Oceania Cruises praises ‘phenomenal’ UK sales performance

Oceania Cruises has praised the UK’s ongoing “phenomenal” sales performance in the second half of 2025 as the line christened its newest vessel Oceania Allura and revealed details of its forthcoming Sonata Class.

 

The company has started working with 400 more UK agents since the start of 2024 and will be rolling out its agent training platform for the UK trade in the first quarter of 2026.

Paul Beale, UK and Ireland sales vice‑president for Oceania Cruises and sister line Regent Seven Seas Cruises, said: “The back half of this year has seen phenomenal overall sales.”

Looking ahead, he said: “The plan [now] is to have fewer discounts and to sell more on FIT [fully inclusive] pricing.”

Hailing the line’s position going into 2026, he added: “We’ve already got wave activity and Sonata activity mapped in with our trade partners.”

Beale said a restructuring of the UK sales team in October had allowed for more regular contact with both key accounts and those brought in via business development, and that the focus would now shift to capitalising on existing partnerships.

Louise Craddock, director of sales for the UK and Ireland, said: “We have had a year of growth and signing up a lot of new agents.

 

“We’ve always had great product and great itineraries, but we’ve also worked very hard [with UK agents] over the past couple of years, with 30 ship visits last year and 14 this year, a massive Clia presence and now with little tweaks made [to simplify pricing].”

The Oceania Insiders University agent training platform is also being adapted for a UK trade audience and will be rolled out in the first quarter of 2026.

Oceania Allura was christened in Miami last week by a group from US magazine Food & Wine’s Best New Chefs initiative as part of the line’s focus on culinary creativity.

The ceremony was attended by key UK agents including Lisa McAuley, managing director of Cruise118 parent World Travel Holdings UK, Cruise.co.uk managing director Tony Andrews, Panache Cruises founder James Cole and ROL chief commercial officer Sarah Wikevand.