In August, Hilton Head, S.C., residents Tom and Molly Duffey will
embark on a 22-night golf-themed cruise on the Azamara Journey, playing
eight courses in Scotland and Ireland, including world-renowned tracks
such as Scotland's Royal Dornoch and Northern Ireland's Royal County
Down.
"We absolutely are very excited," Tom Duffey said.
The itinerary, offered by the tour operator PerryGolf in partnership
with Azamara, will be the sixth the Duffeys have taken via PerryGolf;
they've been on three to the British Isles and two that traversed
Australia, New Zealand and Tasmania.
"What we like about going on these cruises is, first, you get to see
some very interesting parts of the world," Tom Duffey said. "And second,
you don't have to do anything: You don't see your golf clubs until you
get to the place you're playing that day. They literally take care of
everything.
"You're playing some of the best courses on the planet, and [PerryGolf is] absolutely flawless in terms of its execution."
PerryGolf, which began organising golf itineraries in conjunction
with cruise lines in 1997, is one of the primary players in a niche that
some operators say is hitting new highs since the pandemic. For next
year, PerryGolf is offering golfing itineraries on 17 Azamara cruises
touching Scandinavia, Japan, South America, the UK., South Africa and
elsewhere. The product caters largely to couples, even if only one
member of the couple plays golf. Those who aren't golfers are able to
partake in the excursions otherwise available through Azamara, said
PerryGolf co-founder Gordon Dalgleish.
"The golf portion serves as a terrific hook as a product
differentiator for ourselves, for the travel agent and for Azamara,"
Dalgleish said. "It's very much a high-end type of experience."
Travel advisors who book a PerryGolf itinerary receive Azamara's commission plus US$200 per golfer from PerryGolf.
As with PerryGolf and Azamara, other golf cruise itineraries are
often arranged in conjunction with more generalised cruise sailings.
GolfAhoy arranges Hawaii golf cruise itineraries on Norwegian Cruise Line's Pride of America. Photo Credit: GolfAhoy
GolfAhoy, a longtime player in the niche, sells PerryGolf
itineraries. But the company also arranges ocean and river cruise golf
itineraries for independent travellers and groups of up to 40 on
sailings by Princess, Carnival, Celebrity, MSC, Regent Seven Seas, Royal
Caribbean, AmaWaterways and others.
In Hawaii, GolfAhoy sells itineraries for weeklong sailings of
Norwegian Cruise Line's Pride of America. Offerings include famous
courses such as Kapalua Plantation on Maui and Mauna Lani on the Big
Island of Hawaii.
Company co-owner Anthony Webber said GolfAhoy packages include tee
times, car service to and from courses and amenities such as range
balls, which they sell without taking a markup. The company will pay a
referral fee to travel advisors.
"Last year, we saw a huge upsurge," Webber reported. "This year, it's
slow and steady. We're doing very well for bookings for 2024. The way
we're going, we'll probably outdo 2022."
Not all golf cruises are part of a more generalised sailing. Golfers
in search of a small-ship experience might look to the cruises offered
by tour operator Kalos Golf.
The North Carolina-based company arranged its first golf sailing in
1997 and next year has 12 cruises scheduled in the UK, other parts of
Europe, New Zealand and the Caribbean. Kalos charters ships with
capacities of between 90 and 120 customers from Sea Cloud, AmaWaterways,
Emerald and Ponant, company president Jim Lamont said.
Kalos Golf’s Rhine River Golf Cruise ends at De Lage Vuursche, one of Holland's premiere golf courses. Photo Credit: Kalos Golf
Kalos tours feature golf on a range of top-level courses, including
famous tracks in the UK and Ireland as well as private European clubs
that are normally difficult to access, such as Spain's renowned
Valderrama Golf Club.
Lamont said that one advantage of chartering its own small ships is
that Kalos can tailor itineraries to make them more efficient for golf,
including dockings much closer to the links.
"There are so many great golf courses in the world that are on water," he said.
Lamont added that Kalos also puts careful thought into nongolf
excursions, offering opportunities such as tailored visits to cooking
schools in France and Spain or to see the Lipizzaner stallions in
Vienna.
These days, Kalos' business is better than ever.
"We're adding tours constantly. It's the most we've ever done," Lamont said. "We're basically full for next year."
Kalos golf cruises start at approximately US$9,000 per person and can
range up to US$25,000, Lamont said. The company typically commissions
travel advisors between 8% and 10%, with higher commission for volume.
Source: Travel Weekly