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NEWS — SPECIAL REPORT


Excursions sales are still a ‘puzzle’


Royal Caribbean International president Michael Bayley has hinted that shore excursions could be sold as packages. However, he admitted he didn’t believe tours would ever become fully commissionable. Bayley said the line “hadn’t


reached a definitive answer” when it came to how to sell excursions, calling it “a puzzle”. He said shore excursions could be sold in the same way as drinks packages during promotional periods. Bayley acknowledged that


From left: Jill Carter, Tui; Sandra


Lees, manager of Thomson in Elgin; Michael Bayley, Royal Caribbean;


Emma Wilby, the ship’s godmother; and Fraser Ellacott, Tui


third-party suppliers may be an economical option for customers. He added: “It’s easy to sell a third-party shore excursion until it doesn’t go well and then it becomes a very different situation.” When asked if he thought


Weybridge before hitting the road with the sales team to visit agents in their offices, including Iglu Cruise. “It allowed the team in Guatemala to learn exactly what agents working on the frontline need,” he said. “It’s good for them to be able to put faces to names and to build stronger ties.” Royal Caribbean and sister brand


Azamara Club Cruises moved their call centres to Guatemala in 2013. Previously, Leven admitted issues had arisen in the standards of the call centre, but following training, the team was going from “strength to strength”.


lebrity experience


a lifetime,” he said. “It’s like coming home to a brand that I grew up with and have a lot of passion for.


“As a manager, it’s great to


have both types of experiences because I can understand better how we’ve got the right points of differentiation moving forward, and how we get our product right for our target customers.”


Anthem hits the right notes


“It’s hard to be able to put this ship into words because seeing is believing. I have guests


coming on Anthem in a couple of weeks. While I’ve been on the ship, I’ve been emailing them to tell them how amazing it is. I haven’t come across a line with the same drive for excellence as Royal Caribbean.” Tony Robinson, Cruising Coast 2 Coast and GoCruise


“Anthem of the Seas is exactly what I look for in a cruise ship – modern and sophisticated,


but fun for all the family. Royal has found a happy medium between Celebrity Cruises’ Solstice-class ships and their own Oasis class – and it works.” Jessica Nuttall, The Cruise Village


“It’s an experience beyond


explanation and you can’t compare this


ship with any other experience at sea. Having so many of our GoCruise franchisees on board has been a great way to get them to understand why the Quantum class is so different from anything else at sea.”


Geoff Ridgeon, head of cruise, Fred Olsen Travel


“The ship’s great and I think it works well for families. There’s


something for everyone and lots of exciting activities on board. SeaPlex is cool – it will be a popular area.” Cheryl Shaw, Dawson & Sanderson, Sunderland


excursions would ever be commissionable for agents, Bayley promised the line “would work it out at some point”. But he added: “I don’t think it will ever be a situation where all shore excursions are commissionable. “We have promotions through


beverage packages and that is like giving commission on beverage to our travel partners.”


Ships’ Wi-Fi is


‘extraordinary’ The Wi-Fi capabilities on board the Quantum-class ships are as good as anything on land, Royal Caribbean claimed.


The line’s chairman, Richard


Fain, said its internet offering was “extraordinary” and he believed it put an end to the bugbear of customers being unconnected. “We have a new system with 03b [a satellite provider], which gives the same kind of coverage that you would get at home or in your office,” he said. “It’s 450 times better than


before. The ships equipped with 03b have more bandwidth than every other cruise ship in the world combined.”


23 April 2015 — travelweekly.co.uk • 17


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