“It’s really about having a mixed fleet strategy, ranging from 12- to 200-passenger vessels,” said Andrew White President of Quark Expeditions “We want some (new ships) and some classic favorites, and that drove the decision to have a newbuild in our fleet at the higher end of the premium scale, while still optimized for expedition operations.”
That new ship will be the 200-guest World Explorer, which joins the Quark fleet for this coming Antarctica season on a charter agreement from Mystic Cruises.
“We have the ship in Antarctica, which is good for us as there is significantly more demand,” White told Cruise Industry News in the 2018 Expedition Market Report.
And in 2020, the company will get its own newbuild, as a new ship was ordered in June from a Croatian shipyard. The 13,000-ton vessel will have capacity for 200 passengers, 20 zodiacs, and feature two helipads.
While Quark sources guests in some 50 countries, with the United States leading the way, demand is rising in China.
“We’re proud of what we’ve done in China,” White said, noting that Quark opened a dedicated Chinese sales office last June. “We have an unwavering commitment to ensure the experience is no different for a Mandarin speaking traveler than for someone that speaks English. Our bilingual competency is second to none, including field staff, zodiac drivers, lecturers, simultaneous translation and Asian chefs that cook phenomenal food.”
As Quark continues to expand its fleet and offerings, the core focus is on a polar product, with no plans to offer warm water or tropical expeditions.
“All we do is polar,” White explained. “Uncompromisingly polar. We understand the price and value sweet spot, for us it’s all about optimizing the expedition experience.”
Going forward, White noted Quark’s new owners, private equity firm KKR, are supportive of the company’s sustainable growth model.
“They are receptive to investing in responsible and sustainable growth in many areas whether its tech, fleet expansion, sales and marketing, digital or customer experience.
“We are looking to grow the business but sustainably, without compromising the architecture and integrity of the experience or our values and without compromising our attention to quality and detail, and that includes our best in class field staff.”
The Quark Academy helps train the company’s field staff, ensuring they are the “best trained” for guiding small groups of guests in remote areas, leveraging hundreds of years of experience from the company’s expedition staff.
Quark has designed an online assessment combined with practical instructions, along with assessments from qualified and accredited instructors.
“Traveling in polar regions is by definition pushing the envelope, and we didn’t just read the book on safety, we wrote it,” he said.
Excerpt from the 2018 Expedition Market Report.
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About the Expedition Market Report:
The 2018 Cruise Industry News Expedition Market Report presents a complete 127-page overview of the entire expedition market, including capacity projections through 2027, and profiles of 30+ major players, with exclusive interviews and insight, along with trends, original data, operational coverage and much more. Original reporting, analysis and research.
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