Thursday Briefing: Cruise Lines, Tour Ops Ramp Up Wave Season Rewards

Wave Season is well underway, and cruise lines are taking advantage of the season to announce a series of important updates to their travel agent rewards programs. 

Norwegian Cruise Line has announced an entirely new Upgrade Advantage program that will debut February 8 on the Norwegian Escape, Norwegian Breakaway, Norwegian Getaway, Norwegian Epic and Pride of America and fleet wide by the end of Q2. The program will offer guests the opportunity to bid on stateroom upgrades before they sail, either on their own or through their travel agent. Importantly, agents will receive commission on the upgrade regardless of how the client books, and the agent will be copied on emails sent throughout the bidding process. 

Carnival Cruise Line has updated its Travel Agent Rewards Program so that all gift cards will now be offered in an electronic format. The change aims to speed up the redemption process, allowing agents to receive their electronic gift cards within 30 minutes of placing their order. A wide selection of retail and restaurant offerings were also just added to the program, as well as a series of enhancements to the program’s point redemption website, including a newly designed ordering tool highlighting “frequently viewed items” and the ability to create item “wish lists.”

TravelBound just announced a new bonus commission offer timed to coincide with Wave Season that also offers clients savings on pre- and post-cruise stays in cruise ports. Available through the end of March, the deal offers agents the chance to earn an additional 3 percent commission for European bookings, and additional 2 percent for bookings in Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa, and 1 percent bonus commission for bookings in the Americas, including Canada and the Caribbean.

Finally, speaking of Wave Season, we just heard an interesting cruise rumor: Royal Caribbean’s next Oasis-class ship could be named Symphony of the Seas. The rumor comes from a press release that was posted to the website of FlowRider, Inc., the company that manufactures Royal Caribbean’s onboard surfing simulators, that has since been taken down — but not before being screenshotted by members of the Cruise Critic website. The rumor remains unconfirmed by Royal Caribbean. We’ll update as soon as we hear more. 

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