Richard Turen
Success is all about timing. So in fairly typical fashion, I managed to schedule my "Candid Cruise Conversation With Clients" on Zoom just hours after it was reported that SeaDream, the first true luxury line to resume North American sailings, had reported guests and crew who tested positive for Covid.
At about the same time, the retailer community was itself in a dither because Christopher Elliott, who positions himself as a consumer advocate, had suggested in a USA Today column that it might be ethically irresponsible for travel agents to be urging anyone to travel right now in the name of commissions.
So there I was, due to my own sense of optimism, facing a screen with dozens of clients looking for sage cruise advice of the kind that is beyond Wolf Blitzer. What to say? These folks want to know when and how they can travel again -- safely.
As I began, I realized that the lovely cruise-ship-approaching-palm-trees background I had selected was clashing with my blue shirt (sleeves rolled up) and tie with khakis. I think I was trying to channel MSNBC's Steve Kornacki.
I didn't use a script and hardly glanced at my notes. But I thought I would share some of my subject matter with you in the event that you might decide to Zoom ahead with real-time cruise advice for your clients. I had a lot of people joining, but a smaller group would have allowed for a more personal and interactive approach.
I started out explaining my optimism about the news on the vaccine front. The schedules we are hearing would indicate we will have major cruise line start-ups in time for the operation of the Alaska and European seasons this summer.
Specifics were presented so clients fully understand that, to date, we have zero cases of individuals not ultimately receiving cruise deposits/payments.
Several examples were presented of inaccurate cruise reporting. Many involved cruisers who wrote to reporters about their frustrations in dealing with online agencies or cruise line call center staff but were never informed that when they chose not to go through a travel advisor, they had given up their rights to an advocate while agreeing to be charged for one anyway.
I explained cruise industry layoffs and the impact they have had on the line's inability to return deposits promptly: "They are processing hundreds of millions of dollars in refunds at their kitchen tables."
To review the cruise industry in a way I felt would be helpful, I unveiled our latest 2021 ratings of our "top 10 cruise lines." Not one of the best-known names in the industry have ever made our list, and I carefully explain why. You can't, for instance, make our list unless there is an active program in place for staff to address guests by name. There are dozens of other criteria; that's just one.
(A hint: My top-ranked cruise line has a hyphenated name.)
Going through the top 10 allowed me to make comments on many aspects of each company's ships, current status and operations. I had collected questions in advance and tried to quickly address each of them.
I went way over my hour, but my khakis kept their crease.