Tag Archives: commission

Carnival offers Wave season bonus

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By Tom Stieghorst

Carnival Cruise Lines said it will pay a $25 bonus commission on certain bookings in January, as the industry’s Wave season swings into gear.

The offer joins Wave season promotions from MSC Cruises and Celebrity Cruises that have already been rolled out.

Carnival said the bonus payments apply to cruises of six days or more made in January for sailings from May 1 to Aug. 31, 2014.

Carnival also said it has sent agents advance notice of its first consumer promotion, which discounts fares by up to $400 on cruises of six days or longer that sail within five months of booking. Smaller discounts on shorter cruises are also part of the promotion.

MSC unveiled a “2-for-1 plus” promotion through March 31, that lets consumers pick a beverage package, an onboard credit or prepaid gratuities on certain Caribbean and European cruises and transition cruises between the Caribbean and Brazil.

Earlier, Celebrity Cruises jumped the gun on Wave season, which typically starts after the holidays, by reviving its 123Go! offer of perks on bookings between Nov. 29 and Feb. 28.

Norwegian Breakaway arrives in Southampton

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Norwegian Breakaway arrives in Southampton

By Phil Davies

Norwegian Breakaway arrives in SouthamptonNorwegian Breakaway becomes one of the biggest ships to make its debut in Southampton today for a special trade preview.

The latest Norwegian Cruise Line ship made a pre-inaugural overnight sailing from Rotterdam to arrive in the UK port this morning.

Hundreds of agents will be on board as the 4,028-passenger ship is showcased today by senior executives led by chief executive Kevin Sheehan.

They will be able to earn up to 4% bonus commission for their agencies by attending educational sessions onboard.

Norwegian believes the Engage and Reward initiative on board new ship Norwegian Breakaway is a first for the travel industry.

Agents will be given a unique barcode on arrival, which they will have scanned as they attend ship tours and presentations from senior managers, Ace and Travel Weekly among others.

The maximum bonus commission they can earn is 4%, which will be available to all staff in their agencies between May 15 and June 14 for sailings before the end of 2013.

Agents are being given the opportunity to meet representatives from key cruise destinations as they move through check-in and embarkation at Southampton.

Participating destinations include Alaska, Seattle, Miami, Clearwater Beach, Barcelona, Malaga and Palma.

Breakaway

Norwegian is also providing £25 bonus commission on new bookings made by May 14 as part of promotional campaign involving price cuts of up to £150 per cabin across various ships in the fleet.

UK & Ireland business development director Nick Wilkinson said: “Our Partners First philosophy recognises the central part that the trade plays in product distribution, and the Engage & Reward programme idea is rooted in that.

“Attending agents will have the opportunity to earn incremental commission for their organisation through attending the various educational elements of the launch activity.”

Norwegian Breakaway leaves tomorrow for its homeport of New York where it will be officially named on May 8. Summer cruises to Bermuda start two days later.

Norwegian Breakaway features seafood restaurant Ocean Blue by New York celebrity chef Geoffrey Zakarian, three Broadway shows, a quarter mile long ‘broadwalk’ and five water slides.

The vessel will be joined in April 2014 by sister ship Norwegian Getaway.

Cruise lines ‘are paying agents extra under the table’

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Cruise lines ‘are paying agents extra under the table’

By Lucy Huxley

Cruise lines 'are paying agents extra under the table'Cruise lines that have cut commission are giving money back to travel agents “under the table” as they accept that reducing payments to 5% was a mistake, according to the UK boss of MSC.

Giulio Libutti, UK managing director, told Travel Weekly: “Under the table, these lines are now starting to give money back.

“They aren’t going back to fixed rates of 15% or up to 18%, but they are offering double commission for certain months, or bonus commissions.

“Through variable means they are making it back up.”

He added: “The fact that Princess moved back from 5% to 10% shows it was a mistake. You have to have mutual respect for agents and, by cutting commission, they were basically saying the value of an agent wasn’t important any more.”

 

Libutti’s comments come a month after he accused lines of “underestimating the value of agents” by cutting commission.
MSC revised its terms to offer performance-based commission rates of up to 13%, a move Libutti claimed had increased revenue by 35% year on year in 2013, and had also developed new agent partnerships.

“We are now working with some small cruise specialists that a year ago were doing no business with us at all,” he said.

Libutti said competition was particularly challenging as growth in the cruise market had stalled due to the economic crisis and high-profile incidents involving Costa, Carnival and Thomson Cruises.

“Cruise will continue to grow but it is suffering so we all need to find travel agent partners who understand and share our targets.”

MSC expects to attract about 100,000 passengers from the UK in 2014, up from an anticipated 70,000-75,000 in 2013.