ACTA: Carnival Really Is Committed to Agents

The Association of Canadian Travel Agents and Carnival Corp. have made their peace.

Six months after calling on Carnival Corp. to get serious about repairing its “frayed relationship” with travel agents – including by rethinking its policy on NCFs – David McCaig, ACTA’s top executive, met with Carnival Corp. president and CEO Arnold Donald to discuss the issues.

The April 16 meeting in New York came about only after “months of persistence,” according to ACTA.

October letter
Last October McCaig, ACTA’s president and COO, initiated contact with Donald in a sharply worded letter.

McCaig told Donald at the time that Carnival brands had “fallen out of favor” with agents in part because of the cruise company’s policies on non-commissionable fares, including its inconsistent terminology.  

The letter also called into question Carnival’s commitment to travel agents.

Doubts put to rest
This week, McCaig said his doubts about Carnival’s support of travel agents had been put to rest. “After meeting with Mr. Donald, I no longer question his commitment to the travel agency community,” McCaig said in a statement.

During their meeting in New York, McCaig told Donald that ACTA’s member agents “expect their relationships to work as true partnerships,” including fair compensation for agents.

In response, Donald “acknowledged” that agents “deserve reliable support and compensation for the work they do,” ACTA reported.

ACTA’s statement made no mention of any developments on the specific issue of NCFs.

Is it real?
If past experience is any guide, travel agents are likely to view Donald’s voiced support of the trade with some skepticism.

“Carnival, like a lot of the tour companies, comes to travel agencies when they really need them, and that’s true with Air Canada and a lot of the other companies too,” said David Jacob, owner of Markham Cruises, a TRAVELSAVERS member  in Markham, Ontario.

“But if there was a long-term commitment, if they’re saying Carnival is prepared to sign a 10-year agreement saying they will do this, then you’d know it was more real.”

It is, Jacob said, a question of determining “what’s just words and what’s a true commitment. How do they define ‘committed’?”

‘New commitment’
McCaig and Donald also discussed the business challenges faced by the cruise line and the agency community. With that clearer understanding in mind, they are now committed to exploring “win-win opportunities that benefit both parties,” McCaig said.

“This new commitment to understanding is just the beginning of a commitment to rebuild a mutually beneficial partnership with each other,” ACTA said.

ACTA also said it “appreciated” the way Carnival Corp. handled its October request for dialog. “After some standard follow up we were met with a friendly response.”

But in January, the association complained in an email to members that Donald had ignored its request for an open dialog on NCFs.