3Qs for Cruise Month: Vicki L. Freed, Royal Caribbean International

In honor of National Plan a Cruise Month, TMR is interviewing executives from across the travel industry.

Today’s interview is with Vicki L. Freed, CTC, senior vice president, sales and trade support & service at Royal Caribbean International.

What’s the biggest challenge/opportunity for the cruise industry and for Royal Caribbean going forward?
Our biggest opportunity as a brand is to keep our travel agent partners well informed on our product offerings.  Our ships and on-board experience are special and not a “me too ” product, and therefore, education is our number one priority.  We also appreciate how busy travel partners are and that they have information coming at them from many different suppliers.  Since travel agents are our “value interpreters,” we need them to be very familiar with how to best position our brand.

What are your plans for 2016?
We plan to introduce two new ships (Harmony of the Seas and Ovation of the Seas) and support the trade with even more resources, including local Strategic Account Managers in their local areas to help the travel partner grow their business.

What do you wish travel agents better understood about working with you?
We want travel agents to know that we view their role as a long-term partner.  We will invest time and money to help them become even more successful.  Everyone at Royal Caribbean understands that “our success is determined by the travel agent’s success.”