Post of HAL board about HAL (and other CARNIVAL Corp) will stop allowing discounting

[Coral]

She may have extended her stay on the Oasis, still haven't heard back from her. And if she were home, she would have replied by now. I promise, when I hear back, I will post her response. ;) I did tell her there was no rush on this, and if she was still gone, it could wait until she returned.

 

The first "revenue generating oasis cruise is today" so my guess is that she got off today and is flying home today.

[Toto2Kansas]

Coral, Exactly correct, she just emailed me on her way home from the Oasis cruise.

She said she has not heard one word about this yet, but will check into it more and get back to me as soon as she finds out anything more about this taking place or not.

[SeattleCruiselover]

I just logged in to the HAL travel agent "headquarters" site, and there is nothing listed there or in their media releases, so it may not have been made totally public yet. I also logged in to the area where the corporate HQ of the agency I occasionally sell for has all of that type of information that has been passed on to them. Nothing there either.

 

If I see or hear something before Toto's TA lets her know, I will post also.

[Toto2Kansas]

Thank You!

[4cats4me]

And me... :D

 

 

 

And me too!;)

[Crown Prince]

Since 80% of the cruise bookings for Princess are made through Travel Agencies, it is hard to believe that Princess would cut of it's own nose.

 

:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

[LAFFNVEGAS]

I spoke directly with our HAL rep this week. Basically what happened there are some On-Line Agencies that were posting on their web site extremely low discounted prices. This has always been something that HAL and Princess has told their TA's they cannot do but up till now HAL has just looked the other way. What I understand is that HAL (like all the other cruise lines) have been watching what is being posted and to those that have been posting deeply reduced prices these agencies were basically given a slap on the hands and told they can no longer post these prices. Now for the agencies that post prices that are the same as HAL's they have not received any type of notification. HAL will still allow TA's to discount their commission they just cannot blatantly advertise these low prices.

[Toto2Kansas]

That sounds logical, and I hope that is all there is to it. I do know of one large online site that really shows deeply discounted prices with just a click of the mouse, and for some time I have wondered how they were advertising such huge discounts like that publically. Thanks, will keep my ears open for word from my TA also. ;)

[SeattleCruiselover]

That sounds logical, and I hope that is all there is to it. I do know of one large online site that really shows deeply discounted prices with just a click of the mouse, and for some time I have wondered how they were advertising such huge discounts like that publically. Thanks, will keep my ears open for word from my TA also. ;)

 

I used to wonder that, too, until I spent a few months working for one of the large dotcom agencies. What I found out both curled my hair and turned it almost totally gray, which is why I did not stay with them for very long. I value customer service too much.

[Coral]

I spoke directly with our HAL rep this week. Basically what happened there are some On-Line Agencies that were posting on their web site extremely low discounted prices. This has always been something that HAL and Princess has told their TA's they cannot do but up till now HAL has just looked the other way.

 

Are you referring to HAL's equivilent to flash specials? Not sure what HAL calls them.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Are you referring to HAL's equivilent to flash specials? Not sure what HAL calls them.

HAL calls them Flash Specials as well, but there are or I should say soon to be were agencies out there that were showing prices considerably less than the Flash pricing. It was those On Line agencies that recieved the email and those agencies that are sending out emails that HAL will no longer allow discounting.

[sppunk]

Can someone let me know if I'm getting this straight in my head?

 

Carnival Corp. MIGHT not allow any TA (online or brick-and-mortar) from selling a cruise at a lower price than if you called the cruise line directly (or booked through the cruise line's web site).

 

To get around this, agencies will be able of offer other incentives instead of cheaper fares - ie OBC, insurance, gifts, etc.?

[Wild Thing ~T]

I just booked 4 cabins on the Zaandam for an April Cruise. Our TA is great, she explained this situation to us and informed us they were not going to cut into their fees, comissions, ect. to save I few bucks. I certainly do not blame her. She provides excellent and very professional service, I feel we get what we pay for! She has worked hard in the past on upgrades, perks, ect. for us. ;)

[smeyer418]

I'm surprised that it took them this long, since RCI and Celebrity have had the policy for at least four years that I can remember. The only thing those two lines will allow in terms of discounting is prepaid gratuities, which does not add up to very much. If agencies get caught discounting in any other fashion (including commission rebates) they are subject to losing the lines' business affiliation.

they prohibit advertising discounts but have allowed certain OBC's and other amenities so I don't think this is the death knell yet of the cruise TA's. Its still true that 80%+ of cruises come through TA's. The prepaid gratuities can add up to 5% of the fare or more. In addition TA's still can have group fares and other fares that are cheaper than the cruise lines-and which the cruise line has limited control over.

[Crown Prince]

Can someone let me know if I'm getting this straight in my head? Carnival Corp. MIGHT not allow any TA (online or brick-and-mortar) from selling a cruise at a lower price than if you called the cruise line directly (or booked through the cruise line's web site).

To get around this, agencies will be able of offer other incentives instead of cheaper fares - ie OBC, insurance, gifts, etc.?

 

T.A.s will still be able to discount, give back commission, etc.

What is new is: They may Not ADVERTISE these low fares, either in print, e-mails, or on websites. It will be negotiated between the T.A. and her pax, either on the phone or an e-mail.

 

The Key is that the cruiseline will not allow cut rates to appear to the public.

 

;);):D;);)

[Toto2Kansas]

My TA is still trying to verify what this is all about. As soon as she can get ahold of her 'one in the know' with Princess, she will let me know. I haven't forgotten, and have been in contact with her several times, but until I hear for sure from her, I am hoping others are correct in the changes that are being made, that it will only stopping those practices of advertiseing the discounted prices.

[Coral]

[quote name='Toto2Kansas']My TA is still trying to verify what this is all about. As soon as she can get ahold of her 'one in the know' with Princess, she will let me know. I haven't forgotten, and have been in contact with her several times, but until I hear for sure from her, I am hoping others are correct in the changes that are being made, that it will only stopping those practices of advertiseing the discounted prices.[/QUOTE]

It is difficult on weekends to get a hold of anyone who would know the answer.

[sppunk]

Thank you. That just creates more work - I like to visit a certain online cruise-only site that often has nearly the best price (hint, hint) to get a feeling on starting points for various cruises. You simply click through the options to arrive at a price.

Now, I guess, I'll have to e-mail my inforamtion to whomever to receive pricing. Takes more time but is understandable.

[Toto2Kansas]

I just heard back from my TA, and she did get in contact with someone 'in the know'. It seems, from what she says, that stopping the travel agent discounting is something her contact has not heard anything about at all.

So, my guess is, it is to stop the online agents from posting those discounted prices is what this is all about. Taking a long breathe here, as that is very good news to me. :)

[ginagirl]

[quote name='Toto2Kansas']I just heard back from my TA, and she did get in contact with someone 'in the know'. It seems, from what she says, that stopping the travel agent discounting is something her contact has not heard anything about at all.

So, my guess is, it is to stop the online agents from posting those discounted prices is what this is all about. Taking a long breathe here, as that is very good news to me. :)[/quote]
Me too!!!! Yippee!!!!:D Thanx for the update, Toto.:)

[LARGIN]

[FONT=Comic Sans MS][COLOR=Black]Thanks Toto for the info.. [/COLOR][/FONT]

[kruisey]

[quote name='kruisey'][url]www.glgroup.com/news/travel-agents-critical-for-cruise-industry-success-today-and-in-the-future-38049.html[/url]

Just mouse on to this and the report will open.[/QUOTE]
I wrote this in the wrong thread.
It should have been under the one about stopping of discounts to TA's. I will try and get it changed by CC:o