Beware of Onboard Cruise Bookings

When cruisers finally embark on their vacations, they face a nonstop barrage of marketing and solicitation to book their next cruise vacation even before they leave the ship.

Cruise lines’ onboard booking programs can be beneficial for both clients and travel agents, but onboard bookings may not always be what they seem, agents told Travel Market Report.

Cruisers should be discerning about what is actually being offered, according to Cindy Clifford, co-owner and vice president of Riverhead, N.Y.-based Gotta Go Cruises.

“We find that the onboard reservation agents have a tendency to lie through their teeth to get the bookings,” said Clifford, who also noted that about a third of her agency’s clients engage in some sort of onboard booking offer.

“Cruise lines say our clients will get this, that and the other thing; but then they don’t. It makes us look like liars.”

Big business for cruise lines
Like any other hotel or vacation resort, cruise lines want to turn clients into repeat customers, offering them anything from reduced deposits to onboard credits when they book a future trip while onboard.

For Peggy Rosenthal, a CruiseOne vacation specialist based out of Bella Vista, Ark., onboard bookings have been good for business.

“It’s been a positive experience, fairly seamless in the transition of the booking to me, and I have received commissions matching those I would expect when my clients books directly through me,” said Rosenthal.

Not for everyone
Rosenthal also made it clear, however, that an onboard booking isn’t the best way to go for every client.

“I encourage my clients to book onboard if they are satisfied with the cruise line and have intentions of cruising with them again,” she said.

“Booking onboard requires some amount of advance payment, and the incentives that go along with the deal are of no value if the client cannot meet the terms and conditions.”

Clifford said commissions from an onboard booking are generally comparable to those of a normal booking.

Solid commissions, but buyer beware
Other agents expressed similar concerns about onboard offers that may not always be all they are cracked up to be.

Travelers should avoid any onboard offer or promotion that needs to be pre-paid in full, and is non refundable, cautioned Kathy Burns Lamphier, president of POSH Travel LTC, a Virtuoso agency in Greenland, N.H.

“Any promotion that advertises ‘free air’ may not be what it seems, and clients are subject to the airlines and routing offered by the cruise line,” Lamphier said.

“There is always a cruise-only price; most of the time, travel advisors can beat the cruise line’s ‘free air’ promotions and offer better flight choices.”

Some clients demur
Whether it is due to an unattractive offer or the inability to commit to a future vacation far in advance, some agents have found that their clients just are not that interested in booking a future trip.

“Many of my clients do not book onboard, even though I make the option known to them,” said Steve Cousino, ACC, CTA at Journeys By Steve in Monona, Wis.

“I frequently work with busy professionals who really don’t have a clue when their next vacation will be, and I find that putting a deposit down on a potential future cruise—even if it’s useable for a significant period of time—to be something they have a hard time doing,” he said.

Cousino also said the offers he sees are just not all that captivating to clients.

“What I usually see is onboard credit offers, perhaps a specialty dining credit, but I really haven’t seen anything beyond that,” he said.

An attempt to phase out agents?
The lack of enthusiasm expressed by agents for onboard bookings with cruise lines may be indicative of a bigger issue: the potentially fractured relationships between agents and cruise lines.

“When we started in the business, the cruise lines bent over backwards to work with us,” said Clifford. “Instead of working with us, they’re now competing against us for the very customers that we brought them.”

At the recent christening of the Quantum of the Seas, Royal Caribbean International CEO Richard Fain highlighted just about everyone in his speech but agents, according to Clifford.

“It makes a great point for how important the travel agent community is to the cruise lines today,” she said.