London-based cruise line Cruise and Maritime Voyages is reaching out to U.S. travel sellers with a new website and an agent-friendly strategy: It pays commission on the entire cruise price, including taxes, fees and port charges.
According to Alexios Tsokos, vice president of sales and marketing, that commission policy is “a differentiating factor that has been resoundingly well received as part of our travel agent partner program.”
Cruise and Maritime Voyages, which operates two 800-passenger ships — the Marco Polo and Ocean Countess — on Northern Europe itineraries, opened a North American sales office in Fort Lauderdale several weeks ago. At the same time, it unveiled its website, which features an agent section.
Agents who register at www.cruiseandmaritime.com can join the company’s commission program; search and book cruises; and access marketing tools, training and agent offers. Cruise and Maritime also offers a toll-free travel industry hotline and sales team that works with agents.
Cruise and Maritime provides training and webinars to familiarize agents with the unique British cruise product, which is geared to adults traveling without children and cruisers interested in an emphasis on ports of call.
“Destinations are our specialty and, while our ships are very comfortable, they don’t have the bells and whistles of the resort-style cruise ships,” Tsokos said.
For home-based agents, the company is prepared to provide extra help, if needed.
“Home-based agents have perhaps less marketing capability on their own, in which case we are more than happy to talk about what we can do with them to help their sales,” Tsokos said.
“We would like to reach the agent community in a stronger fashion and let them know about our products,” he said. “We’re reaching out to travel agents more so than any other avenue and want to rely on agents to help us brand our product in the U.S.”