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TA's versus Carnival PVP - Competition Good or Bad?

pgmrdev

By pgmrdev,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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pgmrdev

pgmrdev

Posted
Posted

If you were a TA would you sell Carnival or any other cruise line that also acts as its own selling agent? I've always thought this bad business. They are competing with their own selling agents. This is one reason I almost always book through a TA (be it internet or brick & mortar) and not Carnival. If Carnival (or any other cruise line that does this) undercuts its TA's with lower prices to its customers, should a TA sell their cruises? They need those TA's. I'm sure the percentage of the business they get from them is high. AT&T did this some years back and learned the lesson the hard way. Their phone center stores were competing too well against their third party vendors. The vendors couldn't compete and stopped selling AT&T phones. AT&T eventually closed its phone center stores to appease the sellers it needed. I can never understand this sales practice ......

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<font color="#FF0000">Grand Princess 2-2001</font>

<font color="#0000FF">Grand Princess 12-2001</font>

<font color="#FF8000">Carnival Paradise 3-2002</font>

<font color="#FF00FF">Carnival Destiny 10-2002</font>

<font color="#008000">Golden Princess 10-2003</font>

<font color="#0000A0">Carnival Legend 6-8-2004</font>

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noodle

noodle

Posted
Posted

I believe Carnival has agree to not undercut their TAs, meaning, they sell the product at the price that includes what they would pay a TA in commission. This way the TA then has the leverage to sell the cruise at a discount by cutting their own commission to get your business. I have always seen expedia.com prices exactly the same as Carnival prices but my TA is alway able to come in lower than both of them. I think he does this by making less commission, therfore I keep going back to him. So i don't think that this competition is bad.

 

Pride 02/15/04

Spirit 05/11/05

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Cotton

Cotton

Posted
Posted

I thought ALL cruiselines have their own sales people.

I have friends who have booked directly with Disney, Princess, NCL, RCL. Don't they all do this?

 

 

 

Festivale 1987

Carnivale 1988

Mardi Gras 1989

Pacific Princess 1990

Norway 1994

Holiday 2001

Holiday 2002

Holiday 2003

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atonal1

atonal1

Posted
Posted

Noodle is correct--TA's discount by giving up a portion of their commission. All cruise lines have sales agents, but NCL does not have direct online booking for consumers.

 

Inspiration 6/96, 12/01

Carnival Destiny 7/97, 11/00

Rhapsody of the Seas 11/98

Norwegian Sea 7/00

Norwegian Star 6/02

Paradise 11/02

Sovereign of the Seas 8/03

Serenade of the Seas 12/03

 

countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=0000ff&cdt=2004;8;7;17;0;00&timezone=GMT-0500 until Carnival Triumph 8/04

 

countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=0000ff&cdt=2004;11;21;22;0;00&timezone=GMT-0500 until Adventure of the Seas 11/04

 

 

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Diane&4girls

Diane&4girls

Posted
Posted

Most agency's don't cut their commissions to sell cruieses, they actually get lower rates from the cruiseline so that the agency's rates are more competitive than the cruiseline's rates. CCL claims to not give special rates to ANY agency, I'm so sure that's true.

 

If a PVP finds an option being held by an agency under a common client's name, they WILL back off. It was a HUGE problem when they first began using PVP's for a short time, but it was quickly rectified and if they are found to have spoken to a client that is knowingly speaking to travel agents, they can be fired immediately.

 

Diane

Check out our cruise pictures:

http://community.webshots.com/user/thebowers

 

countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=ff0000&cdt=2004;04;10;17;00;00&timezone=GMT-0500 'Til the Navigator

Again!

 

 

Carnival Fantasy 7/28/2000

Carnival Triumph 9/22/2001

Carnival Imagination 4/21/2002

Carnival Triumph 5/29/2002

Carnival Legend 9/20/2002 (Inaugural)

Explorer of the Seas 10/19/2002

Navigator of the Seas 12/10/2002 (Inaugural)

Explorer of the Seas 12/14/2002

Navigator of the Seas 5/03/2003

Adventure of the Seas 7/27/2003

Serenade of the Seas 8/23/2003 (Inaugural)

Mariner of the Seas 11/12/2003 (Inaugural)

Mariner of the Seas 12/14/2003 (Golden Anchor Cruise!)

Navigator of the Seas 4/10/2004

Mariner of the Seas 8/8/2004

Star Princess 11/21/2004

 

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