RCI Profits down 44%

[spongerob]

Here you go, a photo

 

http://redwing.hutman.net/~mreed/warriorshtm/troller.htm

[HighlandCruzer]

Whit impartial advice as well.

jj.......

 

[Robb]

spongerob, what a great site....;)...thanks.

 

Sue L...........wanted to say a word of thanks as well.....been reading your messages for ages......would love to cruise with you some day. I have a wonderful TA (a brick and mortar concern) and would hate to travel without her assistance. Over the years she has become like part of the family. She takes care of everything for us. :D:D:D

 

Not everyone can always have a good attitude and ignore the slight failings of others. Wouldn't it make for an even greater world if we all could?

[BecciBoo]

Here you go, a photo

 

http://redwing.hutman.net/~mreed/warriorshtm/troller.htm

 

 

[BecciBoo]

Sue: I will never use a TA again....I'm too considerate!

After I finish most TAs don't make a penny, so rather than take advantage of a very hard working, meteorically low paid individual, I will have a heart and do my own booking;):D When I tried to get into the business, they kept telling me, the object is to make money.....!

[TEXASMUNK]

have spent most of my life in the travel industry before I had to go make money, I have to agree...What?

 

A TA acts as an agent. When you make a deposit, for example via, CC, you should be getting a confirmation....one from the TA as well as a copy from (in this case) a cruise line. What could be more transparent?

 

Sorry, but do we need yet one more Government program?

No, but we do need to take some personal responsibility for who we do business with....

 

Folks like you continue to give the hard working professionals in your industry a GOOD name!

[G'ma]

They still managed to do better than predicted.

 

Same with Carnival.. They're down 20% but also did better than predicted.

 

Like all of us, it's going to take a while for them to recover from our economic nightmare.

 

Have faith, folks...and keep those bookings coming in......:D

[ubdkjrb]

Nope L is for my last name . Airlines, still do pay commissions to the larger agencies. The cruiselines are doing more for us, not less, sorry you won't get your wish. Most ta's do the above now and don't charge the client.

 

Not Southwest. Now there's a company that the cruiselines should model themselves after. When they cut their ties with the travel agencies they cut them all. You can't make a reservation for Southwest on Expedia, Orbitz, Travelocity or any other travel booking site. You have to use theirs. Oh, and by the way, they have made money for 33 consecutive years - the only airline able to make that statement.

[aurelius180]

Not Southwest. Now there's a company that the cruiselines should model themselves after. When they cut their ties with the travel agencies they cut them all. You can't make a reservation for Southwest on Expedia, Orbitz, Travelocity or any other travel booking site. You have to use theirs. Oh, and by the way, they have made money for 33 consecutive years - the only airline able to make that statement.

 

 

Which has far more to do with their operations rather than the fact they don't work with TAs.

[ubdkjrb]

Which has far more to do with their operations rather than the fact they don't work with TAs.

 

The point I was trying to make was that not working with TA's has not hurt their business and that the cruiselines could possibly learn from that.

[Schplinky]

RCL's stock actually went up yesterday based on this earnings report, since it was not as bad as expected.

[Schplinky]

The point I was trying to make was that not working with TA's has not hurt their business and that the cruiselines could possibly learn from that.

 

 

Maybe, but booking a flight for a person involves a lot less advice than helping them choose a line, sailing, itinerary and cabin type. I don't see it as the same.

[FireIce0010]

Not Southwest. Now there's a company that the cruiselines should model themselves after. When they cut their ties with the travel agencies they cut them all. You can't make a reservation for Southwest on Expedia, Orbitz, Travelocity or any other travel booking site. You have to use theirs. Oh, and by the way, they have made money for 33 consecutive years - the only airline able to make that statement.

 

Maybe you should ask the head boys that used to run Renaissance Cruise Line. They thought by eliminating Travel Agents they could make more profit. Those eight ships are now owned by RCCL, Carnival and Oceania. Did not work for them and it won't work for the remaining cruise lines.

[Aquahound]

Here you go, a photo

 

http://redwing.hutman.net/~mreed/warriorshtm/troller.htm

 

That was great!

 

Thanks! :D

[aurelius180]

Maybe, but booking a flight for a person involves a lot less advice than helping them choose a line, sailing, itinerary and cabin type. I don't see it as the same.

 

 

Exactly. You would have to live with a cruise decision for a week as opposed to a couple of hours. The cruise decision has far more variables invloved than getting from point A to point B as quickly and cost efficiently as possible.

[ubdkjrb]

Maybe you should ask the head boys that used to run Renaissance Cruise Line. They thought by eliminating Travel Agents they could make more profit. Those eight ships are now owned by RCCL, Carnival and Oceania. Did not work for them and it won't work for the remaining cruise lines.

 

9/11 had way more to do with their failure than cutting loose the travel agencies. Technology and travellers have become much more mature in the years since that tragedy and today's cruiser is much better equiped to use internet booking sites than they were at the turn of the millenium. The first bank that went to online bill paying was a complete failure as well; but we all know how widespread that is today.

[ubdkjrb]

Exactly. You would have to live with a cruise decision for a week as opposed to a couple of hours. The cruise decision has far more variables invloved than getting from point A to point B as quickly and cost efficiently as possible.

 

This is brought up all the time when discussing this subject. The vast, vast, vast (and dare I say it again), vast majority of cruisers know the specifics of their next cruise before they attempt to book it. I would venture a guess that most do exactly what I do. I first decide where, in general, I want to go. For me it's between the caribbean, mexican riviera or the Med (I still have no desire to go to Alaska). Nine times out of ten, its the Caribbean. Then I decide about what time of the year I want to go. With this information, I go to one of the online sites and look for the best deal. For me, I limit it to those cruiselines that I am willing to sail - RCCL, Princess, Celebrity and NCL. Once I find the best deal, I jump on their website and book the cheapest balcony cabin available. Actual online time is about 30 minutes. When I want to fly somewhere, it takes me about fifteen minutes; so I guess cruising is about twice as difficult to book as airfare.

 

Now I know someone is going to say, yes but what about all those new to cruising. PS. only about twenty percent of people have ever cruised (or something like that). Again, ninety percent of people that will cruise this year have cruised before. They know not to book a cabin under the pool deck. They know that the actual cabin choice at time of booking isn't that critical because you can easily change it within the same category for free (unless, of course, you have a TA that charges for things like that). They know that they can get their airfare cheaper on their own than booking thru the cruiseline. Etc. etc. etc. This isn't like booking a safari in Africa.

[aurelius180]

This is brought up all the time when discussing this subject. The vast, vast, vast (and dare I say it again), vast majority of cruisers know the specifics of their next cruise before they attempt to book it. I would venture a guess that most do exactly what I do. I first decide where, in general, I want to go. For me it's between the caribbean, mexican riviera or the Med (I still have no desire to go to Alaska). Nine times out of ten, its the Caribbean. Then I decide about what time of the year I want to go. With this information, I go to one of the online sites and look for the best deal. For me, I limit it to those cruiselines that I am willing to sail - RCCL, Princess, Celebrity and NCL. Once I find the best deal, I jump on their website and book the cheapest balcony cabin available. Actual online time is about 30 minutes. When I want to fly somewhere, it takes me about fifteen minutes; so I guess cruising is about twice as difficult to book as airfare.

 

Now I know someone is going to say, yes but what about all those new to cruising. PS. only about twenty percent of people have ever cruised (or something like that). Again, ninety percent of people that will cruise this year have cruised before. They know not to book a cabin under the pool deck. They know that the actual cabin choice at time of booking isn't that critical because you can easily change it within the same category for free (unless, of course, you have a TA that charges for things like that). They know that they can get their airfare cheaper on their own than booking thru the cruiseline. Etc. etc. etc. This isn't like booking a safari in Africa.

 

First off I'd like to say I do not use TAs. No bias towards them but feel comfortable doing it myself. My first cruise was through a TA because I won the cruise and glad I did use one because I had no idea what to expect.

 

I would agree that the vast majority of cruisers do it themselves but would argue that a large percentage of the general population (not cruising population) have never cruised before and would not have any idea what to expect. For these people a TA would probably be an invaluable tool. After the first cruise many may choose to do it on their own next or enjoyed the security and comfort of using a TA and continue to do so. Some people aren't as sure of their decisions and need someone with experience to help them along or aren't as tech savvy to research on their own. These may be lost future sales for the cruise industry if not for TAs.

 

RCCL is wagering a huge bet with the Oasis and Allure that there is a large percentage of the population that hasn't cruised before. It may peak the interest of many of those people who are too nervous to do book it alone.

 

I'm sure the amount of commissionn paid out to TAs is more than offset by the sales revenue they generate.

[TBSCruiser]

There are plenty of experienced cruisers like myself (just did #100) who prefer someone do it for them. I can do it but since it costs me nothing...why should I? We just had a delayed arrival on the Brilliance of the Seas, October 13th sailing and we had to reschedule flights and get a hotel, one email to my TA and it was all taken care of. Many on the ship took the bulk of their last two days to accomplish the same thing and had to wait on long lines and were unable to enjoy themselves. While this is a rare occurance, it was so nice having someone cover my back. Mine doesn't charge for anything but if she did it would be money well spent.

[xpcdoojk]

9/11 had way more to do with their failure than cutting loose the travel agencies. Technology and travellers have become much more mature in the years since that tragedy and today's cruiser is much better equiped to use internet booking sites than they were at the turn of the millenium. The first bank that went to online bill paying was a complete failure as well; but we all know how widespread that is today.

 

That would be wrong. Renaissance shut down on September 26, 2001 and they were in deep doo doo long long before 911.

 

I have yet to see any downside of booking with a good travel agent.

 

jc

[Zion21]

Not Southwest. Now there's a company that the cruiselines should model themselves after. When they cut their ties with the travel agencies they cut them all. You can't make a reservation for Southwest on Expedia, Orbitz, Travelocity or any other travel booking site. You have to use theirs. Oh, and by the way, they have made money for 33 consecutive years - the only airline able to make that statement.

 

Damn i always use orbitz. kind of kills the deal for me.:(

[El Mono]

So, RCL in fact is showing a profit. Better than many companies right now.

 

.

 

It shows that RCI did the right thing with their cost savings programs, despite people here being very upset and emailing Mr Goldstein when they found out that they were barred from the concierge lounge and the free drinks that came with the Diamond + membership program ;)

[Schplinky]

This is brought up all the time when discussing this subject. The vast, vast, vast (and dare I say it again), vast majority of cruisers know the specifics of their next cruise before they attempt to book it. I would venture a guess that most do exactly what I do. I first decide where, in general, I want to go. For me it's between the caribbean, mexican riviera or the Med (I still have no desire to go to Alaska). Nine times out of ten, its the Caribbean. Then I decide about what time of the year I want to go. With this information, I go to one of the online sites and look for the best deal. For me, I limit it to those cruiselines that I am willing to sail - RCCL, Princess, Celebrity and NCL. Once I find the best deal, I jump on their website and book the cheapest balcony cabin available. Actual online time is about 30 minutes. When I want to fly somewhere, it takes me about fifteen minutes; so I guess cruising is about twice as difficult to book as airfare.

 

Now I know someone is going to say, yes but what about all those new to cruising. PS. only about twenty percent of people have ever cruised (or something like that). Again, ninety percent of people that will cruise this year have cruised before. They know not to book a cabin under the pool deck. They know that the actual cabin choice at time of booking isn't that critical because you can easily change it within the same category for free (unless, of course, you have a TA that charges for things like that). They know that they can get their airfare cheaper on their own than booking thru the cruiseline. Etc. etc. etc. This isn't like booking a safari in Africa.

 

 

I disagree. The majority of returning cruisers might have an idea but most first-timers need to be talked through, if the posts on this board are anything to go on. Given that the board represents a small sub-set of the population and, one could argue, a sub-set prone to doing their own research, that would mean that a larger less self-advocating is out there being led through the process by people like travel agents.

 

Most industry stats say that on an average cruise, 50% are first-timers. Not sure where you're getting your 90% number. Cruising, like most vacation experiences, thrives because of newcomers and enthusiastic returners.

 

I think you're projecting your own knowledge about cruising onto the general public. The fact that your hobby is to chat about cruising in your spare time likely means that you know more about it than the average cruiser. If the comments we here on this board and onboard actual ships is anything to go on, most vacationers know a lot about the feel of cruising from two sources: the Love Boat (god help us) and their friends/family who went on one and loved it. That doesn't mean they know which line to choose, which itinerary will work for them, how to choose a room, etc. For my own part, I am prone to doing my own research (thus, the ga-gillion posts I've made here) but I can tell you by having dragged about 25 different people into cruising that there remain many, many people who would not dream of booking a trip without advice from their TA. You might disagree about the wisdom of using one but no line is going to be the first to drop commissions and risk losing that market.

 

RCL has, in fact, re-enforced the wisdom of using a TA over the past few years, even as they have made it easier to to book your own cruise on the web-site. They have added a Ta locator function to their web-site and I believe they even made a TA one of their God Mothers, which makes a lot of sense since I'd want the single largest group of people who help people choose cruises to like my company. Conversely, I would also take great measures not to annoy them by, say, not paying them.

 

p.s. I am not a TA and have booked cruises both directly and through TAs.

[TEXASMUNK]

folks that have cruised are a small minority. Those on these boards are an even smaller group. Using a TA is probably one of the smartest move a "newbie' can make until they learn the small things.

 

Someone mentioned SW. They are not hooked into any of the major CRS systems (Computer Reservation Systems) and have always been independant of the mainstream reservation systems. They are using an old systme based on Braniff's system, Cowboy....long ago modified and modernized, but still not tied in.

 

They have a totally different business model than the majors. Remember, most folks want a wide body for that transcon flight, not a 737. Or their trip to hawaii...they want a bigger aricraft, so airlines will have a mix in their fleet. SW has been highly successful using the 737.

 

When it comes to a TA, the good ones are invaluable! The person working the other end of a phone at a web site or expedia or any of the others...can book you a reservation, little else....

[SEASONEDCRUZER]

The point I was trying to make was that not working with TA's has not hurt their business and that the cruiselines could possibly learn from that.

 

umm, not always the case! In Canada we have an airline called WestJet that has ALWAYS paid commissions to agents and they have such a good reputation with agents and passengers that they went from a small, start up, regional airline to become a major pain in Air Canada's bottom line! So much of Air Canada's market share was being eroded by TA's booking their passengers on WestJet instead that Air Canada had to go back to paying commissions to agents on flights within Canada!!! Air Canada would NEVER have reversed their no commission stance if WestJet was not encroaching on their market share driven by Travel Agents.

 

Royal Caribbean is very vocal about recommending people use an agent, and they intend to keep that relationship strong as a way to market and distibute their product!

 

Not everyone wants to book their travel themselves, if they want to use an agent why shouldn't they??? If you are comfortable booking it yourself go ahead, but don't berate those that use an agent, or the agents themselves!!