SinglesCruise.com Forms New Partnership With Vacation.com

singles cruise
 
Photo by Susan J. Young

SinglesCruise.com, the United States’ largest organizer of hosted singles cruises and a part of the Travel Leaders Group, has announced a wholesale initiative with Vacation.com.

Effective immediately, more than 5,100 Vacation.com travel agencies now have SinglesCruise.com’s portfolio of singles cruises at their fingertips to book. Throughout 2014 and beyond, Vacation.com members also will receive a number of B2B marketing pieces about the SinglesCruise.com product and upcoming sailings.

In addition, SinglesCruise.com will protect Vacation.com agents’ commissions. So once a client books a SinglesCruise.com sailing through a Vacation.com member, if that client books their next cruise vacation while onboard the ship, the agent will be notified and will receive the commission for that booking.

Product Highlights for Singles

Highlights of the SinglesCruise.com product include: ships with activities appealing to single cruisers; cruise hosts who lead special onboard events and ensure SinglesCruise.com guests feel welcome; and a full schedule of exclusive activities including cocktail parties, group dining, theme nights, dance lessons, speed meeting, karaoke parties and more. All events are only open to SinglesCruise.com guests.

In addition, SinglesCruise.com guests may book optional shore excursions designed for singles (for an added fee). And the organization will provide complimentary roommate matching. Upon request, SinglesCruise.com will assign guests a same-gender roommate to avoid the single supplement.

To get acquainted with other singles both pre- and post-cruise, clients can head for SinglesCruise.com's private online message boards and join its social media groups.

“This agreement brings the awareness of the SinglesCruise.com product to staggering new levels,” stated Jody Ryland, vice president, SinglesCruise.com, in a press release. “After announcing the partnership to Vacation.com members, we saw an immediate, sharp jump in the number of agencies registering with us to sell our product to interested singles.”

Ryland explained that agency registration is quick and easy. Vacation.com members simply go to www.singlescruise.com/agents. Then click on the “Online Travel Agency Registration” form.

Once registered, the agent receives an online Agent Resources guide, which provides customizable PDFs, sailing schedules, PowerPoint presentations and a sales and frequently-asked-questions guide.

“This new initiative between SinglesCruise.com and Vacation.com fits perfectly with our philosophy of ‘Belong. Inspire. Grow,’" explained John Lovell, CTC, president of Vacation.com. He said solo travelers are very much a welcome segment of the industry and his agency group wants to inspire them to travel and see the world. "As we do that, our members will benefit in terms of sales growth and added revenue,” said Lovell.

Lovell continued: “We are perfectly suited to position SinglesCruise.com to a vast yet sometimes under-served segment of the population. With this highly-desirable product right at our agents’ fingertips, plus access to a host of marketing materials, our members will not just flirt with single travelers but build rock-solid relationships.”

SinglesCruise.com has 11 sailings scheduled for the remainder of 2014 and into 2015 with more to come. Its most popular voyage each year is the Halloween cruise, which often welcomes more than 500 guests.

While most SinglesCruise.com trips are designated as all ages, certain cruises are aimed at specific age groups such as 20s, 30s and 40-plus. SinglesCruise.com also will host its first land-based vacation later this year – a four-night getaway to Club Med Turkoise, Turks and Caicos.

For more details on SinglesCruise.com or to find out more about upcoming sailings, go to www.SinglesCruise.com. Agencies wishing to learn about Vacation.com may go to www.joinvacation.com.