Royal Caribbean eyes cheaper calls CRUISE
NEWS YOU CAN USE
Hollie-Rae Merrick
hollie@travelweekly.co.uk
Royal Caribbean International is considering adding a live chat function and a cheaper phone rate for its Guatemalan call centre.
Calls curently are made through
an 0844 number, which costs 7p a minute, but John Wilson, head of consumer outreach at the 24-ship line, said the company was reviewing its contact methods
Viking Sea launches as line admits terror attacks hit US sales
Viking Cruises’ chief executive believes its new ocean product has “surpassed all expectations”. Speaking at the christening
of the line’s second ocean ship, Viking Sea, in Greenwich, London, Torstein Hagen said his team had “managed to achieve something
quite special”. Viking Sea, the second of six planned ocean ships, is the largest vessel to be christened in London. Hagen’s comments came as he admitted US booking figures for
and could introduce a local rate number, an “express trade email inbox” for priority responses and live chat function. Royal Caribbean moved its call
centre from the UK to Guatemala in 2013. Wilson said the 120-strong call centre team had made “massive strides forward”, with handling times and conversion rates “always improving”. Wilson said: “We ask agents to
fill in a survey at the end of every call and there are fewer people
7p
Cost per minute to Royal’s call centre
doing that, which would imply there is less to complain about. “One thing that has been fed
back is the methods of contact. It’s early days, but we’re looking at whether we introduce a local rate
number and an email for the most imminent [enquiries] and priority responses. We are very aware that we need to be easy to work with.” Wilson admitted there were “some gaps in the knowledge” of some staff at the call centre and said more webinars and videoconferencing training sessions were being held. Sales director Ben Bouldin said the trade satisfaction rate with the
Guatemala centre was now 94%.
cruisingpower.co.uk
Viking Sea is christened in Greenwich
its river cruise product had taken a hit following terror attacks in Europe, while UK sales were “a bit better”. He said the US market had been “weaker than anticipated” this year in light of Americans not wanting to travel to Europe following terror attacks in Paris and Brussels but insisted US figures were flat rather than down. “Everybody [all river lines] are
feeling that, not only us,” he said. “We believe this is a temporary phenomenon. “For next year we will launch
two more Long Ships, and we have options for more in the future and
we will see what develops.”
madefortrade.co.uk
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travelweekly.co.uk 12 May 2016
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