Dear Vikings,
We are pleased about the numerous and successful sales campaigns that have already been carried out on many ships or will be implemented soon. Time and again, we read about great campaigns and innovative ideas. Congratulations!
You will also find the one or the other examples of inventive sales campaigns in this newsletter as well.
The implementation and realization is only possible due to your efforts, and we would like to sincerely thank you for this.
You have the 6th edition of the newsletter in your hands. We hope you enjoy reading it!
Your Editorial Department
Cross-selling a success
During the training in Cologne at the beginning of this season, most of you were introduced to the concept of cross-selling as we planned to introduce this on all ships. Many of the best ideas for presentations of other Viking cruises came from the ships, and passenger feedback has been overwhelmingly positive: people attend the presentations, and although not a great many are persuaded to book on the spot, we do believe that most of our guests come away with some ideas for future vacations. In fact, in this respect cross-selling is not that different from our normal marketing: it takes quite a few mail pieces before potential customers decide to book, and often, it is not that easy to measure the results of your efforts, as it may take a while before people make up their minds. We are finding that for many people, booking while they are still on vacation is simply too early.
Nevertheless, we so far have booked more than 80 passengers through cross-selling, which translates to some 300,000 dollars in sales. Congratulations to all of you who have helped getting us here ! These numbers confirm that the potential for sales is there, and we will step up our efforts, together with you, to do much better in 2007. Anyone who has helped present our other cruises to our guests: you are invited to share your insights, comments and suggestions with your operations managers and we will discuss your findings early October in our Woodland Hills sales office (and at a later date in our Cologne sales office) to make improvements where we believe it may make a difference. In the meantime: you are providing some quality entertainment, you're sowing seeds for future bookings, and in at least 81 cases, you actually closed the deal. Thank you all very much !
A Special Award
We are honored, to have been presented a special award in China for one of our ships for the 2nd time already. Following the Viking Century Star in the year 2004, the
Viking Century Sky was distinguished this year with the 5 Star rating by the Chinese tourism office.
This distinction can only be received at the earliest after 1 year of operation by a hotel business or, as in our case, a ship.
We are pleased about this recognition and would like to thank everyone involved for their great efforts.
A New Market: Egypt
In addition to China, we have now added the exotic destination of Egypt. Beginning on October 4th, the 11-day trip "In the Land of the Pharaohs" will be offered. This tour will take place for a total of 49 times during the 2006-2007 season. What does the trip "In the Land of the Pharaohs" include? The first stop is Cairo, where the guests will be accommodated for three days at the wonderful Hotel Conrad. During the excursions, our guests will be shown many highlights of the Egyptian culture such as the Egyptian Museum with the unique Tut-anch-Amun exhibition, the pyramids of Giza, Memphis (the first capital of the United Kingdom of Upper and Lower Egypt), and the Citadel with the Alabaster Mosque, just to name a few.
Of course, shopping is also important and the guests will visit one of the most famous bazaars in the heart of Old Cairo, the Khan el-Kalili Bazaar. On the 4th day of the trip, a flight is scheduled to Luxor, where the guests will continue the journey on board the river ship Mövenpick M/S Royal. Viking River Cruises has decided to collaborate with the renowned partner Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts. In addition to hotels and resorts, Mövenpick also operates Nile cruise ships that are among the most modern in Egypt. Like the Viking river cruises, Mövenpick also represents professional Swiss hospitality.
Viking River Cruises has booked a contingent of cabins on board the Mövenpick M/S Royal Lotus. Our guests are in the best hands in the Land of the Pharaohs with our partner Mövenpick. It goes without saying that our guests will enjoy the same first-class service and comfort to which they are accustomed from the Viking River Cruises.
During the eight-day Nile cruise, which includes the route of Luxor- Aswan - Luxor, our guests will be attended to in the best way by escorts/travel guides from our partner Cosmos Tours. These ladies and gentlemen will accompany the guests from the beginning to the end of the trip and also primarily play the role of guides. The highlights of the trip will certainly be the temple in Luxor, Edfu and Esna, the Valley of the Kings in Luxor, as well as the city of Aswan, which is the sunniest and southernmost city of Egypt. Aswan is also familiar as the film location for the well-known film Death on the Nile – by Agatha Christie. Another highlight is sure to be the optional excursion to Abu Simbel. Truly monumental shines are waiting here for the guests in the form of the rock temple of the second Ramses and his wife Nefertari.
At the end of the trip, the guest also has the possibility of booking an all-inclusive extension stay at the resort Mövenpick El Quseir on the Red Sea. Five days of fun in the water should allow the "strain" (heat, early starting time for excursions) to be quickly forgotten. Anyone who decides to forgo the swimming extension will begin the trip home from Luxor.
Employees
We would like to especially congratulate those employees who we were able to promote on the basis of their good performance and progress in English:
Jay (杨威) Dining Room Waiter to Captain Dining Room CSKY
Joy (李颖) Receptionist to Supervisor Front Office CSKY
Angel (张红梅) From Shop Assistant to Receptionist CSKY
Vivian (毛静) From Housekeeping attendant to Shop assistant CSKY
Travel Agents as Guests of Viking Star
On the trip from July 23 – 30 with the Viking Star, a total of 25 travel-agency employees accepted our invitation to a travel-agent group trip.For an initial comprehensive impression of the quality of our services, it's enough to enjoy a 3 – 4-day pampering stay on board with us.
For the future, we plan further travel-agent group trips because we can demonstrate firsthand what differentiates Viking River Cruises from other river-cruise providers for such trips to the travel-agency employees and why Viking River Cruises is the only organizer that can offer a service guarantee. Quite incidentally, we can also clear away reservations about river cruises: For example, it is not possible to become seasick on the river. Furthermore, there is the tremendous advantage of only having to unpack and pack the suitcase once despite being en route every day – namely, at the beginning and at the end of the trip. These reasons simply convince anyone who has ever tried it. The next travel-agent group trips are planned to take place in the fall of this year on board the Viking Century Sky.
We would like to say a sincere thank-you to everyone, especially the team of the Viking Star, who has contributed to the success of the travel-agent group trips!
Happy First Birthday on Viking Century Sky
Young Sophia came onboard to celebrate her first birthday with her daddy, the Hotel general Manager, Nicolas C. Solari
Once again, we wish the young Solari family all the best for their marriage. May their future be just as brilliantly and fabulously beautiful as their daughter!
Did You Know that People Celebrate a "Ceremony" with Green Tea in China?
Tea cleanses the soul and makes the mind free...; Drink tea and forget the stress of everyday life – is what it says in many specialized books and literature about green tea.
Chinese naturopathy has long known about the positive effects of green tea on our health. The results are astonishing. Green tea prevents cardiovascular diseases and the development of malignant tumors, protects against viruses and bacteria, and is good for our digestion. Because of its healing effect, as well as its valuable ingredients (such as alkaloids, saponins) and vitamins (B1, B2, biotin, vitamin K), the favorite drink of the Chinese has also become very popular with us in Europe.
The Chinese Tea Ceremony:
For Japanese and Chinese monks, drinking tea has always been a sacred act, a solemn ceremony. They have developed the enjoyment of this drink into a culture.
One of the most famous tea ceremonies is the Jihn Shan ceremony in the Jing mountain temple in the province of Zhe-jiang. To honor the guests, the rite is celebrated by the abbot personally. All of those present first receive a cup of tea. However, they do not immediately drink it. The lidded cup is first opened in order to enjoy the fragrance of the tea, then the color is assessed, and only then does the person drink the tea in small sips.
People begin to discuss, classify the tea, praise the abbot as the tea master, and exchange opinions and experiences related to religious and philosophical issues only after the third cup of tea.
Afterwards, it's also possible to talk about topics such as friendship and everyday life.
When drinking tea, it is always important to pay attention to the ambience. The tea room should not be too large but always very tastefully decorated. The tea should be enjoyed in a very tranquil, serene, and relaxed way. This makes it possible to forget everyday life and develop a completely new, previously unknown sensitivity for the fine aroma of the green tea.
The appropriate utensils include the tea caddy, teapot, tea ship, mixing pot, bamboo scoop, bamboo spoon, tea towel, and drinking cups
If you would like to enjoy a festive tea hour, begin by preparing a table at which all the guests can sit comfortably
First pre-warm the teapot with hot water. Then pour this water into the mixing pot.
Use the bamboo scoop and bamboo spoon to fill the tea leaves into the teapot. As you do so, briefly explain the types of teas to the guests.
Pre-warm the drinking cups with the hot water from the mixing pot.
The teapot with tea leaves is filled halfway with hot water, which is immediately poured into the mixing pot. This is called "warming the tea leaves" (which is only done with the varieties of green tea that are very tolerant of high temperatures – such as Oolongs)
Now pour water at the required temperature (approx. 75 to 80 degrees Celsius) into the teapot, close the lid, and set the timer. (Let valuable varieties stand for a max. of 3 to 5 minutes. This will have a strong effect and be very stimulating).
As soon as the timer goes off, pour the tea from the teapot into the mixing pot.
From the mixing pot, first pour the tea into pre-warmed high "tasting cups" (but it can also be poured directly into the drinking cups).
The guests should first enjoy the fragrance of the tea and then pour it into the drinking cups and savor it in small sips.
It's also acceptable to give your guests the moist, brewed tea leaves to chew. When the tea is good, these leaves also have a fine aroma, which makes it possible to recognize the high quality of the tea.
This ceremony is carried out within the scope of onboard events on our Chinese ships by our employees. We wish you much enjoyment with it….
After few minutes on the first offensive part of the game the first goal was scored for the SUN team as the unfortunate Executive Chef Olaf left the ball slip in his own net.
The second Goal came from the Asst. hotel mgr. of the SUN David close to the end of the first half.
Cheerleaders from both sides enjoyed so far and although the Sky team did a very good impression, did not concretize the opportunities.
The second half started and under the cheering of the SKY staff, Terry bartender on the SKY scores a superb goal.
After few minutes on the first offensive part of the game the first goal was scored for the SUN team as the unfortunate Executive Chef Olaf left the ball slip in his own net.
The second Goal came from the Asst. hotel mgr. of the SUN David close to the end of the first half.
Cheerleaders from both sides enjoyed so far and although the Sky team did a very good impression, did not concretize the opportunities.
The second half started and under the cheering of the SKY staff, Terry bartender on the SKY scores a superb goal.
