Do you think Celebrity will implement a similar policy?

[Bridge Maven]

Keep in mind that a travel agent is not a retail business that buys a product and then resells it. If they bought a block of cabins with their own cash and then resold them to people who wanted to book a cruise that would be very different. Instead they are an agent for the cruise line, who sell cruises for them, without spending a dime of their own money on that cruise.

 

They are comparable to an insurance agent, a real estate agent, a mortgage broker, who is not part of a lending institution, etc, and must adhere to the laws of agency.

[Phxazzcruisers]

OK. We always use our TA, even though she does not give us any OBC's. She has saved us time and money in the past when problems have arisen and is a great intermediary between us and the Cruise Company. An OBC of $100 to $200 is fortunately not a big deal to us and would not be a make or break for taking a cruise.

What happends, though, to the offers we receive from our airline or Hotel which offers points with them to bbok through them? Is that regulated also?

In the end, this will still cost the Cruise lines in additional help and service issues. If a TA offers an OBC, they have to send the cruise line the $$$$$, so removing that OBC will not save the Cruise line anything.

I do see how it will equal the playing field for small and large TA's, but I thought this was America, a Country based on Capitalism and freedoms. They will be leveling the playing field and losing revenue for all agencies across the board. Again, we always use a TA even though we do not receive anything except advice and help when we need it, but I am sure, from what is being posted, that many use them just for the OBC. What will they be regulating next??????

 

Bridge Maven, I do not want to get into an argument here, but, for example, there are guidelines for Real Estate agents on the commission they should charge, but they have the right to charge -0- if they want. A mortgage broker can share part of his commission as an incentive.....

 

It seems that when an industry sets guidelines to do what they feel is the right thing, it stiffels the economic rules of supply and demand and causes more issues than results that they hoped to achieve in the first place.

 

Only my opinion. Thanks

[C 2 C]

I

 

We don't need advice from an agent -- we're regulars on the boards -- so we already know it all ;)

 

These boards are such a wonderful learning tool.

 

:D

[BBsails]

Passing along the paragraph below with the specifics from Carnival. It was included in an email from our TA and seems rather draconian. I've never booked a Carnival cruise and probably never will.

 

"Carnival has just announced that effective 8/1/12, they will not allow travel agents to give ANY cash equivalent value-adds (i.e shipboard credit, pre-paid gratuities, gas cards, airline miles, reduced airfare; free or discounted travel insurance, hotel nights, or shore excursions) and will be limiting any booking incentives to a $25 pp non-cash equivalent item (like a tote bag, hat, beach towel, memory book, sunglasses and Carnival gifts delivered onboard (Bon Voyage items)). This new policy applies not only to advertising, but all forms of communication, including in-person, phone or any other means. If any travel agent is caught violating the policy, (whether big, small or even a home based agent belonging to a host agency) their commission can be eliminated and they can be put on a "no book" status."

[Bridge Maven]

My gut feeling is that Royal Caribbean will probably follow suit in the near future for all the cruise lines they own, including Celebrity.

[Redtravel]

Unless Celebrity offers great commissions to TAs. they will shy away from selling Celebrity cruises. They will push clients to book other cruise lines. From my experience, TAs are in business to make money. Selling a cruise/trip is a delicate balance between offering incentives and a good price. Also TAs can be helpful as your agent in the event of problems happening. TAs can also be dishonest and unhelpful. For all the TAs that are excellent and know their business, there are also TAs that only know how to make money. I've experienced them all. If that extra OBC or dinner coupon makes your decision to take Celebrity over another cruise line, then you probably will choose another cruise line. If you choose Celebrity because you enjoy their cruises, the extra OBC is nice...not a deal breaker. I like saving money. For me, the bottom line price of the cruise is important. I like OBC, but have found it often isn't enough to make or break the deal. If you follow the incentives from Celebrity directly, you can do okay. On my next cruise, I booked when they offered free gratuities. THat's more than the $200 OBC that I could have received from a TA. If they do limit the extra incentives offered by TAs, perhaps the prices will go down. If Celebrity puts a lock on the cruise fare and the incentives, it will become like shopping for a SATURN...and we all know what happened. Changing the way people view shopping for a cruise or car is a way of life. Competition will win out.

[Bridge Maven]

This is probably good news for local brick and mortar travel agencies that can't afford to give incentives, and bad for travel agents who have a very small profit margin per customer and rely on volume.

[Dave85]

I sincerely hope RCI sees this as a competitive advantage for their brands.

Please don't take the bait RCI.

 

Agreed. The "value proposition" that so many Carnival cruisers celebrate becomes less significant now if RCI doesn't follow suit. I think RCI (in particular) will generate some new first-time bookings as a result with the net-price gap decreasing. How much, I have no idea... but I think it would be advantageous to them to not follow suit.

[CoachT]

There are agencies that are not agents for the cruise line, but for their clients. The clients pay their salaries as they work the same way a certified financial planner. Instead of investing thousands for the future, travel consultants are investing thousands on a vacation.

 

I do think other lines will follow Carnival's actions and I do not believe this is for any benefit other than their own. However, I do believe in price integrity. Apple sets a Minimum Advertised Price. The thing about this is, agents can still give gifts, they cannot however give them as an incentive to book. They give them as a surprise after the fact. But Carnival does employ secret shoppers and can and does put agencies on a stop-sell. Costco being the biggest agency no longer allowed to sell Carnival.

 

The other important fact is that there are more people who haven't cruised that are members or even active posters on Cruise Critic. I have never had to discount to get a sale as have many other travel consultants.

[Kevnzworld]

Celebrity already tries to make it inconvenient to use a " travel professional ". When you call with a question, you have to pick between press one if you booked your vacation with a certified vacation planner ( Celebrity ), or two if you booked through a travel agent ( wait on hold ),

When you get through to the service person, they have one answer generally..." ask your agent ", can I do.." call your agent ".

I generally get mad, and get an answer or a supervisor. It's inconvenient to call your agent, they call celebrity, then they call you back with options, they call back celebrity etc, just to get a question answered!

Removing the financial incentive ( or attempting to, like I said before, it can't be policed ), removes one of the last reasons to use an agent. People like us that cruise often get more info online here than agents know anyway!

Jeez, I had to explain to my agent how the Tuesday special rodeo works!

I don't know about everyone else here, but given the control, ease and convenience of booking direct, vs

using an agent and getting a thank you tote bag is a no brainer. I already book my own airfare and excursions, so why not the cruise!

[trixiegolf]

It's my personal opinion that cruise lines will soon follow the lead of airlines... not giving commissions to travel agents. If only booking cruises on the internet or directly with the cruise lines they will save a ton of money. Any personal services will be out the window.

[Orator]

It might be wise for Celebrity to just wait and see if the policy adds to Carnival's bottom line. If it does, Celebrity might follow. If it doesn't, Celebrity won't follow. Many businesses regulate the sales of their distributors and may remove a store as an outlet for their product if they violate the rules.

[jackdiamond]

It's my personal opinion that cruise lines will soon follow the lead of airlines... not giving commissions to travel agents. If only booking cruises on the internet or directly with the cruise lines they will save a ton of money. Any personal services will be out the window.

I believe that your assessment is correct. Also, once Carnival requires that their gratuities be mandatory, the rest of the industry will follow suit. That action will eliminate one now very contentious thread on CC.

[retired067]

I see this new policy as having nothing to do with the OBC that a TA give you. As I understand it, TA's could charge back to Carnival up to 5% of the total cruise fare without having to get authorization and up to 10% of tatal fare with authorization from Carnival. I think this is what they talking about. How could Carnival dictate what a TA does with his/her own funds.

[Bridge Maven]

This is Carnival's justification for their new policy about travel agents:

 

"The policies not only offer small to medium-sized agencies an advantage as they no longer need to compete on price when selling Carnival cruises, but consumers benefit as well, the line says.

 

"Consumers are often confused by a plethora of offers for the same sailing," Joni Rein, vice president of worldwide sales for Carnival Cruise Lines, told Cruise Critic. "Confusion leads to doubt and results in unnecessary shopping around for the best deal."

 

Additionally, these policies are also meant to encourage cruisers to select their travel agents based on expertise and service rather than lowest price or highest perk promotions."

[Orator]

This is Carnival's justification for their new policy about travel agents:

 

"The policies not only offer small to medium-sized agencies an advantage as they no longer need to compete on price when selling Carnival cruises, but consumers benefit as well, the line says.

 

"Consumers are often confused by a plethora of offers for the same sailing," Joni Rein, vice president of worldwide sales for Carnival Cruise Lines, told Cruise Critic. "Confusion leads to doubt and results in unnecessary shopping around for the best deal."

 

Additionally, these policies are also meant to encourage cruisers to select their travel agents based on expertise and service rather than lowest price or highest perk promotions."

 

The consumer never benefits when free market competition is limited. Certainly not a waste of my time to shop for the best deal.

[MVPinBoynton]

I am so glad that I am not a TA! If I were, this announcement would be telling me that my future could be in big trouble..

[Kevnzworld]

 

Exactly!

Cruise lines know that all things being equal, it's easier to just book directly thru the line and bypassing a TA. Most of the time you call your TA , leave a message, they call you back and leave a message. Once you talk to them , they call Celebrity, call you back leave a message...on and on.

My TA, is nice , so though less convenient I give her my business. My friend who is going on my next cruise was going to book direct. I convinced him to let my TA do it, for $200 OBC. With that incentive gone, I might just book direct...less hassle.

[Bridge Maven]

I see this new policy as having nothing to do with the OBC that a TA give you. As I understand it, TA's could charge back to Carnival up to 5% of the total cruise fare without having to get authorization and up to 10% of tatal fare with authorization from Carnival. I think this is what they talking about. How could Carnival dictate what a TA does with his/her own funds.

 

Retired - would you feel the same way if a real estate agent gave part of her commission to the buyer, and no one knew about it?

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[C 2 C]

Carnival:

 

pleth·o·ra (pl th r- ). n. 1. A superabundance; an excess. 2. An excess of blood in the circulatory system or in one organ or area.

 

 

They want to suck the last ounce of blood in making a deal...

[Christine Frances]

Interesting article from Travel Weekly http://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Travel-Agent-Issues/Cruise-execs-tout-agents-value-during-Travel-Weekly-panel/

[Andy]

Now, I'll eat all my words when Host Andy or anothe poster I trust comes on and explains why this is a good deal for us, and not the Cruise Line....until then, at least we have a thread subject that isnt about smuggling and what to wear to dinner!

 

Den

 

Hi Denny,

 

As always, thank you for your kind comments.

 

To be clear, I do not feel this is a good thing for consumers. If it plays out they way it appears, I feel the *best case* scenario is a net neutral for Carnival Guests. I see far more potential negatives than positives.

 

As for the TA's, I suspect most of the larger agencies are unhappy with Carnival... though I can envision some scenarios where the smaller volume sellers might be pleased, as it puts them on more of a level playing field against the mega-sellers.

 

When time permits, I plan to share additional thoughts.

[retired067]

Retired - would you feel the same way if a real estate agent gave part of her commission to the buyer, and no one knew about it?

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

Hi Bridge Maven, not sure I understand you post. All I'm saying is, if I understand it correctly, and I have been known to not understand things from time to time, the new policy has nothing to do with commissions, it only has to do with the billbacks TA's were able to do to give the customer a break and I guess they lost their commission on the amount of the billback only. Are TA's allowed to bill other cruise lines in the same manner or was Carnival the only one. As for the real estate agent, I have received kickbacks from them on the three houses that I have bought.

[CaroleLee]

This is a new policy from Carnival Cruise Lines:

 

"As of August 1, 2012, travel agents will be forbidden from providing any cash-equivalent incentives to their customers such as onboard credit, specialty dining, etc., and instead will only be permitted to offer token gifts of no more than $25 in value".

 

 

Do you think Celebrity will implement a similar policy in the near future?

 

The entire policy quote is rather demeaning to the cruising public "too many choices create confusion" I'm paraphrasing. The bottom line is that this policy will push people to book directly thereby elminating Carnival's need to PAY commissions.

I book via TA. I do the reseach and tell her where ,when & cabin etc. She does the paperwork. I know if I have a problem I can call her & get a human -not preprogrammed response.

Carole

[cruisercrazy69]

Carnival has limited OBC starting 8/1/12 has X started this?