With cruise trips coming back in earnest in 2022, an operator has handed over one of the major components of its product to an online platform.
Musement (owned by TUI) will run the shore excursion ticketing for P&O Cruises and Cunard, following a trial with passengers on trips taken on the Azura ship.
The platform will be integrated across the P&A Cruises and Cunard websites and will allow passengers to book tours, activities and attraction tickets at any destination where the brand's ships are scheduled to dock.
P&O and Cunard (part of the Carnival group of brands) says the integration with Musement will "complement" the existing shore excursions that are arranged by the ships.
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The deal is being touted as a mechanism for passengers to find alternative options for shore excursions.
Bookings can be arranged by passengers once they have booked their cruise and ahead of docking in a destination.
A statement says: "Musement adapted the platform to select different product ranges that appeal to our P&O and Cunard guests, providing a diverse choice of attraction tickets, activities and tours, carefully selected with the shore experience teams.
"All experiences originate from Musement’s curated portfolio of tours and activities, which guarantees high standards of quality, health and safety, and sustainability, as well as a flexible cancellation policy and last-minute booking availability."
A number of startups and brands such as Expedia Cruises have sold shore excursions online for some time but Musement claims this is an "industry first" for an online travel agency to provide search and booking of alternative options for activites as part of a while label deal with a cruise operator.
Sam Cole, shore experiences director at P&O Cruises, says: "Our new digital platform is an innovative and hassle-free way to find and book great tours and activities and will also help guests skip queues and avoid the disappointment of sold-out venues."