Major internet cruise seller no longer selling Celebrity cruises

[defreeze]

This was just posted on XXXXXXX.com's website:

 

"The management of XXXXXXX.com has been unable to get answers from Royal Caribbean management as to what kinds of programs will qualify under their new policy. Rather than violate the terms and face possible future restrictions from Royal Caribbean we have chosen to remove both Celebrity and Royal Caribbean from out site at the close of business on Friday, August 20th. We hope to offer these cruise lines in the very near future. We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause. All existing reservations and quotes will be honored and serviced as usual"

[Randyk47]

Kind of expected this.....one of the first or so battles of probably many before the discount war is won or lost.

[cruiseyguy]

These folks have been preferred supplier of RCL/Celebrity cruises until now and they do a lot of business for them. This could have a positive effect--stay tuned.

[tbelian]

Big deal. Who cares.

 

Only the strong shall survive!

[hdawson]

And recently they had a problem with Holland American and could not book HAL cruises for a while. There also seems, repeat, seems to be some questions about their "insurance" offered. Many people have been happy with their service.

[Hilary]

I'm glad that they are taking a stand, and absolutely don't blame them. I just e-mailed XXXX at XXXyesterday to let him know that I would continue booking any future RCI cruises with him, even if their prices are identical to that of everyone else. I also indicated he would likely see more requests for HAL and Princess quotes from me, and bookings as well.

 

Here's the irony to me. I have received fabulous service from this internet agency and have never had a complaint about them. On the other hand, when I used to book locally, it seemed like I could never get in touch with my TA to ask questions or make changes, and instead they seemed more interested in taking the booking, collecting the money, and giving you your documents, PERIOD. Conversely, whenever I have e-mailed XXXX with a request or question, they have returned my e-mail within the hour, each and every time!

 

And RCI's position on this new policy is supposedly so the customers get better service?!? Give me a break.

[cruiseyguy]

Update-I just checked their website (9:35 AM-Thurs) and saw no such announcement and Celebrity cruises were still featured. Where can this "announcement" be found?

[Hilary]

There is a link to it on their home page. Look under the Mastercard offer.

[cruiseyguy]

See it now. Hopefully this will all work out soon. I received an e-mail this morning from my brick and mortar TA (who works for a big company that has a large internet discount business as well as traditional agency) stating that his company would no longer actively promote RCL or Celebrity cruises but would book them if the client specifically requested them. Instead, they would "work closely" with the Carnival Group as well as several luxury cruiselines. Not sure what to make of this.

[Tatka]

It looks like in near future majority of the lines will have the same policy:

 

Carnival wants to do the same

so it is:

 

 

RCI: RCI , Celebrity

Carnival: Carnival, Princess, HAL, Cunard, Seabourn, Costa

 

What kind of cruises CQ will be able to book? NCL, Oceania, Orient, Silver Seas, Crystal and Radisson? Definitely not enough to keep their business going.

[Cruise Junky]

It looks like in near future majority of the lines will have the same policy:

 

Carnival wants to do the same

so it is:

 

 

RCI: RCI , Celebrity

Carnival: Carnival, Princess, HAL, Cunard, Seabourn, Costa

 

What kind of cruises CQ will be able to book? NCL, Oceania, Orient, Silver Seas, Crystal and Radisson? Definitely not enough to keep their business going.

 

The big difference is Carnival Pres. came out and said what every two consenting adults did (meaning...TA and Client) they couldn't control. So... If you ask for a quote, they can give you a discount on Carnival products. RCI - no!

[cruiseyguy]

My understanding is that, as of now (at least) Carnival's policy is different from RCL's in one important point: Agencies may not advertise their own "discounts" (same as RCL) but they may continue to sell discounts on request (different from RCL).

[tbelian]

The big difference is Carnival Pres. came out and said what every two consenting adults did (meaning...TA and Client) they couldn't control.

 

If you think about it (and not just react), how is ANYONE going to control it, Carnival or RCL? Wake up! Don't believe everything you read, take it with a grain of salt, keep shopping. Book a cruise. Have a nice day.

[petermccue]

The other difference is that Carnival's policy is just for Carnival, not for all the subsidiary lines. So it doesn't cover HAL, Princess, Seabourn, Cunard, Costa, Windstar, etc. etc. yet.

 

V

[Cruise Junky]

If you think about it (and not just react), how is ANYONE going to control it, Carnival or RCL? Wake up! Don't believe everything you read, take it with a grain of salt, keep shopping. Book a cruise. Have a nice day.

 

It's really getting old, give it a rest will ya?

[tbelian]

It's really getting old, give it a rest will ya?

Absolutely not.

 

All the people who want to yell fire in a crowded room should get a wake up call.

 

And by the way, as they say all the time here on good ole' cc. If ya don't like it, dont click on it, and dont read.

[tbelian]

because i'm a big fan of cruisequick!

 

 

I'm not exactly sure how watching this thread closely matters? How does it matter specifically to the company mentioned? Perhaps to provide publicity for them?

[aztex]

We are new to cruising and have booked two Celebrity cruises at this time, both with internet TAs. I was very impressed with the service and internet support we received from XXXin purchasing our South America trip. Please understand that this is not a testimonial but rather an expression of disappointment that a large cruise company would go out of their way to put a big dent in their customer base (and customer/dealer relations) by attempting to control a free market place.

 

If the bottom line is the issue there are other ways to achieve increased revenue in far less obvious ways.

 

I am delighted to see that XXX is taking a position on this and believe that this action will lead to further dialogue and change. If RCL cannot/will not define ways for discount and travel agencies to offer value added to their customers, without running afoul of RCL, then their policy will be revealed for what some think it is - a rather obvious attempt to not pay commissions or offer dealer discounts to anyone but themselves.

[llmoyer123]

you said it much better than i did. i concur with your words.

[JudithLynne]

I am curious to know if anyone has any figures on how many cruises are booked through internet TA's. I imagine the number has grown over time, but I sure would like some figures. My hope is that the volume is high enough to affect this latest policy.

[ocngypz]

If agencies can only retain their business based upon discounting....how long would it take for an agency to go out of business? To book heavy volume requires capital expenditures.

 

I don't think it's a matter of the strong surviving, but a matter of the SMART and CLEVER agencies surviving.

[BB5953]

Absolutely not.

 

All the people who want to yell fire in a crowded room should get a wake up call.

 

And by the way, as they say all the time here on good ole' cc. If ya don't like it, dont click on it, and dont read.

 

It seems as if you are on the one who should take that advice!

[dmarch@islc.net]

I just checked the price of our cruise on the net. Two big internet TA's gave the same price as the X site. Two weeks on the Zenith CC Jan. 2,2005 for $1,330.00 PP. When I first saw the TA's price I thought they were still discounting. Two months ago when I booked this cruise with XXXXXX I paid like $1,223.00. I thought that was a heck of deal at the time. I could of sworn X wanted $1,500.00 PP.

[shakespeare]

 

I am delighted to see that XXX is taking a position on this and believe that this action will lead to further dialogue and change. If RCL cannot/will not define ways for discount and travel agencies to offer value added to their customers, without running afoul of RCL, then their policy will be revealed for what some think it is - a rather obvious attempt to not pay commissions or offer dealer discounts to anyone but themselves.

Well said Aztex...this agency had problems with HAL over discounting in the past and refused to book HAL cruises until it was resolved. I am glad to see that they are taking a stand against the new policies. The owner has many years of experience in the travel business and has always acted with great service and integrity in my dealings with them.

[SueSea]

I disagree with Host Laura's comment that the agency's name unnecessary to continue discussion. I, for one, would book with the travel agency who made this stand. I understand the need to keep these boards free from the appearance of supporting any one travel agency, however, I feel these are special circumstances. A big show of support to this agency may encourage other agencies to take the same stand, which may cause RCI to drop the prohibition on TA rebates & discounts.