Carnival has banned onboard credits - a sign of things to come?

[Disneyfalcon]

Carnival cruise lines has announced that they will no longer allow travel agencies to offer onboard credits, gift cards, free vacation insurance, or much of anything else to their clients.

From now on, agencies are only allowed to offer booking incentives that are non cash equivalent items with a value of $25 or less. Incentives like beach towels, tote bags, hats, etc. are allowed if they are valued at $25 or less. Nothing that equates to a cost associated with the cruise is allowed.

Examples are:

Cash, gas cards, onboard credits, pre-paid gratuities, airline miles, third party cash back offers, free or discounted protection coverage, free or discounted shore excursions, free or discounted hotels nights, reduced airfare, or gift cards.

Carnival says it has enacted these rules based on feedback from thousands of agencies. It's an attempt to level the playing field between big and small agencies.

So what do you think? Do you think other lines like Disney will follow suit?

 

[alissafalco]

Carnival is the trashiest cruise line anyway.

 

[wilkeliza]

Carnival cruise lines has announced that they will no longer allow travel agencies to offer onboard credits, gift cards, free vacation insurance, or much of anything else to their clients.

From now on, agencies are only allowed to offer booking incentives that are non cash equivalent items with a value of $25 or less. Incentives like beach towels, tote bags, hats, etc. are allowed if they are valued at $25 or less. Nothing that equates to a cost associated with the cruise is allowed.

Examples are:

Cash, gas cards, onboard credits, pre-paid gratuities, airline miles, third party cash back offers, free or discounted protection coverage, free or discounted shore excursions, free or discounted hotels nights, reduced airfare, or gift cards.

Carnival says it has enacted these rules based on feedback from thousands of agencies. It's an attempt to level the playing field between big and small agencies.

So what do you think? Do you think other lines like Disney will follow suit?

I hope other cruise lines don't follow suit. The only reason I use a travel agent is the perks I can get by booking through them. If all you promise me is a hat or t-shirt I will simply book the package myself straight through the agency and not through a travel agent.

The only reason we used a travel agent with our Norwegian cruise was the travel agent got us champaign and candy for the trip and work some magic to lower the price compared to what it was booking straight through Norwegian (it was like a cash back thing I guess). I'm sure it was over 25 dollars.

 

[Disneyfalcon]

I hope other cruise lines don't follow suit. The only reason I use a travel agent is the perks I can get by booking through them. If all you promise me is a hat or t-shirt I will simply book the package myself straight through the agency and not through a travel agent.

The only reason we used a travel agent with our Norwegian cruise was the travel agent got us champaign and candy for the trip and work some magic to lower the price compared to what it was booking straight through Norwegian (it was like a cash back thing I guess). I'm sure it was over 25 dollars.

There is a lot of speculation that this is an attempt by Carnival to get more people to book directly through them instead of a travel agent.

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Carnival is the trashiest cruise line anyway.

I take it you don't think Disney will follow suit?

 

[alissafalco]

I take it you don't think Disney will follow suit?

No, I don't think Disney will follow suit.... Carnival will be accepting food stamps next.

 

[nepalostparks]

There is a lot of speculation that this is an attempt by Carnival to get more people to book directly through them instead of a travel agent.

That is exactly what it sounds like.

But I hope that people will realize that even if it's the same price to book directly or through a small business travel agent, it's better to book with the travel agent for two big reasons.

The first is knowledge, because when you find a good travel agent that is knowledgeable, you can rest assured you are getting good advice when you ask for it. You can't get that from booking online, and you will rarely get it from calling the 1-800 number at the cruise line (or Disney, etc).

The second is helping a small business. By booking through a small business travel agent/agency, you're actually helping out your community (whether directly if your agent/agency lives there, or indirectly through the money and tax dollars they spend elsewhere which impacts the country as a whole.) It rarely, if ever, costs more to book through a travel agent for the big vacations. So why not give the business to a travel agent instead of the big company directly? (And in those rare cases where it does cost a little extra to book with a travel agent, for the above two reasons, isn't it worth it?)

 

[unkadug]

That is exactly what it sounds like.

But I hope that people will realize that even if it's the same price to book directly or through a small business travel agent, it's better to book with the travel agent for two big reasons.

The first is knowledge, because when you find a good travel agent that is knowledgeable, you can rest assured you are getting good advice when you ask for it. You can't get that from booking online, and you will rarely get it from calling the 1-800 number at the cruise line (or Disney, etc).

The second is helping a small business. By booking through a small business travel agent/agency, you're actually helping out your community (whether directly if your agent/agency lives there, or indirectly through the money and tax dollars they spend elsewhere which impacts the country as a whole.) It rarely, if ever, costs more to book through a travel agent for the big vacations. So why not give the business to a travel agent instead of the big company directly? (And in those rare cases where it does cost a little extra to book with a travel agent, for the above two reasons, isn't it worth it?)

Couldn't the same thing be said about buying locally instead of buying through Amazon, etc. ....

Supporting your local businesses is ALWAYS a good motto.

 

[Disneyfalcon]

That is exactly what it sounds like.

But I hope that people will realize that even if it's the same price to book directly or through a small business travel agent, it's better to book with the travel agent for two big reasons.

The first is knowledge, because when you find a good travel agent that is knowledgeable, you can rest assured you are getting good advice when you ask for it. You can't get that from booking online, and you will rarely get it from calling the 1-800 number at the cruise line (or Disney, etc).

The second is helping a small business. By booking through a small business travel agent/agency, you're actually helping out your community (whether directly if your agent/agency lives there, or indirectly through the money and tax dollars they spend elsewhere which impacts the country as a whole.) It rarely, if ever, costs more to book through a travel agent for the big vacations. So why not give the business to a travel agent instead of the big company directly? (And in those rare cases where it does cost a little extra to book with a travel agent, for the above two reasons, isn't it worth it?)

I like the way you think nepalostparks!!

 

[nepalostparks]

Couldn't the same thing be said about buying locally instead of buying through Amazon, etc. ....

Supporting your local businesses is ALWAYS a good motto.

Absolutely. Harder to do in some cases, but always prefer to go with a local/regional business when possible.

When it comes to using a travel agent, since the cost is usually the same (and sometimes cheaper), it seems like an easy choice to me.

I like the way you think nepalostparks!!

My parents were small business owners, and I'm a small business owner. This line of thinking comes with the territory!

 

[wilkeliza]

That is exactly what it sounds like.

But I hope that people will realize that even if it's the same price to book directly or through a small business travel agent, it's better to book with the travel agent for two big reasons.

The first is knowledge, because when you find a good travel agent that is knowledgeable, you can rest assured you are getting good advice when you ask for it. You can't get that from booking online, and you will rarely get it from calling the 1-800 number at the cruise line (or Disney, etc).

The second is helping a small business. By booking through a small business travel agent/agency, you're actually helping out your community (whether directly if your agent/agency lives there, or indirectly through the money and tax dollars they spend elsewhere which impacts the country as a whole.) It rarely, if ever, costs more to book through a travel agent for the big vacations. So why not give the business to a travel agent instead of the big company directly? (And in those rare cases where it does cost a little extra to book with a travel agent, for the above two reasons, isn't it worth it?)

The way I travel makes me prefer to book by myself because I like to be in control. It drove me nuts and made me so stressed that any time we wanted to change something or add something we had to do it through the agent. I couldn't imagine doing my Disney vacations through an agent and having to give them all the dinning reservations I wanted and such. Now if I had a travel agent that had the power to simply book the reservation and then we could do all our dinning reservations and excursions and stuff ourself it would be great.

 

[nepalostparks]

The way I travel makes me prefer to book by myself because I like to be in control. It drove me nuts and made me so stressed that any time we wanted to change something or add something we had to do it through the agent. I couldn't imagine doing my Disney vacations through an agent and having to give them all the dinning reservations I wanted and such. Now if I had a travel agent that had the power to simply book the reservation and then we could do all our dinning reservations and excursions and stuff ourself it would be great.

Well, it certainly depends on who you are booking with. Most small business agents I know will gladly do your Disney dining reservations for you if you prefer, but would never require that.

You do have to wait for a response, yes, but with a good travel agent that response time is likely going to be very quick. It allows you to make the decision of what you want, but without having to do the leg work (including checking availability, pricing, holding on the phone, etc.)

 

[sweetpee_1993]

^^^
ROFL! I know it's not in the best taste but, dadgummit, that's funny right there.

Tammy, I think this is a better question for us to ask you TAs. What do you think? I have a very basic understanding of how agencies work so it's hard for me to feel like I'm making a fully educated statement of opinion. I read about this earlier today, too, probly where you saw it. What's the word or buzz with you all?

Personally, my first thought was that (a.) this sure levels the playing field of TAs and (b.) this feels like a Carnival move to eliminate any incentive to book with a TA vs. direct with the cruise line. The bad part is that this could have some negative ramifications for the cruise line. If they are tying the TAs hands the TAs could start pushing other lines more and even talking down on Carnival. Agencies who sell more will have more ability to offer better incentives, right? Why remove their ability to generate lots of bookings? You're taking money from the people who push your product. That's got to be a bad thing. Thats why I think Carnival must see outside agency bookings as expendable. They must have some info that they think says people will either opt to book direct (win/win for Carnival) or still book with an agent regardless of the lack of incentives.

Honestly, I don't see DCL jumping ship on their agents (I'm so punny!) anytime soon. DCL seems to be really good to y'all. I mean, look at the preview cruises they've done! Just your swag speaks volumes! DCL right now seems to really embrace the TAs and they seem to reward agents/agencies who step up the game (ie. the "Earmarked" reward). Unless many cruise lines follow suit and their profit margins soar I just don't see DCL doing this. Even then, they may elect to keep marching to the beat of their own drum. DCL does a lot of things their way & not like the rest of the big boys. Hell, Southwest still isn't charging for the 1st two checked bags. Just sayin...

 

[sweetpee_1993]

The way I travel makes me prefer to book by myself because I like to be in control. It drove me nuts and made me so stressed that any time we wanted to change something or add something we had to do it through the agent. I couldn't imagine doing my Disney vacations through an agent and having to give them all the dinning reservations I wanted and such. Now if I had a travel agent that had the power to simply book the reservation and then we could do all our dinning reservations and excursions and stuff ourself it would be great.

I'm the exact same way. Well sorta. I feel guilty if I make my TA continually change things. I don't like to feel like I'm being a bother. The only TA I've ever used is Kingdom Konsultants. I've never had them book dining or tours or anything, just the room or cruise itself. I still do all my other arrangements. It's wonderful letting them babysit the discounts while I do the rest. Don't get me wrong, they'll do as much as you ask. If you want them to book all your dining, excursions, etc. they surely will. I found DCL to be a little different, too, because the hubby had Tammy book 2 meals and an excursion for us along with the the cruise. Normally it's been my experience that if an agent books something they're the only ones who can touch it after that. Not with the special dinners and excursion, tho. I was able to access everything in DCL's system and move everything around as I wished. Also, like another poster said, a good TA will get back to you quick. This is why I love Tammy/disneyfalcon. She's lightning fast! She's on top of everything. I've had her answer an email from one of her kid's soccer tournaments. She even handled an upgrade for me while she was on the bus from WDW to the port for her Fantasy preview cruise. That's like crazy-awesome service right there! LOL!

 

[DisneyJoe]

The RCCL lines (Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, and Azamara) already have a policy in place, but not as strict as this new Carnival one.

I do see DCL heading in this direction, and will applaud it when they do.

Let me see if I can explain how this is leveling the "playing field" for TA's:

- most cruise lines offer commissions between 10% and 16%, based on yearly revenue levels
- some agencies rebate their commission back to clients in the form of onboard credit as a way to get you to book with them. I've seen some rebate as high as 90% of their commission back to clients in an attempt to get them to book with them.
- in turn, this raises their sales revenue, so that they can hit the higher commission levels - allowing them to offer even deeper onboard credits to their clients
- someone just forming an agency, or who depends on every dollar of their commission to make a living, can't afford to rebate commission back - and with the larger agencies rebating back from a pool of 16%, those at the 10%-12% level can't even think of coming close.

With this new policy, all agencies compete on the same level - service.

Let's approach this from the service angle:

- those who are booking a high volume of trips, and rebating back large amounts of commission to their clients, are working many hours for little money and profit
- many feel the strain of working these long hours for little money, and don't give the client the attention they truly need and deserve
- the clients that they attract are mainly looking for the lowest price - and if they find someone who offers $25 more in onboard credit, that agency will not get their booking this time - the client goes to those with the lowest price
- those that may possibly be loyal since they feel they found a good agent may not get good service and leave because of that lack of service.

When I first started my agency 8 years ago, I tried the onboard credit game for a year or two, as well as offering referral credits for other bookings. I found that in the long run, this attracted clients who were price shoppers, and would jump to another agency for a better price. For the last 5 or so years, we have not offered onboard credits as a standard practice, and our revenue has increased greatly, as we have many clients who book with us again and again, year after year, for our service - not our price.

 

[DisneyJoe]

The way I travel makes me prefer to book by myself because I like to be in control. It drove me nuts and made me so stressed that any time we wanted to change something or add something we had to do it through the agent. I couldn't imagine doing my Disney vacations through an agent and having to give them all the dinning reservations I wanted and such. Now if I had a travel agent that had the power to simply book the reservation and then we could do all our dinning reservations and excursions and stuff ourself it would be great.

I don't know why you think that you must give all of your dining or excursions to the agent. The only things that an agent must do for a client are:

- make payments
- make any room requests or changes
- receive the travel documents and deliver them to the client

For WDW, a client can easily still make their own dining reservations and other plans, they can even do their own online check in at 10 days.

For DCL, a client can login to disneycruise.com and make their Port Excursion arrangements, spa appointments, etc.

 

[DisneyJoe]

There is a lot of speculation that this is an attempt by Carnival to get more people to book directly through them instead of a travel agent.

Those worrying about that probably compete on price - and not on service. This levels the playing field.

If the price is the same, the choice comes down to service. Will Carnival treat them same or better than their local travel agent?

We face this every day with WDW bookings - clients can easily pick up the phone and book with WDW directly, and many do - for the exact same price as booking with an agent... but many people don't like calling a call center with hundreds of CM's, many with varying degrees of knowledge of WDW, and you rarely get the same person twice. When you work with an agent, you get the same person each time, you form a relationship, and most will have a consistently high level of product knowledge - like Tammy does about DCL !

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Tammy, I think this is a better question for us to ask you TAs. What do you think? I have a very basic understanding of how agencies work so it's hard for me to feel like I'm making a fully educated statement of opinion. I read about this earlier today, too, probly where you saw it. What's the word or buzz with you all?

Personally, my first thought was that (a.) this sure levels the playing field of TAs and (b.) this feels like a Carnival move to eliminate any incentive to book with a TA vs. direct with the cruise line. The bad part is that this could have some negative ramifications for the cruise line. If they are tying the TAs hands the TAs could start pushing other lines more and even talking down on Carnival. Agencies who sell more will have more ability to offer better incentives, right? Why remove their ability to generate lots of bookings? You're taking money from the people who push your product. That's got to be a bad thing. Thats why I think Carnival must see outside agency bookings as expendable. They must have some info that they think says people will either opt to book direct (win/win for Carnival) or still book with an agent regardless of the lack of incentives.

Honestly, I don't see DCL jumping ship on their agents (I'm so punny!) anytime soon. DCL seems to be really good to y'all. I mean, look at the preview cruises they've done! Just your swag speaks volumes! DCL right now seems to really embrace the TAs and they seem to reward agents/agencies who step up the game (ie. the "Earmarked" reward). Unless many cruise lines follow suit and their profit margins soar I just don't see DCL doing this. Even then, they may elect to keep marching to the beat of their own drum. DCL does a lot of things their way & not like the rest of the big boys. Hell, Southwest still isn't charging for the 1st two checked bags. Just sayin...

So punny!!

I actually saw this yesterday morning, so I've had some time to process. I've got mixed feelings on this.

On one hand, I like leveling the playing field. Bigger agencies get more bookings and therefore get bigger commissions. They can give big onboard credits without it taking away as much of their profits. Smaller agencies like us give up a much higher percentage of our commissions to stay competitive. I'm not complaining, we're okay with it. It's what we needed to do and it's been worth it. We've certainly booked more cruises because of our onboard credits.

So would I be sad to see the big agency advantage go away? No. Definitely not. I would love it if we were judged by merit alone, not by how big our onboard credits are or aren't.

On the other hand, as was pointed out, there will be many people who will just skip the agencies and go directly through the cruise lines if they're not getting any extras, and that's worrisome.

Is that the real reason Carnival did this? Probably yes.

 

[nepalostparks]

Those worrying about that probably compete on price - and not on service. This levels the playing field.

I'm concerned about it, but not because I compete on price. For the reasons you mentioned above, it is a positive when comparing one agency to another agency. In that way, it does level the playing field.

But like you said, many people look for the best price when booking, and that's all they are looking for. While it's important to build relationships and a client base who will return again, one time bookings are part of the business too. Hopefully you can turn the one time booking into a long term customer with good service.

My concern is that the individual who hunts for the best price and doesn't find any benefit in that regard to booking with an agent, will simply go directly to the source. The poster above who likes to control his own booking is not an exception, there are a lot of travelers just like that.

Having the ability to do something like offer a small on board credit, or small gift card, etc. (not 90% of commission, mind you) to attract new business and reward those returning customers is a good thing as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Disneyfalcon]

I'm the exact same way. Well sorta. I feel guilty if I make my TA continually change things. I don't like to feel like I'm being a bother. The only TA I've ever used is Kingdom Konsultants. I've never had them book dining or tours or anything, just the room or cruise itself. I still do all my other arrangements. It's wonderful letting them babysit the discounts while I do the rest. Don't get me wrong, they'll do as much as you ask. If you want them to book all your dining, excursions, etc. they surely will. I found DCL to be a little different, too, because the hubby had Tammy book 2 meals and an excursion for us along with the the cruise. Normally it's been my experience that if an agent books something they're the only ones who can touch it after that. Not with the special dinners and excursion, tho. I was able to access everything in DCL's system and move everything around as I wished. Also, like another poster said, a good TA will get back to you quick. This is why I love Tammy/disneyfalcon. She's lightning fast! She's on top of everything. I've had her answer an email from one of her kid's soccer tournaments. She even handled an upgrade for me while she was on the bus from WDW to the port for her Fantasy preview cruise. That's like crazy-awesome service right there! LOL!

Just call me Flash! Don't tell my kids I was checking email during their soccer game...

Kelly and Joe are right, we can do as little or as much as you want us to. Especially with cruises. You can book your own excursions, complete all of your check in information, or just go in and look at your reservation online anytime you want! But maybe you don't want to stay up until midnight to get a Palo reservation? That's where we come in. We can do all those things too.