Thread: Does Carnival work well with Travel Agents?

My TA is not fond of booking Carnival cruises. My long time TA tells me she always appreciates my business ... even when it's on Carnival.

Many of our members are travel agents and just wondering if they feel the same?

I've never had any major problems with them. Our Business Development Manager (BDM) is great to work with, but there are times when they do less than what other BDM's do for us on other cruise lines.

I'm not a big fan of the Carnival online booking site for agents. Their group rates can often save money over the regular rate, but their GAP points (Group Amenity Points) aren't as good as other cruise lines.

Booking is one thing, problem solving is something else. You really get to know a company when you have to deal with them to solve a problem. It's all about providing good customer service, how easy they are to work with, and how accommodating they are to satisfy the client's request.

Overall, I don't mind dealing with them most of the time. I would say they are worse than some and better than others. Just all part of the job.

Pete

Thanks, Pete .... Pretty much what my TA said ... part of her job.

At this point the brochures with the SHIP DECK PLANS are impossible for her to get from Carnival any longer. Can you?

Nope! That's one of my biggest complaints about Carnival - they no longer print the deck plans. The only way to get them is to go to their website and then print them ourselves, which is not a good way to do it. Sucks! I use an old brochure so I can at least see where the cabins are even though the categories have changed.

I've even suggested to them to print just the deck plans to provide to agents, but alas, their response was, "You can print it from our website." A lotta help that is! That's their lack of providing good customer service.

Their new brochures are a complete joke! I don't even order any of them anymore because they are a total waste of space! They say it's just their way of saving money while I say it's just being downright cheap!

I really like the way RCCL and Celebrity do it the best - they put out a Travel Agent Guide and it has a wonderful set of deck plans, which makes it very easy for us. I wish they would all do it this way, but then again, except for RCCL, none of them seem to be interested in making it any easier for agents.

Originally Posted by Cruise Planner

Nope! That's one of my biggest complaints about Carnival - they no longer print the deck plans. The only way to get them is to go to their website and then print them ourselves, which is not a good way to do it. Sucks! I use an old brochure so I can at least see where the cabins are even though the categories have changed.

I've even suggested to them to print just the deck plans to provide to agents, but alas, their response was, "You can print it from our website." A lotta help that is! That's their lack of providing good customer service.

Their new brochures are a complete joke! I don't even order any of them anymore because they are a total waste of space! They say it's just their way of saving money while I say it's just being downright cheap!

I really like the way RCCL and Celebrity do it the best - they put out a Travel Agent Guide and it has a wonderful set of deck plans, which makes it very easy for us. I wish they would all do it this way, but then again, except for RCCL, none of them seem to be interested in making it any easier for agents.

Thanks again, Pete! My long time TA & friend tells me RCCL and Celebrity are much better about giving them the info and litature needed.

Her other big pain is that most cruise lines now only have info on their shore tours on line. Not everyone has a computer or knows how to get to the correct site.

Lu and Pete,

I know this isn't a printed one, but usually for deck plans I use seascanner.

I did one for Fascination.
Deck plan M/S Carnival Fascination unbegrenzt gültig


Maybe this will help?

My TA is not a fan of the “NEW CARNIVAL” either - they no longer want the TA's to call them to make reservations - but Carnival wants the TA to enter all the data themselves (I guess they want the TA’s to earn their commissions).

I tried to get a brochure - but they are generic and useless - I wrote Carnival about the lack of brochures that are tailored to the ships and itineraries . . . no response - sad!!

Yep, it's gotten to be an electronic world - they no longer provide paper tickets or luggage tags. Instead they expect everyone to have computers and to print out their own documents. And for those without computers, the cruise lines figure the agents will then print them out for the clients. So now we do more work and have bigger costs. Plus, they keep figuring out ways to make more money while not increasing the cruise fare, which is what commissions are based on. They increase the Port Fees and add fuel surcharges, neither of which provide an agent with anything more. It's a tough job and not one most people appreciate, yet it can be rewarding because we provide a valuable service, which happens to be free to our clients.

Originally Posted by hanna

Lu and Pete,

I know this isn't a printed one, but usually for deck plans I use seascanner.

I did one for Fascination.
Deck plan M/S Carnival Fascination unbegrenzt gültig


Maybe this will help?

Thanks, Hanna, it's a good site to have and would be great for some other ships! Nice lay out and easy to read.

Unfortunately, their deck plans for Carnival Fasination have not been updated. About two years ago Fasination had some balcony cabins added which they don't show. E240, 244, 246, etc. at the very back of the ship now have balconies.

Well ...you just can't trust anybody, can you?