Oceania Cruises says its recent Labour Day upgrade sale proved to be the most successful holiday promotion in the company’s history. Moreover, the sale attracted almost 50 percent new clients to the brand and fewer than five percent of bookings used cruise credits from voyages cancelled due to the pandemic.

The cruise line, which specializes in a small ship luxury product, attributes the success of the sale to a combination of its strong value proposition plus pent-up demand from travellers.

The sale, which ran until Sept. 14, included free 4-category upgrades plus price reductions and extra perks.

Oceania says the volume of new reservations also validated its commitment to enriched and improved sales tools and online reservations capabilities for travel partners and the additional investment in digital outreach to consumers and travel advisors.

“The success of our recent Labour Day upgrade sale underscores the pent-up demand from our loyal repeat guests and incredible appetite from new first-time guests alike,” stated Bob Binder, President and CEO of Oceania Cruises. “We are especially encouraged by increased interest in small-ship luxury travel experiences from aspirational travellers and the continued support of our travel advisor partners.”

With the strong demand for voyages in 2021 and the first half of 2022, the line says it will be launching its summer 2022 season of itineraries to Europe, Alaska, Bermuda, and Canada-New England in November, its 2023 Around the World voyage in January, and the balance of winter 2022-23 itineraries in February.