An advisor, influencer and cruise CEO walk onto a ship...
The contest was straightforward: For every three bookings made on Virgin Voyages, an advisor would get an entry into a raffle for a free cruise.
But more than that, during the cruise itself, the line's CEO, Nirmal Saverimuttu, would be the advisor's "Mega Rockstar agent," the line's appellation for the butler/concierge/factotum assigned to guests who book their top suites.
When the contest ended, one advisor, Jason Carter, had brought his odds of winning to 1 in 2: He had booked about as many cabins as all the other entrants combined.
He had started his agency, Sea-Sun Vacations, after retiring as an IT executive. It was going to be a side gig; he was well-traveled and had a wide circle of contacts in the Atlanta area. He affiliated with Travel Planners International.
Carter liked cruising, and Virgin Voyages in particular. His first year in business, he put 95 guests on the line. After four years in business, that number had risen to 1,500. This year, he's on track for three times that many.
Things had accelerated significantly after he met his business partner, a social media content creator named Christine Lozada. She, too, was a Virgin Voyages fan, and her videos across 13 social media platforms featuring the line have gotten millions of views. Partnering with her, Carter said, "blew up the business."
Although a former Virgin executive was skeptical of the potential model, the current executive team has embraced and supports the pair.
The raffle he won was for a three-night advisor appreciation cruise aboard the Valiant Lady. After Saverimuttu brought Carter's luggage to his suite and offered to unpack, Carter thought Champagne would be in order and asked the CEO to open a bottle. Saverimuttu complied. He may not want to give up his day job, however: the cork hit Carter and Champagne overflowed onto the floor. (When a second bottle was opened, Carter stood behind the executive ... and still managed to get hit by the cork.)
Virgin Voyages CEO Nirmal Saverimuttu technique for opening a bottle of Champagne may need some work…
Carter decided to "ask for something that I thought was going to be out of his reach" and requested that he be brought a tuna bomb. It was a dish the advisor had had on the Resilient Lady during a dinner show, and he had loved it. It was a particularly challenging request because that show wasn't offered on the Valiant Lady, and the dish wasn't on the menu of any of the ship's restaurants.
"Give me 30 minutes," Saverimuttu replied.
Somehow -- Carter's still not sure how -- it was delivered to his cabin, exactly as he remembered it.
It is Virgin Voyages' food, in fact, that Carter feels is one of the cruise line's top selling points. The ship's Italian restaurant, Extra Virgin, had recently revised its menu. After specifying exactly which table he wanted reserved at the restaurant on the first night of the sailing, Carter also requested that Saverimuttu join him and that they sample each new item.
Unlike cruise lines that have specialty restaurants, Virgin Voyages offers a few specialty items, at extra cost, on each menu. Carter asked for a Florentine steak, listed at an up-charge of $125. It's so large that it's recommended to be shared. He did so with Saverimuttu, and afterward Carter declared it to be the best steak he'd ever had on a ship -- including ones that have specialty steakhouse restaurants.
I asked Carter what he says to close a sale for clients who come to him after watching one of Lozada's videos.
"The big thing is going to be 'no kids,'" he said. "The second thing is the food."
Virgin Voyages has worked hard to change the perception -- fueled, initially, by its own marketing campaign -- that its cruises are an edgy experience for younger people. "I've had clients say, 'Listen, I can't be in a position where I'll be eating breakfast and the person next to me is dancing on the table and then that's posted on social media.'"
Carter said that the impact of the initial focus on youth "is slowly going away" and that he's seen the age of guests he's booking rise. Initially, it was "probably 10% people over 50. Now, I'm probably 50% over 50."
To explain why, he pointed to a wide range of adult alternatives available. "I was checking on a group I had booked, and some ladies were having a good time at the pool wearing only pasties on top. But my wife and I are pretty tame. We left them to have high tea at the Sip Lounge. Completely different vibe.
"There are so many options," he continued. "You can party at Scarlet Night or go down 10 decks to On the Rocks and listen to an a cappella group."
Or, for that particular guest on that particular cruise, request that the line's CEO give an a cappella performance in his suite (though the guest might take it upon himself to open the Champagne).
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