Research from an online cruise travel agency has revealed that half of British cruisers are loyal to cruise brands, a fifth of which have only ever cruised with one company. A further 16% of respondents claimed to have always been loyal to one specific cruise ship, a report in traveldailynews.com says.

“As part of ongoing research into the holiday habits of Britons, an independent online cruising travel agency conducted a study into the loyalty of cruisers. 1,214 British cruisers, each of whom had embarked on more than three cruises, were polled,” the report said. The study, conducted by Bonvoyage.com, initially asked the respondents to the study if they were loyal to specific cruise operators, to which more than half, 52%, said ‘yes’. These respondents were then asked how many cruise operators they have travelled with, almost a fifth, 19%, admitted to only having ever cruised with one operator.

Of the fifth of respondents who admitted to being loyal to one specific cruise operator, 23% stated that they were loyal because of the ‘high quality’ of cruise offered by their favoured operator; whilst 18% said it was because they were ‘cheaper’ than any other liner. In a bid to investigate the matter further, bonvoyage.co.uk, created by the founders of online travel agency sunshine.co.uk, asked respondents to detail which other habits or loyalties they had when it came to cruising. Sixteen percent  of the respondents polled claimed to be ‘loyal’ to a specific cruise ship, admitting to only ever having cruised on the same cruise liner. A quarter of these, 24%, said they were loyal to a particular ship because of the ‘luxury’ onboard.

Furthermore, more than a tenth, 12%, of those polled claimed to be ‘loyal’ to a particular cruise route, stating that they always travelled to the same destinations through the same route; therefore, essentially being loyal to the destinations rather than the cruise operator or ship.

Chris Brown, co-founder of bonvoyage.co.uk, spoke about the results of the study: “It was interesting to see that some cruisers are loyal to a particular operator, even though they had only ever embarked on a cruise supplied by them. However, it is understandable, as a first cruise is often a very special experience. I would always recommend trying a new operator and ship though; as long as you do your research and travel with a well known and respected operator, everything should run smoothly.”

He continued: “Many holidaymakers are loyal to a specific aspect of their holiday, whether it be the operator, destination, resort or liner...the list is endless!  Holidays are such an important part of our lives that we may not want to risk trying something new, it can make sense to stick with what you know. Maybe next time you are booking a holiday, consider trying something new, you will probably love it!”