; it's just that the whole industry has skewed the categories so far."
Still, the Ikon's size represents about a 50% increase in gross tonnage from the line's other two yachts, and Scenic is dedicating much of that extra space to hospitality elements. The spa will be two levels, and there will be 15 dining venues, while the other ships have eight.
Travelers are looking for high-quality food, said Tom Goetter, vice president of food and beverage and hotel operations. He said that over the last decade he's noticed a shift in guest behavior away from wanting to overindulge while on vacation.
"A lot of people are a lot more aware of what they eat, how they want to live, what they want to visit," he said.
The travel experiences he sees guests looking for, he added, are the more unique, authentic ones.
Griffiths argued that authentic travel experiences are "only really possible to deliver with small groups," which is why the limited passenger capacity of Scenic's ships matters.
Another way that Scenic wants to distinguish itself is by remaining all-inclusive, said president Ken Muskat.
"What we're seeing with the competition is they're very much going the other way, so you're paying a lot more money for getting very, very little once you're on board," he said.
As of our mid-November conversation, about a quarter of the Scenic Ikon's first season was sold out.
While it can tackle polar climates like the Scenic I and II, it is primarily designed for warm weather, which opens new itinerary opportunities for the cruise line. Destinations in the Ikon's first year include the Mediterranean, Egypt, Antarctica, Chile, the Falkland Islands, Dakar and the Cape Verde Islands.
The demographic of travelers interested in trying out a small ship cruise is broadening, and Scenic wants to meet that demand, Muskat said.
"People are realizing that it's not only for people that are multimillionaires that are retired; it's for a very wide demographic of people that are younger, adventuresome," he said.
Getting to design the Ikon to reach those customers has been like designing a toy store for adults, Goetter said.
"You could say that the Ikon is our playground," he said.