This is the second video in a series showcasing the worlds largest cruise ship to be built. This video shows two of the several Neighborhoods onboard the Royal Caribbean Oasis of the Seas

www.theperfectcruise.net See how a Royal Caribbean Cruise can be the vacation of your dreams. There is so much to do and it’s all right at your fingertips. Grab my FREE GUIDE on how to Book The Perfect Cruise at www.theperfectcruise.net

www.jobistravel.com Jobis Hotel and travel is your future travel agent to Ethiopia

Question: How do you start a home travel agent business specializing in cruise only?
I am now with a host agency as a referral travel agent but looking into also being a home -based agent with a specialization in just booking cruises

Answer:

Answer by Christina W
Check out our 360 page and you can specialize in booking cruises.

Hi. Bob Levinstein from www.CruiseCompete.com here—where agents compete to offer you the best cruise deal. In our last video, we learned how cruise lines adjust prices based on demand for specific types of cabins on particular sailings. But thats only part of the story. What you actually pay for a cabin depends on who you buy from. Thats right—the deal you get on the exact same cabin on the exact same ship depends on where you book. Heres why About 90% of all cruises are sold by travel agents acting on behalf of the cruise lines. For these efforts, the cruise lines compensate the agents in various ways. Agents receive a commission on each booking they make. Agencies may also receive additional dollars from the lines in the form of annual overrides, points good for onboard credits and amenities and co-op advertising dollars based on the total revenue generated for the line by the agency. The commission percentage—often as high as 16% or more—is also based on the level of annual sales generated by the agency for the cruise line. Agencies with higher commission rates can use some of the dollars they get from the cruise lines to either lower price to the consumer, or give money back in the form on onboard credits—ie, dollars placed in your onboard account that you can spend on the ship. Agencies may also find themselves in a position where a few extra cabins sold on a particular cruise line will increase their overrides for all sales on that line, so it can actually be to the …

This following re-enactment probably occurs at least twice a day

Question: Can a travel agent get a better deal on a cruise than the internet sites?
I’ve found a specific cruise that I want and every single “discount” travel website offers the same exact fare $ 549.00 as the actual cruise ships website. This seems as though the discount websites aren’t discounts at all. So my question is, can I get a better price than carnival has on their site by going to a brick and mortar travel agent?
Also, we plan to cruise at the end of June or early July of 07

Answer:

Answer by tech_fanatic
Not in every situation, but in many cases they can. Sometimes your rate is going to be the same price, but an agent may offer you some onboard credits, or other specials that may be available to them.

I would definitely book with an agent or directly with Carnival. The discount sites, which as you have seen aren’t really discounted, can cause a lot more problems than they are worth, so if there is no savings, I would definitely avoid them.

There are a lot of travel agencies that you can use online as well. If going to a travel agent office and working on things doesn’t really fit in your schedule, which is what I have found to be true for myself, online works so much better. I can e-mail my agent whenever I need, when I’m no the road, etc. I have actually found my online agent to be a lot o better than my old agent that in my local town, since they seem to be more specialized. So you may consider checking into an online travel agent, which is not to be confused with the online discount sites like Expedia, Oritz, etc.

So anyhow, you can’t always get a lower rate with an agent, but you may be able to get some extra benefits by booking with an agent, such as onboard credit or upgrades. Also, you always get the service from the agent, very rarely, if ever do I find that my agent is higher than Carnival.

Hope this helps!