If you've noticed a lot of travel advisors sailing with you on Royal Caribbean lately, it's likely thanks in part to a contribution the cruise line made to the industry: a free cruise to the first 1,000 travel advisors who joined ASTA or renewed their membership by the end of September.
When the allotted number of advisors jumped at the deal, RCCL stepped up and continued the offer -- a whopping 4,539 advisors joined, including 2,574 who joined the trade association for the first time.
Any travel advisor who enrolled through the program and has not yet received a confirmation from Royal Caribbean should be hearing from the line this week, Royal Caribbean vice president of North America marketing Kara Wallace said in a recent Coffee Talk webinar with Vicki Freed, Royal Caribbean's senior vice president of sales, trade support and service. It takes two or three weeks to process the paperwork.