NORWEGIAN CRUISE LINE Monday cancelled another
three months of cruises on the Norway, effective through the ship's
Sept. 28 voyage. A boiler on the ship exploded during a turnaround
in Miami on May 25, killing seven crew. "Although a detailed work
specification has yet to be finalized," NCL said in a statement,
"it is becoming clearer, with each additional day of inspections,
that the repair work is likely to take months rather than weeks."
Future Norway passengers will be given a full refund and a $50
credit, good for one year; agent commissions will be protected at
10% on bookings paid in full by June 8. Last week the line
confirmed it was contacting shipyards regarding the Norway repairs.
Meanwhile, five crew members who were being treated for injuries
related to the explosion were discharged from the hospital. Four
crew members remain hospitalized; one is in critical condition.
THE NUMBER of cruise passengers who cruised on
Cruise Line Int'l Assn.-member lines jumped 23% over first-quarter
2002, to 2.2 million in first-quarter 2003. Of the total, 1.9
million were North Americans, which represented a 20% increase over
the first three months of 2002. First-quarter industry occupancy
was 101.3%, CLIA said. CLIA chairman Mark Conroy said the numbers
were "an encouraging vote of confidence."
RESIDENSEA introduced the ultimate commission
offer: Travel agents can make 50% commission--that's the big
five-o--on two cruises this summer on its floating condominium, the
World. The departures are a 10- to 12-day cruise from San Francisco
to Ensenada that embarks Aug. 26, 27 or 28, and a 13-day roundtrip
Mexico cruise from San Diego on Sept. 6. The line said the
extraordinary commission level is meant to attract new agent
partners to the one-ship line and, of course, to sell cabins on the
World.
ROYAL CARIBBEAN AND CELEBRITY CRUISES revamped
the price structure of their travel insurance to parallel the
per-person price of the cruise. Previously, insurance was purchased
based on the cruise length and destination.
DELTA QUEEN Steamboat Co. reestablished its
preferred-supplier pacts with AAA, Liberty Travel, TravelSavers,
Virtuoso and MAST Vacation Partners. It also forged new ones with
Cruise and Vacation Specialists, and Cruise and Travel Stores.
Under its national accounts program, member agents can earn up to
15% commission.