NEW YORK -- The 21st century looms as a one-of-a-kind opportunity
for retailers selling cruises.
The cruise industry pays agents the highest commission levels
among travel suppliers and offers plenty of big-ticket
vacations.
Additionally, cruising's leading suppliers are in the midst of
the biggest shipbuilding boom in the industry's history, at a time
when the cruise vacation format is becoming increasingly visible
among North American consumers.
Agents have been able to maintain a close working relationship
with cruise suppliers, and most parties on both sides expect that
to continue into the foreseeable future.
That's not to say that cruise suppliers have not experimented
with direct-sales channels like toll-free telephone lines, direct
booking over the Internet and even branded "vacation stores." They
have.
But almost all cruise line officials say direct reservations
account for no more than 5% of all bookings.
Unlike point-to-point air travel, the cruise vacation offers
clients a complex and diverse number of choices in terms of product
type and style.
Even after selecting a cruise line, passengers must make a
number of decisions regarding trip length, destination, air
connections and shore activities.
Also, despite the rapid pace of shipbuilding on the part of
companies including Carnival Corp., Royal Caribbean Cruises,
Princess Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, Radisson Seven Seas
Cruises, Silversea Cruises and others, there is plenty of room for
growth in the cruise business.
The Cruise Lines International Association estimates that 144
ships and 137,387 lower berths serve the North American market -- a
capacity that doesn't equal the number of rooms available from even
one major North American hotel chain.
CLIA expects between 6.5 million and 7 million North Americans
to cruise in 2000, less than the annual number of visitors to
Branson, Mo. To date, only 11% of the U.S. population has ever
cruised.
"The cruise industry is totally poised for growth," said Peter
Davis, director of marketing at Windstar Cruises. "The consumer
interest is there, we just have to nurture it.
"Agents have to ask themselves what they can do to get people
cruising. The most important thing is that [agents can] deliver
what they promise."
"Cruise-selling agents continue to be the most aggressive cruise
marketers," said Rick James, senior vice president of sales and
customer service at Princess Cruises.
"I see nothing in the future that will change how we do
business. We support the people who support us," he said.
The North American cruise industry's number of lower berths grew
from 41,073 in 1981 to 148,237 last year. During those same years,
passenger totals have grown from 1.4 million to 5.9 million.
Still, agents acknowledge they will probably give away some
business to the emerging Internet-based technologies, which will
allow experienced cruise customers to book cruise vacations via the
Web.
But the most successful cruise sellers don't seem to be losing
much sleep over the issue.
"My clients are now getting on the Internet, and I will probably
lose a little business to it," said Steve Shulem, owner of Strictly
Vacations in Santa Barbara, Calif.
"But the people who call me don't just get a cruise. It's all of
the other details, like port information, reservations I make for
them at restaurants in Europe, the special deals I can arrange, the
limos I send to pick them up. I'm not too worried."
Cruise executives agree that while the significance of the
Internet and other direct-booking vehicles will grow, agents will
remain the key retailers of cruises.
No one can tell if unpredictable events, like last year's war in
Yugoslavia, will impact cruise sales in the 21st century.
Cruise suppliers and cruise-selling agents say that should the
U.S. economy remain strong and the world remain relatively
peaceful, the prospect for the cruise business looks excellent.
But Rod McLeod, president of American Classic Voyages, which
operates American Hawaii Cruises, the Delta Queen Steamboat Co. and
United States Lines, said the cruise industry has already proven it
can handle stormy seas.
"This is an industry that has always responded well to those
types of challenges, and I really believe these will be among our
most creative times."