Cruise
The Crystal Way
Crystal has unveiled a newly enhanced Partner Resource Center and updated Travel Agent University. The Partner Resource Center, formerly the Travel Agent Center, has debuted with an enhanced aesthetic platform, improved functionality and a comprehensive collection of materials and tools. The new platform caters exclusively to partners seeking to expand their Crystal business, providing access to: training videos and webinars; sales and marketing kit; Crystal news and media centre; Cruise Guidebooks; CruiseBuilder 3.0; personalized URL services; travel documents and forms portal;...
Carnival Now Pays Commission on Wedding Packages
Carnival Cruise Line has begun paying travel agent commission on wedding package sales, as of Jan. 1. Commission tiers for wedding packages will be based on wedding package sales made Jan. 1-March 31. Additionally, agents will earn accelerated commissions on wedding packages during the Wave Season booking period. Commission tiers during the Jan. 1-March 31 Wave Season period are as follows: Silver (1-10 weddings): $200 per wedding; Gold (11-35 weddings): $225 per wedding; Platinum (35+ weddings): $300 per wedding. After March 31, agencies reaching Silver, Gold and Platinum booking...
Tauck Offers Savings For Solo Travellers
Tauck is once again welcoming solo travellers with special savings in 2018. Most notably, the company has again eliminated the single supplement on its Category 1 European riverboat cabins, waiving the supplement entirely for those cabins on each departure of every Tauck river cruise itinerary. In all, the single supplement is being waived on more than 200 Tauck river cruise departures for the coming year. In addition, Tauck is also reducing the single supplement by $1,000 on other selected cabin categories on 58 departures of 16 different river itineraries. Tauck has also...
Princess Debuts Star Princess Upgrades
Star Princess has returned to service following a two-week multi-million-dollar renovation, outfitting the ship with some of the latest Princess Cruises' product innovations and enhancements. Star Princess has resumed a season of 15-day Hawaiian cruises roundtrip from Los Angeles and Vancouver through April before summer cruising in Alaska. “Star Princess now offers many of the signature product innovations our guests have come to love, including the Princess Luxury Bed, Camp Discovery Youth & Teen Center and revamped Sabatini’s,” said Princess president Jan Swartz....
Carnival Wants Travellers to ‘Choose Fun’
Carnival Cruise Line and its newly appointed ad agency of record, Anomaly, have launched a new brand campaign dubbed “Choose Fun.” After much research, Anomaly discovered that the Carnival brand, guests and crew all share the common belief that “fun is a choice and whether on board or ashore, those vacationing with Carnival choose to be their truest self, embrace positivity and have fun with others.” “As America’s cruise line, Carnival has always delivered on our brand promise of fun, memorable vacations at a great value,” said Carnival president Christine Duffy. “This...
Celebrity Edge Coming Sooner Than Expected
Celebrity Cruises is advising agents that the highly anticipated inaugural season of Celebrity Edge has been expanded as the new ship will be completed ahead of schedule and enter service earlier than planned. The schedule change allows Celebrity to offer not one, but two distinct seven-night maiden voyages on Celebrity Edge’s alternating eastern and western Caribbean itineraries. Travellers also have the option to book back-to-back sailings for a 14-night journey. Maiden Voyage West: A seven-night western Caribbean cruise departing from Fort Lauderdale on Dec. 9 and visiting...
South Padre Island Sailing Into The Future
South Padre Island, Texas, is hoping to become the Western Caribbean's newest port of call for cruise ships. The South Padre Island, Texas, City Council recently approved a proposal by SPI Cruise Group – a partnership of cruise port design, maritime operations and marketing professionals – to create a plan to develop the destination into an attractive port of call on western Caribbean cruise itineraries. With increasing emphasis on tourism sustainability and concerns of over-tourism in some eastern and southern Caribbean ports of call, cruise lines are seeking alternative...
Princess Continues Summer Caribbean Program
Princess Cruises will continue offering summer Caribbean cruising from Florida in 2019, featuring the cruise line’s seven-day Eastern Caribbean and Western Caribbean itineraries. The May through July 2019 summer season features 17 cruise departures roundtrip from Ft. Lauderdale, visiting seven countries on four unique itineraries, including the East/West Adventurer which combines seven-day itineraries into an immersive 14-day voyage. Highlights of the program include calls to the cruise line’s private beach resort, Princess Cays, in the Bahamas on every seven-day Eastern...