Royal Caribbean Cruise Line’s Espresso Gets New Features

Travel agents using Espresso — the reservation system for Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, and Azamara Club Cruises — this week will be greeted by a host of new features.

The changes, officially made on Tuesday as a result of travel agent feedback, are all designed to make it as easy as possible for agents to make bookings and changes to bookings on Espresso.

The biggest feature, which the company says will help most with group bookings, will allow for agents to reserve a specific type of stateroom not in their group block by switching out staterooms with available inventory.

Interactive Deck Plans, which are now available through each type of reservation on Espresso, allow agents to determine a specific cabin to book. The program also helps agents set up a group block.

In addition, agents will be able to take advantage of new tour conductor credit notifications; each time an agent makes a booking, Espresso will update them with the number of new bookings they will need to earn their next credit. In a statement, Royal Caribbean said that “this is key to assisting travel partners as they make reservations between their group block or as individual bookings.”

Royal Caribbean last updated the system in 2016 when it added a new “closest stateroom” filter that allows agents to limit available options in each category with a “50 best open staterooms” search. At the same time, it expanded reporting for group business, allowing agents to create and manage their own reports, including invoices and financial statements.

According to the Royal Caribbean, more features will debut in 2018.