On Location: “You’ve been asking for this”: travelbrands to allow cruise modifications on Access+

travelbrands Encore Cruises is streamlining its cruise booking process, announcing that modifications will soon be possible on Access+, the company’s all-in-one travel reservations and booking platform for travel advisors.

The announcement was made Wednesday morning (Nov. 11) during TravelBrands’ SeaU conference aboard Virgin Voyages’ Scarlet Lady, where approximately 265 English and French-speaking travel advisors from across Canada have gathered for five days of learning and networking.

Developed in response to travel advisor feedback, the new Access+ functionality isn’t live just yet, but is expected to roll out soon.

“You’re the first group of advisors to hear about this,” said Michael Sette, business development manager at travelbrands, addressing advisors in The Manor, a two-storey nightclub and performance space.

Jeff Carpenter, strategic account manager at travelbrands, acknowledged that modifications have been a long time in the making.

“You’ve been asking for this,” he told the room. “You’re going to be able to go in and actually modify things in your cruise bookings.”

The new functionality will allow travel advisors to make modifications to eligible cruise bookings directly through Access+, eliminating the need to contact the cruise call centre for certain changes.

The self-service feature will initially support seven cruise lines: Carnival Cruise Line, Celebrity Cruises, Holland America Line, MSC Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, Princess Cruises and Royal Caribbean International.

Two types of modifications

Modifications fall into two categories: Quick Modifications, which include passenger name and date-of-birth corrections, dining preferences and special requests; and Advanced Modifications, which cover more complex changes such as adding or removing passengers, adjusting rate codes, upgrading cabin categories, changing staterooms and adding prepaid gratuities.

To make a change, advisors simply navigate to the “My Bookings” section of Access+, select an eligible reservation and click “Modify Cruise.”

From there, they’ll be able to choose the type of modification, make the necessary adjustments and review any changes to pricing or booking terms before submitting.

Once submitted, the changes will be reflected in the cruise line’s reservation system, with an email confirmation sent to the advisor.

Encore Cruises will update the booking within 24 business hours, allowing advisors to retrieve a revised invoice.

There are some restrictions. Online modifications are only permitted more than 120 days before departure, while bookings within that window must be handled through the cruise call centre.

Air-and-cruise packages and certain special-rate bookings are also excluded. Available modification options and requirements vary by cruise line.

TravelBrands’ tenth SeaU continues through Friday. Stay tuned as Travel Market Report Canada brings you more onboard coverage!