MSC Cruises said it's received a barrage of queries from travel agents in light of Carnival Corp.'s announcement this week eliminating commissions on airfare. The cruise line responded Friday in a statement put forth by MSC Cruises USA's President and CEO, Richard Sasso, which reiterates that MSC is not cutting back on travel agent commissions. "We have always supported travel agents with an unprecedented commission structure and will continue to do so," Sasso said. "In addition to the already high-level commissions we offer on the cruise portion, MSC Cruises demonstrates our support by offering 10 percent commission on air, 10 percent on pre-booked shore excursions and 10 percent on pre-booked spa packages." Many agents feared that Carnival's announcement would create a domino effect, whereby other cruise lines would follow suit in cutting out air commissions.
