MIAMI -- Breaking from industry policy, Premier Cruises threw open
its entire inventory of more than 100 shore excursions for agents
to prebook at a commission of 10%.
The line said it had been offering commissionable prebookings on
excursions of the Big Red Boat but decided to move fleetwide with
the practice, to include the line's other five ships.
Hans Rood, executive vice president of sales and marketing, said
the program is part of the line's efforts to show support for its
travel partners when agents are faced with declining
commissions.
It also seemed designed to counter any dampening effects of a
management shake-up, the lowering of the line's credit rating and a
Coast Guard flap. The Coast Guard forced the line to scrap one
sailing of its Big Red Boat in May for failing to provide paperwork
showing compliance with safety at sea regulations.
Agents long have sought the ability to sell shore excursions to
clients but most cruise lines have rejected the idea, except for
selective excursions, typically high-ticket items on longer
cruises. Royal Olympic Cruises allows agents to prebook packages of
shore excursions on all the line's ships in the Greek Isles, but it
offers only selective prebooking of excursions outside the
Mediterranean.
Rood said the shore commission policy is meant to focus
attention to the line's strategy of featuring unique destinations.
"Premier is committed to supporting travel agents," he continued.
"We're also educating agents about our interesting itineraries and
unique shoreside activities."
Premier said its average cruise excursion costs around $50,
ranging from a low of $10 for a conducted walking tour of Halifax
up to a hot-air balloon ride priced at $245 for the Rembrandt's
summer program from Barcelona.
Premier listed six popular shore excursions for its ships, as
follows:
Big Red Boat: Dolphin Experience in Nassau, priced at $45,
allowing passengers to observe dolphins close up and interact with
them at Salt Cay.IslandBreeze: Casablanca Highlights, priced at $79, in which
passengers visit the Hassen II Mosque, United Nations Square and
Mohamed Y Square, including its musical fountain with multi-colored
jets of water.OceanBreeze: San Blas Islands, priced at $22, allowing
passengers to learn the way of life of the native Kuna
Indians.Rembrandt: Tour of Nice, Eze and Monaco, priced at $45,
providing visits to the cities as well as scenic views of the
surrounding seaside.SeaBreeze: The Titanic/Halifax Connection, priced at $19,
offering a visit to the historic burial site of 150 victims of the
Titanic and a nearby church where memorial services were held.SeaWind Crown: Curacao Island Tour & Sea Aquarium, priced
at $34, featuring historic sites of Curacao and sampling of its
regional liqueur and beer.Earlier last week, Rood reported that 73% of the line's
fleetwide inventory is sold out for 1998. In particular, the
SeaBreeze's summer itinerary in New England is booked to 90% of
capacity and is expected to be sold out, he said, and the vessel's
new fall Mayan itinerary is selling 65% ahead of last year's
Caribbean itinerary. The Big Red Boat, Rood added, is 5% ahead of
last year.