Theme Cruises Can Jazz Your Clients – and Your Bottom Line

Les-Lee Roland, owner of The Package Deal, a home-based agency, is also a motivational speaker and instructor for the travel industry — and has recently become a lover of jazz.

Jazz Cruises, LLC. caters to jazz lovers with full-ship charters, top talent and lots of opportunities for interaction with the performers. If you have clients who enjoy music and want a festival atmosphere at sea, with performances starting in the morning and continuing into the wee hours, these are the cruises to offer to them.
In 2011, the company will run three full-ship Caribbean charters on Holland America’s Noordam. Two sailings -The “Smooth Jazz Cruise” series will feature David Sanborn, Marcus Miller, Brian McKnight. There will also be one sailing of Straight Up Jazz. Each sailing will have over 80 top stars.

I have to admit that my knowledge of jazz was limited to Dixieland until I took my first Jazz Cruise, and then my second, and then my third and fourth. Last year, I led three groups and now being on a Jazz Cruise, LLC sailing is MY FAVORITE WAY TO VACATION. And the different facets of Jazz, — Straight Up, Smooth, Latin, and more — well, just let me gush a little.

First, how does Jazz Cruises get such top name talent? It’s probably because the stars love the audiences. They love the interaction. They’re partying with your clients all week, sharing in the banter, cooking classes, even Celebrity Bingo.

Want more statistics? Over 50% of the passengers typically rebook while still on a sailing. And so much is included — gratuities, Meet the Stars, autograph sessions, cocktail parties, and even passenger jam sessions with mentoring from the professionals.

The January 2010 sailing was sold out ten months in advance, with over 1,000 on the waiting list. That statistic is unheard of in the cruising industry! 

Travel agent Anita E. Berry first started her Jazz Cruise group sailings 20 years ago, with a scattering of 50 to 100 cabins.  Soon, she outgrew what the ships could offer.

Now, on Holland America, Jazz Cruises, LLC, run by her son Michael Lazaroff, finds more areas for entertaining than HAL ever used. He brings on lighting and sound crews, upgrades the menus, handpicks the background music throughout the ship, and the gifts…shhh…they’re supposed to be a secret.

In addition to commissions on bookings they make, agents receive commission when their client books directly. And clients may appreciate that there are payment plans available, unusual in the cruise industry.

And when people disembark on the last day, Michael is there to personally thank each and every one for coming.  People are posing for pictures, hugging and kissing, just like a family.

In fact, the whole ship has the feel of a family reunion. Returning passengers greet one another like old friends as they share another great week. It truly is a family of people from nations all around the world, proving that the music is the one common language we all share.

Those who want to learn how to sell this lucrative theme and earn high commissions, along with getting personalized training, a travel agent Web site, and possible exclusivity and leads in your area, can register for a Jazz Cruises Webinar. Whether you’re a newbie in the industry, or a veteran, you will learn from the expertise of the founders of Jazz Cruises, LLC.  

For details, visit www.jazzcruisesllc.com, phone (305) 651-3636, or e-mail anton@timeless-destinations.com.