Revenue-Boosting Ops Await Agents During Cruise Week

National Cruise Vacation Week, dubbed “The World’s Largest Cruise Sale,” can help agents boost their bookings during what is typically a slowdown at the end of the summer. Twenty-six member lines will offer extensive discounts and promotions from Oct. 21 to 27.

Agent-focused
“Two-thirds of all cruises are sold through travel agents,” Margaret Murphy, senior vice president of marketing and training for CLIA, told Travel Market Report. “We want as many consumers as possible to be able to experience a cruise vacation, and we want to engage as many of our travel agent partners as possible to help achieve that.”

This year, offers include up to $13,000 in savings on a luxury cruise and $1,500 per couple savings on a European river cruise. Other promotions include two-for-one pricing, free airfare, up to $500 in shipboard credits and complimentary shore excursions.

Millions in sales
Since expanding to an entire week two years ago, the promotion has been successful in generating buzz for the cruise industry and driving business to travel agents, according to Murphy.

“In 2010, it expanded from a single night to a full week, generating $55 million in cruise sales and more than $7 million in agency commissions for more than 5,000 participating agencies throughout the U.S. and Canada,” she said.

Special incentives this year vary by booking, but include free sailings and bonus commissions.

Online resources
A new CLIA web portal offers agents the ability to be better educated than ever before on the specific promotions. A list of consumer-facing promotions is available. 

CLIA members can register for NCVW to get more information on upcoming promotions and marketing materials.  In addition, each participating agent will receive access to a personalized mini-site on the NCVW website.

“We have updated the NCVW site, adding even more new marketing tools for our agents, including a new promotional video featuring CLIA’s president & CEO Christine Duffy discussing the value of a cruise vacation and of using a CLIA Travel Agent to book your personalized experience with NCVW deals,” said Murphy.

The new program also allows agents to feature consumer-friendly video on their personal site.