“Usually its two to three years (out) when you are looking at where to send your ships, now it’s two months out,” said Emilio Freeman, vice president of itineraries and destinations at SeaDream Yacht Club. 

With the company suspending cruising in March, it quickly decided to move one of its two small 110-guest ships to Norway for coastal cruising in June.

“That was even more complex. We were selling directly to Norwegians with a separate website, priced in Kroner and we marketed it all in the span of seven weeks,” noted Freeman. 

The program saw 12-day open-jaw voyages between Oslo and Tromso. Ports were based on where the ships were welcome, while also looking for off-the-beaten-path destinations.

“Our strategy for Norway was to go with one vessel. The itineraries were flexible enough that if the demand was there and things were positive, we’d add a second vessel,” Freeman said, speaking on a panel discussing the expedition cruise market on Monday. 

That didn’t take long, as SeaDream quickly added a second ship to its Norwegian coastal operation, where voyages were even oversold.

The successful program concluded in September as SeaDream next hopes to operate Caribbean itineraries from Barbados starting later this year.

“We are still working with governments of Barbados, St Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada,” Freeman said. “We believe strongly we will work it out; it’s happening as we speak.”

In addition, according to Freeman, the company has a plan B, C and D.

“It’s a very fluid situation,” he noted.