The coronavirus crisis has caused a deluge of phone calls to
cruise lines from guests and travel advisors requesting cancellations or changes.
The brands of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. are asking agents to be patient.
“The calls are coming in much higher than we have
anticipated,” said Celebrity Cruises senior vice president of sales and trade
support Dondra Ritzenthaler during a conference call with travel advisors on
Friday.
“We’re asking you to hang in there and be patient. The next
four of five days will be the highest call volumes. It will kind of balance
itself out.”
Azamara COO of global operations Carol Cabezas addressed how
agents advise their clients. She said if travelers are well, they can feel
confident about going on their cruise.
“We
should always encourage them to go if they don’t have any underlying
conditions,” she said. “We are monitoring and have extra staff at every single
port to make sure [passengers] are well and healthy.”