Royal Caribbean CEO defends agent compensation to investors

Posted on 26 April, 2013 by Spacejunkie2

Royal Caribbean CEO defends agent compensation to investors

By Tom Stieghorst

Royal Caribbean International CEO Adam Goldstein said he sees stability in the compensation paid to travel agents.

Asked by a Wall Street analyst to elaborate on commission strategy during Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.’s conference call on first-quarter earnings, Goldstein said Royal Caribbean takes pride in its travel agent relations.

_Adam Goldstein “Clearly, that relationship is predicated on us giving them competitive compensation to produce business for us,” he said. “If they don’t feel we’re giving them a fair shake on compensation, they may love us and our products, but they’re going someplace else.”

Goldstein said he doesn’t blame travel agents for asking for more compensation, nor does he blame investors for pushing for lower commission costs.

“It is our responsibility to navigate the right balance to reflect the great value they bring to the success of our business model and neither underpay nor overpay,” Goldstein said.

He said the foundations of travel agent compensation in recent years “have been much more stable than unstable.”

“It’s pretty clear what the building-block elements of travel agent compensation are, and it’s pretty clear travel agents are willing to produce good business for us with the existing components of their compensation,” Goldstein said.

Carnival chief says Nassau port project is in the works

Posted on 14 March, 2013 by Spacejunkie2

Carnival chief says Nassau port project is in the works

By Tom Stieghorst

MIAMI BEACH — Carnival Cruise Lines President Gerry Cahill said the line is working on a port-improvement project in Nassau, Bahamas.

Cahill made the disclosure on the State of the Industry panel at the Cruise Shipping Miami conference.

Carnival has previously partnered to build Caribbean port infrastructure in the Turks & Caicos and on the island of Roatan in Honduras.

Cahill would not discuss the scope or nature of the project, but said Carnival is working with a third party and getting cooperation from the Bahamian government to facilitate it.

In an interview after the panel discussion, Cahill said he wasn’t prepared to say more, but that details could be forthcoming in several weeks.

Island Princess rescues five stranded sailors

Posted on 21 December, 2012 by Spacejunkie2

Island Princess rescues five stranded sailors

A group of stranded sailors have been rescued from certain death by a cruise liner

Five sailors who had been previously drifting on a small vessel in the Caribbean have been rescued by a passing Princess Cruises liner.

The group of Jamaican sailors had feared the worst when their small boat lost its way during a recent trip to a friend’s barbecue, leaving them stranded in the ocean for three weeks.

However, they didn’t count on the passing cruise vessel the Island Princess, which had been scheduled to head to the nearby port of Ocho Rios in Jamaica.

Speaking to the Associated Press, cruise holidaymaker Andy Greenberg recounted the events involving the discovery of the stranded vessel.

“We noticed the boat slowing down,” he told the news provider

“We pulled up and the occupants were screaming: `No food, no water.'”

The stranded sailors initially requested fuel to continue on their trip but with cruise officials concerned for their health, this plea was denied and they were instead transported to the safety of the shore.

The story contrasts the tale of the Star Princess, which was previously accused of failing to stop for stranded fishermen back in March.

In that instance, evidence was eventually produced which cleared the cruise company of the claim.