Tuesday Briefing: Second Carnival Liberty Cruise Cancelled, Booking.com Pilots Travel Agent Platform

carnival libertyThe cancellation of a second Carnival Liberty cruise, Booking.com’s new platform for travel agents and a real-life instance of Snakes on a Plane are the travel industry stories making headlines today. 

November 5 Carnival Liberty Cruise Cancelled

Carnival Cruise Line has cancelled a second Carnival Liberty cruise due to an ongoing problem with one of the ship’s generators that affects the ship’s propulsion, Cruise Critic reports. The line has cancelled the ship’s five-night western Caribbean cruise from Galveston that was slated to depart November 5. 

All passengers will receive a full refund, including any pre-purchased excursions, Fun Shop items and pre-purchased gratuities, as well as a 100 percent credit in the amount paid for the cancelled cruise on a future cruise purchase. The ship’s next cruise, currently scheduled to depart November 10, will call at Progreso instead of Cozumel. Passengers on the November 10 sailing can cancel for a full refund or opt to receive a $50 per person onboard credit and a 25 percent discount on a future cruise. 

The move marks the second recently cancelled cruise for the ship, after Carnival Cruise Line had to cancel the ship’s five-night cruise to Mexico that had been slated to depart Galveston October 31. 

New Travel Agent Platform From Booking.com

In OTA news, Booking.com has announced the initial test pilot of a new platform for travel agents, dubbed Booking.com for Travel Agents

booking.com for travel agents landing page

The new platform is an extension of the company’s existing Affiliate Partner Program and uses some of the same technology and infrastructure being developed for Booking.com for Business. Travel agents who join the platform will be eligible for similar partner benefits as all Booking.com affiliate partners, the company said. 

Bryan Batista, senior director of global partnerships at Booking.com, said that the company had seen increasing numbers of travel agents using the site to manage bookings for their clients. The new platform will enable agents to view and manage all customer reservations via one dashboard. Additionally, a tab of customizable reports will allow travel agents to monitor individual client bookings and provide them with a breakdown of earnings over time. 

Visit www.booking.com/travel-advisors/index.html

Snakes on a Plane? 

In odd air travel news, passengers on a Sunday Aeromexico flight from Torreon, Mexico, to Mexico City, were startled by a scenario straight out of cult 2006 movie “Snakes on a Plane” when a green serpent slithered out of the ceiling from behind an overhead luggage compartment, ABC News reports. After the snake dropped to the floor, people were able to trap it in blankets provided by a flight attendant. 

The plane was given a priority landing in Mexico City, after which passengers exited the rear of the aircraft and animal control workers were able to take the animal into custody. The airline said in a statement that it was investigating how the snake got into the cabin, and that it would work to keep such an incident from happening again. 

Have a tip on major travel industry news, or an inspiring story you’d like to share? Reach out at [email protected]

And keep visiting www.travelagentcentral.com for the latest travel industry news, trends and updates.