LOS ANGELES -- With some inviting prices and a little luck, Crystal
Cruises thought it could fill three hastily scheduled cruises from
Los Angeles on the Crystal Harmony to half-capacity.
That was before it started hearing from agents like John Bell,
president of Golden Bear Travel in Novato, Calif.
"It lit up our phones like a Christmas tree," Bell said.
The cruises, two roundtrips to Mexico and one coastal cruise to
Vancouver, sold out in about five days.
Crystal had reached out to agents to sell the cruises with only
three weeks' lead time, after the line pulled the Harmony from its
Asia itineraries. Prices started at under $130 per day -- unheard
of for a luxury-level line like Crystal.
"Word just seemed to have spread," Bell said. "Everybody jumped
on 'em. They're still calling."
Crystal executives were stunned by the response. Expecting light
loads on the last-minute voyages, it had sent some of the Harmony's
crew home on contract breaks. Suddenly, it was scrambling to recall
the crew.
Eric Graves, Crystal's vice president of group sales, said the
California market was targeted because of the line's West Coast
prominence and its proximity to Alaska, where the ship heads
next.
"But we were not remotely prepared that things could turn this
fast," he said. "We lined up newspaper ads ... but it took us about
two days after we'd contacted our field sales people to realize we
were in potential trouble."
In addition to those booked on the sailings, Crystal has a wait
list that Graves said was several hundred people long.