If you think of it another way, the commission they pay travel agents is then reallocated in the case of a direct phone booking, to the Princess agent. The Princess agent gets paid a salary plus they get paid a small commission albeit smaller than a TA for making your booking. Also, the Princess agent may be getting healthcare benefits as well. In the end, someone is getting paid to book your cruise. I’m assuming internet bookings are a bit different as the overhead for internet bookings is different though I’m sure Princess outsources the internet booking capabilities to another company. Then in that case some of the commission that would be paid to a TA goes to that source.