Celebrity Cruises announced today that it has named World Travel Holdings (WTH) its 2008 “National Account Partner of the Year.” WTH owns and operates several cruise brands, including Fort Lauderdale-based CruiseOne and Cruises Inc. CruiseOne is a leading U.S. franchise operation of more than 550 Franchise Owners specializing in cruise travel, and I am one of them! Our sister company, Cruises Inc., is the original host agency with nearly 500 independent contractors selling cruise vacations. With these brands, WTH is the nation’s leading retailer of cruise travel, and we love doing what we do!
“Throughout 2008, Celebrity Cruises showed that they are willing to make a continued investment in the travel agent community,” said Brad Tolkin, Co-Chairman and Co-CEO of World Travel Holdings, and all-around good guy. “Celebrity was the first to implement a no rebate policy and was among the first to eliminate fuel surcharges. They are clearly committed to helping travel agents succeed. This level of respect does not go unnoticed by our agents and as we proudly accept this honor, we pledge to continue doing our part in 2009.” You go, Brad!
The recognition of WTH as Celebrity Cruises’ 2008 “National Account Partner of the Year” follows a year of shared milestones for the industry leaders.
In September, CruiseOne and Cruises Inc. held the companies’ annual National Conference aboard the Celebrity Mercury, and I was there. Dondra Ritzenthaler, Senior Vice President of Sales for Celebrity and Azamara Cruises, served as the event’s keynote speaker, and her speech was, to use her words, "super fantastic!" Her speech was quite motivational and I will remember it for years to come. Also during the conference, Celebrity was named “Premium Cruise Line Partner of the Year.” That award was voted on by nearly 1,100 CruiseOne Franchise Owners and Cruises Inc. Independent Agents, although I didn't get to vote. I don't know why.
In November, WTH, CruiseOne and Cruises Inc. exclusively chartered the Celebrity Solstice for a special two-night sailing. The companies’ Franchise Owners and Independent Agents had exclusive access to this unique sailing and built widespread national consumer demand for the ship’s anticipated debut. I wanted to go on that sailing but wasn't able to, unfortunately; however, I heard it was s huge success.
"We are thrilled to recognize World Travel Holdings as our National Account Partner of the Year," said Dondra Ritzenthaler, Senior Vice President of Sales, Celebrity Cruises. "Day in and day out, the WTH team demonstrates nothing but professionalism and a desire to succeed, and it is a pleasure to partner with such a terrific group of people. We look forward to a long and continued partnership with WTH."
A good majority of the cruises I sold last year were on Celebrity, and I am proud to be a part of WTH's success in being named National Account Partner of the Year. Here's to being Celebrity's National Account Partner for 2009!
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Got the Late-Night Munchies? Don't Order Room Service on Royal Caribbean!
Well, here we go again with another cruise line surcharge! Royal Caribbean recently repealed their fuel surcharge on cruises for 2009, so could they now be trying to recoup some of that lost revenue by sticking it to passengers who get the late-night munchies? Royal Caribbean International recently announced that it will be implementing a service charge for room service orders placed between midnight and 5:00 am. The service charge of $3.95 per delivery is supposedly "intended to minimize onboard food waste" and "is based on an exhaustive review of demand for room service by hour of day and the corresponding amount of food wasted,” the company said in a statement. To compensate for this, Royal Caribbean will extend the hours of one of its other onboard eateries (Solarium Cafe or Sorrento's Pizza) on some ships, while the Freedom and Voyager class ships will keep the Cafe Promenade open 24 hours.
I have several problems with this new surcharge. First of all, complimentary room service has always been a big selling point for cruise passengers, especially those who like to order room service for breakfast. To all of a sudden start charging for this service (even if it is only late at night) is to me an insult. Not only that, I think it could cause a great inconvenience to some passengers. What if there were an elderly passenger on board who needed to take medication late at night and had to take it with food? Is it right to charge that passenger $3.95 when he needs that food that originally would be free? Is it right to make him get dressed and walk down (or up) to whatever eatery is open just so he can take his medication and avoid having to spend $3.95?
And if Royal Caribbean is really so concerned about food waste, then why don't they make sure that everyone who eats at the buffet actually eats all of the food they put on their plates? Are they going to start charging those passengers who don't clean their plates at the buffet because they're wasting food? What about the main dining rooms? What if you don't finish your dinner -- will you not be entitled to eat dessert because you wasted food?
I honestly do not believe this is about food waste, no matter how Royal Caribbean wants to spin this. I simply believe that this is another way for them to make money and to try to make up for some of the revenue they lost when they repealed fuel surcharges. And let's be honest here -- if Royal Caribbean gets away with this, the other cruise lines will quickly follow suit, and pretty soon nobody will offer complimentary room service because they won't have to. The practice will just become "accepted" because the market will bear it. Look at those fuel surcharges; people raised the roof with complaints when they first started being imposed, but nobody really actually stopped cruising because of it.
I genuinely love the cruise industry and Royal Caribbean has really been quite innovative in its cruise ship design and offerings so I appreciate what they have done for this industry, but I can't sit quietly back and say nothing about this. I truly feel this is a big step in the wrong direction. Everybody is hurting right now from the downturn in our economy, but that doesn't mean Royal Caribbean needs to kick people when they're down by charging money now for something that used to be free. We need to draw people in to the benefits of cruising, and this might just give those people who are unsure of the value of cruising another reason to turn away.
Bad move, Royal Caribbean. Shame on you!
I have several problems with this new surcharge. First of all, complimentary room service has always been a big selling point for cruise passengers, especially those who like to order room service for breakfast. To all of a sudden start charging for this service (even if it is only late at night) is to me an insult. Not only that, I think it could cause a great inconvenience to some passengers. What if there were an elderly passenger on board who needed to take medication late at night and had to take it with food? Is it right to charge that passenger $3.95 when he needs that food that originally would be free? Is it right to make him get dressed and walk down (or up) to whatever eatery is open just so he can take his medication and avoid having to spend $3.95?
And if Royal Caribbean is really so concerned about food waste, then why don't they make sure that everyone who eats at the buffet actually eats all of the food they put on their plates? Are they going to start charging those passengers who don't clean their plates at the buffet because they're wasting food? What about the main dining rooms? What if you don't finish your dinner -- will you not be entitled to eat dessert because you wasted food?
I honestly do not believe this is about food waste, no matter how Royal Caribbean wants to spin this. I simply believe that this is another way for them to make money and to try to make up for some of the revenue they lost when they repealed fuel surcharges. And let's be honest here -- if Royal Caribbean gets away with this, the other cruise lines will quickly follow suit, and pretty soon nobody will offer complimentary room service because they won't have to. The practice will just become "accepted" because the market will bear it. Look at those fuel surcharges; people raised the roof with complaints when they first started being imposed, but nobody really actually stopped cruising because of it.
I genuinely love the cruise industry and Royal Caribbean has really been quite innovative in its cruise ship design and offerings so I appreciate what they have done for this industry, but I can't sit quietly back and say nothing about this. I truly feel this is a big step in the wrong direction. Everybody is hurting right now from the downturn in our economy, but that doesn't mean Royal Caribbean needs to kick people when they're down by charging money now for something that used to be free. We need to draw people in to the benefits of cruising, and this might just give those people who are unsure of the value of cruising another reason to turn away.
Bad move, Royal Caribbean. Shame on you!
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