Every challenge comes with an opportunity to learn and grow. Smart people and good companies take full advantage of such an opportunity while others – well…not so much.

Carnival has been an interesting “case study” over the last few years. The various challenges the with rising fuel prices and the eventual recession that followed keeping more people at home, Carnival has managed to handle the adversity very well with a willingness to make tough choices, and the ability to rethink and transform their operations to streamline their business and continue to turn a profit.

Automation has played a key roll in Carnival’s transformation and ability to remain “The Most Popular Cruise Line in the World”. It’s not that you couldn’t book and manage clients through Carnival’s agent portal prior, but much of the “call center” activities that lingering old timers have known for years is now gone. (And they’re visibly upset – as usual.)

Early Saver, Pack & Go and Interline Rates have been handled via automation for a while now. Resident Rates, Senior Promotions, Military Rates and Travel Agent Cruise Sales recently went into automation mode August 1st. With so many new features now handled online only, Carnival decided to streamline their Agent Portal for ease of use with a totally new agent portal called GoCCL.com.

GoCCL was created with the Agent in mind, making it easier-to-navigate, more information than ever before, and it’s even Google-search-powered. The end result helps agents speed up the sales process along with some innovative and creative tools to help market to clients and prospects.

Carnival focused on these key areas:

• Improved design and organization – Carnival took all the constructive feedback and designed GoCCL.com around the concept that the right tool is only one-click away. You’ll always be ready when your customer is.
• The right information – when you need it. Now, there’s no more searching around the portal for information you need. GoCCL.com features a completely redesigned Resource Center that gives you lightning-fast access to a comprehensive library of sales programs and product information. Finding the right link is a breeze with GoCCL’s Google-powered search engine.
• Booking Tools – Create and manage reservations, access FunShipPay and verify Guest Document Status.
• Marketing Tools – It’s the one-stop place for all of your marketing needs, including the updated Ad Wizard, eBrochures, Collateral Ordering Tool, Brand Center, Fun Itineraries – as well as our Carnival Fun Tees!
• Training – Explore informative training videos, exclusive Webinars and learn more about how to advance your business at CCL University. You can also browse schedules and register for executive conferences, exciting shipboard events and our signature “Funtastic” Fam Weekends.
• Resource Center – This is the place to get all the information you need. You’ll find Carnival news and updates, FAQs, forms and policies, and Carnival products and program details. Be sure to check out our value-packed Knowledge Center: a great reference resource with facts about Carnival procedures, ship and port information – and much more.
• Specials – Get the scoop on Carnival specials, Early Saver fares, promotional programs, featured specials and other great deals for your clients.
• News and Alerts – The home page news ticker displays Carnivals latest news and important advisories and remains visible throughout the site.

The GoCCL portal is a state-of-the-art sales and marketing tool that will not only keep Carnival number one, but possibly widen the gap as new agents embrace the technology that’s available today. From the looks of it, it will make sales and marketing faster, easier, and more powerful than ever before.

If you look back over this blog and all the articles we’ve written about Carnival over the years, you’ll see that change is in fact a good thing. It’s not about being broken or unproductive – it’s about tweaking and moving forward in today’s fast paced and information rich environment with more opportunities than ever before. Reminds me of another “business model” that’s near and dear to our hearts. (And we’ve documented plenty about THAT topic here too!)

So go check out GoCCL.com. I think you’ll like the upgrade once you come aboard!

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If you didn’t know that June is Carnival Month with YTB Travel – you’ve got to be hiding under a rock somewhere. Carnival has been sending out all kinds of promotional e-mails this month and even offered up a couple of live webinars to assist the YTB sales  field in promotions and sales.

The month got kicked off to a great start with a “Cash Back” promotion that clients still have time to get in on before the end of the month. YTB Travel will conclude the month long promotion with Carnival with yet another “Sail-A-Thon” coming up June 29th. (More information on that next week.)

Communications were sent out yesterday about Carnival’s newest ship, the Carnival Magic which will home port in Galveston, Texas and offer 7 day sailings. The Carnival Triumph will move from New Orleans to Galveston as well to take over 4 and 5 day sailings. Galveston has always offer some of the best rates from any home port.

New Orleans will still be covered as well, including a fabulous new 7 day itinerary option. Both the Carnival Ecstasy and the Carnival Conquest will move to New Orleans offering 4, 5 and 7 day cruises options. Once again, New Orleans will have two ships making the “Big Easy” it’s home. Something we haven’t seen since Katrina hit back in 2005.

Here’s a list and time line for all the changes:

• 9/22/11 – CARNIVAL ECSTASY begins service from New Orleans
• 10/6/11 – CARNIVAL TRIUMPH begins service from Galveston
• 10/28/11 – CARNIVAL MAGIC 16-DAY TRANSATLANTIC FROM BARCELONA TO GALVESTON!
• 11/13/11 – CARNIVAL CONQUEST begins service from New Orleans with 3 different seven day cruise options!
• 11/14/11 – CARNIVAL MAGIC begins service from Galveston

Both Galveston and New Orleans ports are fabulous destinations in themselves and to combine the cruise offerings, makes this a perfect choice for a Carnival Cruise. You’ll want to promote these ships and sailings now to capture this business!

The following release was sent out yesterday.

NEW 130,000-TON CARNIVAL MAGIC TO OPERATE SEVEN-DAY CARIBBEAN CRUISES FROM GALVESTON BEGINNING  NOVEMBER 2011,

TO BE PORT’S LARGEST YEAR-ROUND SHIP

Carnival Conquest, Carnival Ecstasy to Sail Year -Round From New Orleans,

Returning the Line’s Capacity to Pre-Katrina Levels

MIAMI (June 23, 2010) – Carnival Cruise Lines’ newest ship, the 3,690-passenger Carnival Magic, will operate seven-day Caribbean cruises from Galveston beginning Nov. 14, 2011, becoming the largest cruise ship based at the port year-round.  Additionally, the 2,758-passenger Carnival Triumph will reposition from New Orleans to Galveston to operate year-round four- and five-day Caribbean cruises from that port beginning Oct. 6, 2011.

Homeporting the Carnival Magic and Carnival Triumph in Galveston represents the largest-ever capacity commitment by a cruise line to Texas.  With these deployments, Carnival expects to carry more than 450,000 guests annually from Galveston – a 28 percent increase over the current year.

In turn, the 2,974-passenger Carnival Conquest and 2,052-passenger Carnival Ecstasy, both of which are currently based in Galveston, will reposition to New Orleans to operate year-round departures from that port, returning the line to pre-Katrina capacity levels there.  With Carnival Conquest and Carnival Ecstasy, the line is expected to carry nearly 340,000 passengers annually from New Orleans – the most of any cruise operator.

“Deploying the new Carnival Magic to Galveston and increasing capacity on our popular short cruise program with the Carnival Triumph is a clear indication of the tremendous appeal and growth of this key homeport, which consistently earns high marks from our guests,” said Gerry Cahill, Carnival president and CEO. “At the same time, we are very pleased to return to pre-Katrina capacity levels in New Orleans with the Carnival Conquest and Carnival Ecstasy – a wonderfully positive indicator of the city’s continued growth and recovery,” he added.

Carnival Magic, Carnival Triumph from Galveston

Carnival Magic, which is slated to debut in Europe in May 2011 with a host of innovative facilities and features, will offer two different week-long itineraries from Galveston, including seven-day western Caribbean voyages to Montego Bay, Grand Cayman and Cozumel, and week-long eastern Caribbean cruises to Nassau, Freeport, and Key West.

Carnival Magic will offer many exciting amenities including a spectacular water park, an exclusive adults-only retreat, a wrap-around promenade with whirlpools that extend out over the ship’s sides, and expansive spa and children’s facilities.  Also featured will be a variety of stateroom choices, including deluxe ocean view  accommodations with two bathrooms, some of which feature five berths and hold particular appeal for families; cove balcony cabins located closer to the water line; and spa staterooms that provide special access and benefits.  A number of new innovations are scheduled to be announced in the near future.

Prior to launching year-round Caribbean service from Galveston, Carnival Magic will operate a series of seven-, nine- and 12-day Mediterranean voyages from Barcelona May 1 to Oct. 16, 2011; followed by a 16-day trans-Atlantic crossing from Barcelona to Galveston departing Oct. 28, 2011.

Also being deployed to Galveston is the Carnival Triumph which will operate year-round four- and five-day western Caribbean cruises beginning Oct. 6, 2011, becoming the newest and largest ship to operate a year-round short cruise program from that port.  Four-day cruises depart Thursdays to Cozumel, while five-day voyages depart Mondays and Saturdays and visit Cozumel and Progreso, Mexico.  Carnival Triumph offers many guest-pleasing features and amenities, including nearly 500 balcony staterooms which are very popular among consumers and typically not available on short cruises.

Expanded Capacity from New Orleans

Carnival Conquest will reposition to New Orleans for year-round seven-day Caribbean cruises beginning Nov. 13, 2011.  The ship will offer three different week-long Caribbean options from New Orleans: a new western Caribbean program featuring Montego Bay, Grand Cayman and Cozumel, an eastern Caribbean itinerary to Key West, Freeport and Nassau, and exotic western Caribbean cruises to Belize, Roatan and Cozumel.

Carnival Ecstasy will operate year-round four- and five-day western Caribbean voyages from New Orleans beginning Sept. 22, 2011. The ship underwent a multi-million-dollar renovation last year that added an expansive water park, tropical-style main pool area, adults-only retreat and 98 balconies to existing staterooms.  On the Carnival Ecstasy’s new itinerary, four-day cruises departing Thursdays visit Cozumel, while five-day cruises departing Mondays and Saturdays call at Cozumel and Progreso, Mexico.

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I really enjoy reading other blogs – especially when they’re entertaining and fun to read. One of my favorites happens to be John Heald’s blog.

If you don’t know John, you probably should if you’re part of the Travel Industry. John’s the Senior Cruise Director for Carnival Cruise Lines and started blogging back in March of 2007 about his experience on Carnival’s latest and greatest ships. According to John (and I have no reason to doubt this) in that three year span he’s had over six million visitors to his site. Many have become loyal readers like me.

John came to Carnival in 1985 and has held the position of Senior Cruise Director since 2004. As Senior Cruise Director, he’s had the privilege of being Cruise Director for the last nine ships Carnival has launched. His latest appointment on the Carnival Dream has been – extremely entertaining to say the least.

I’m not one who appreciates British humor as a whole. There are a very select few that I have come to enjoy over the years, and John happens to be climbing up my list of favorites.

It’s not that John doesn’t take anything seriously. There’s plenty of evidence that he does (otherwise he wouldn’t be entrusted with the position he currently holds) but his perceptions about every day activities and customers complaints are a real stitch.

It’s evident to me that John’s blog has become a real labor of love. The time he takes to answer questions, provide insight, and even pull a couple of favors for customers shows a true loyalty to his readership and his company. He’s become a true ambassador for Carnival.

My personal favorites happen to be customer complaints. The more outrageous the complaint, the more outrageous and funnier the response from John. And for me, that’s a trait we all should have. Too many people take themselves and their perceptions far too seriously. How anyone can complain while on a cruise is something I’ll never understand. (They’re on a cruise for goodness sake!)

Everything is neutral and nothing has meaning except for the meaning that you give it. John not only handles complaints in stride, but with humor. He’s not mean or nasty about it any way – but certainly puts any complaint in it’s place with a sarcasm and lightheartedness that everyone could use more of.

John’s become such a prominent fixture in the industry that he’s been invited to open Travel Weekly Cruise & Tour Virtual Conference and Tradeshow at the end of this month. This two day event held on March 30 and 31st will give you an opportunity to hear John via the live webcast designed to promote and educate the joy of cruising with the industries finest.

Regardless if you can make Travel Weekly’s Virtual Tradeshow, you owe it to yourself to check out his blog for insight and a number of good laughs. You and even subscribe via RSS for updates right in your inbox. It’s been a great escape for me, if only for a few minutes, and I always come away with a smile – and to me – that’s what life’s all about.

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I’m guessing I’m showing my age here – but you can’t bring up Princess Cruises without “The Love Boat” Theme running through my head. Truth is, the show was partly responsible for me wanting to work in the travel industry. The show certainly portrayed a very glamorous lifestyle that I wanted to be part of.

Little did I know at the time what the future had in store for me with an opportunity like YTB.

Several years ago YTB came up with this idea of hosting a “Sail-a-thon” on the Internet to promote both key partners and destinations for our customers. The field loves it because it gives many an opportunity to host a party at the house. Partners love it because it costs them nothing. They simply piggy back on the technology and infrastructure YTB has invested in – giving them an opportunity to promote from a single location to thousands. YTB has been hosting these “Sail-A-Thons” for years with several companies and since they keep on popping up every couple of months – everyone involved sees value in the events.

Cruise nights aren’t new however. CLIA (Cruise Line Industry Association) actually came up with the concept five years ago with the “World’s Largest Cruise Night“. Hundreds of Agencies still get together in a collective effort each year in October to promote the joy of cruising to clients.

All YTB did was modernize the concept, making it easier for clients to become informed and educated, while at the same time saving Cruise Lines some serious money by reaching the same number of clients (if not more) from one centralized location over the internet. Most recently, YTB partnered the webcast with Facebook to make it even easier for YTB Agents to send a simple link to friends and clients to enjoy specials and promotions on the worlds most popular social networking site.

Adding Facebook into the equation makes it interactive, an element that was missing with a simple webcast. When YTB tried it for the first time with Carnival back in November, we had no idea the power it possessed and how much fun it could be. Thousands of people posted their favorite cruise pictures and some even won prizes! (Like yours truly. ;-P)

Thursday night, Princess Cruises gets into the act with a new twist called Trivia Night. The hour long broadcast will ask six Trivia Gold questions about Princess and/or Alaska to give viewers a chance to win prizes by answering the questions. In the meantime viewers also become educated on the value of cruising – and more specifically why Princess Cruises is the premier cruise line when it comes to an Alaska destination.

For example, a 7-night Voyage of the Glaciers cruise is followed by 5-nights on land featuring 1 night at McKinley Princess Wilderness Lodge, 2 nights at Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge and 2 nights at Fairbanks Princess Riverside Lodge. It’s the only cruise of it’s kind. Princess has invested millions into these lodges and you won’t find these type of amenities from any other cruise line.

This cruisetour offers the ultimate vacation for the entire family, ensuring you see all the best of Alaska by land and by sea. You just can’t get that with any other line. 

As an added incentive to “come aboard”, Cruise customers will see some great prices for all destinations with the following benefits:

• Up to $100 onboard credit per stateroom
• Reduced deposit of just $100 per person
• Coupons worth up to $325 in onboard savings

The entire savings package can be found right here, and you can pull up a direct link to Princess Cruise Lines here to investigate and price out your next Princess Cruise.

The Sail-a-Thon should be a lot fun. From what I saw, Facebook fans enjoyed interacting with each other during the Carnival Sail-a-Thon a few months ago.

Technology – aint it grand?

Hope to see you there and of course some of you will be singing it with me until then…

Love, exciting and new
Come Aboard. We’re expecting you.
Love, life’s sweetest reward.
Let it flow, it floats back to you.

If you’re too young to remember the song that’s okay. Just remember to join us tomorrow night!

Hope to see you then!

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With YTB’s Sail-a-thon going currently running with Carnival Cruise Lines until December 5th, I can’t think of a better plug to promote the value of this cruise line. I’ve kept a close eye on our friends at Carnival over the years. Not only has this cruise line been a family favorite for cruising over the years, but I’ve also kept tabs on how they’ve been able to maintain and grow their fleet of ships. While the line has grown over the years, they have also refurbished a number of the older ships to keep them up to date with today’s growing market.

There’s a reason why Carnival is called “The Most Popular Cruise Line in the World” – and Porthole Cruise Magazine just gave the line eight more awards in it’s latest edition to help it maintain this title. Ann Sedgwick is obviously extremely excited about these honors and forwarded the press release to her list this weekend.

Here’s the release for you to not only read, but offer to clients about the value of cruising with Carnival Cruise Lines.

CARNIVAL WINS EIGHT PORTHOLE READERS CHOICE AWARDS, INCLUDING BEST VALUE, BEST ENTERTAINMENT AND BEST CHILDREN’S PROGRAMS

Line Has Earned Unprecedented 109 Awards Over Past 11 Years – Most In Cruising

MIAMI (November 20, 2009) – Carnival Cruise Lines, the world’s largest cruise operator, took top honors in eight categories, including Best Value, Entertainment and Best Children’s Programs, in the annual Readers Choice Awards sponsored by Porthole Cruise Magazine, the leading consumer cruise magazine.

The awards are based on surveys of Porthole readers who rated their favorite cruise line in a wide variety of product- and service-related categories.

Since the awards were established in 1999, Carnival Cruise Lines has garnered 109 individual honors – the most of any cruise line during this period.

Carnival’s 2009 Porthole Readers Choice Awards include:

• Best Value for the Money Line
• Best Children’s Programs
• Best Entertainment
• Best Shore Excursions
• Best Megaship (Carnival Splendor)
• Best Mexican Riviera Itineraries
• Best Theme Cruises
• Best Web Site

“To be recognized by consumers as the top cruise choice in so many different categories, particularly in areas such as children’s programming, entertainment and value, which are core elements of the Carnival vacation experience, is a truly wonderful honor,” said Ruben Rodriguez, Carnival’s executive vice president of marketing and guest experience.

Added Bill Panoff, publisher and editor-in-chief of Porthole Cruise Magazine, “Carnival Cruise Lines appeals to many different cruisers for many different reasons, which is why our readers continually vote them the best in several categories. From ships to onboard amenities to itineraries, the line continues to be a market leader and I congratulate them on their wins.”

Carnival Cruise Lines is the largest and most popular cruise line in the world, with 22 “Fun Ships” operating voyages ranging from three to 12 days in length to The Bahamas, Caribbean, Mexican Riviera, Alaska, Hawaii, Panama Canal, Canada and New England.  The line’s newest ship, the 130,000-ton Carnival Dream, made its U.S. debut earlier this month.  Carnival also has one new ship on order, the 130,000-ton Carnival Magic, which is scheduled for delivery in 2011.

For additional information and reservations, contact any travel agent, call 1-800-CARNIVAL or visit carnival.com.

###

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My how times have changed. If you would have told me that I’d be able to invite my Facebook friends to a live Sail-a-thon with “The Most Popular Cruise Line In The World” a year ago, I’m not sure I would have bought into that idea. Don’t get me wrong – I would have loved the idea! (I love anything that’s technology related and easy to use like Facebook.) A year ago however, it would have been hard to imagine corporations like YTB and Carnival buying into Facebook as a means of promoting business.

Today, not only does a promotion like this make perfect sense – but it becomes a reality tonight as YTB hosts it’s first Sail-a-thon using Facebook with Carnival Cruise Lines.

I’ve got to hand it to YTB, they’ve come up with another idea that’s new and innovative that captures a very large paradigm shift in social networking. It’s hard to pin down exactly how many people actually use Facebook these days, but the most reliable source I’ve been able to find is Facebook itself with over 250 million users as of July of this year. I’ve seen numbers of 100 million more by this time, but regardless if the numbers are right or accurate – it’s a HUGE number of users that interconnect via one massive network.

Think about how easy it is to post something to your Facebook page, inviting friends back to a place they enjoy hanging out anyway to interact and talk with others on the worlds largest social network. It’s a perfect marriage of the right companies and the right social network.

The 6 hour event (which runs from 6:00 pm to Midnight Central Standard Time) isn’t just about sales – it’s designed to be educational and fun. If you join us tonight – you’ll learn the following tips and tricks directly from YTB and Carnival:

- Learn why you should book with YTB
– Learn how to find the best fare
– Understanding what type of fares are available
– Learn when you should you make a reservation
– Learn how to select the best cabin/location
– Learn what constitutes a group
– Learn what types of groups are there
– Holiday Gift Certificates
– Cruise Sale offer — 2 category upgrade

If you want to learn and interact with others, simply pull up YTB Travel Network President, Kim Sorensen’s Facebook page. You can get involved by asking questions, answering the polls, sending in pictures of your party or a previous Carnival Cruise you’ve been on. YTB will have members of the creative team on the page during the entire broadcast to keep things lively and entertaining throughout the evening.

Carnival appears to be pumped about this event too. Ann Sedgewick has been sending her subscribers updates all week – offering up ideas and promotional materials to use to get the word out. Carnival was the one who started this whole Sail-a-thon concept two years ago with YTB. Because they keep coming back for more (this is our 4th event with the Cruise Line) I can only assume that the events are working for them. Why else would they keep doing it? In addition, other vendors like Princess and Pleasant Holidays have seen how easy and inexpensive these webinars are and have joined YTB to host thier own events.

Also, just to clarify – this Carnival event is exclusively with YTB. I encourage you to join me and thousands of others for the webcast, at your leisure from the comfort of their own home. It’s going to be a great event, a lot of fun, great offers and GREAT information for all; whether you’re a seasoned cruiser or first timer! Pick a cruise tonight or purchase a gift certificate to choose later if you’d like. You’ll see certificates ranging from 3-8 days with prices from $358 for a cruise for two. (Yes, TWO, not per person which makes this one very attractive offer!)

Also in honor of Veterans Day, there’s a month long promotion going on with special pricing and category upgrades to say “Thanks for your service”. So if you or anyone you know has sacrificed with service for this great Country, be sure to be part of tonight’s events.

It’s a winning combination any way you look at it – and it’s fitting that YTB is part of it.

Remember, the event starts at 6:00 pm Central and you can go to BandBVacations.com to find the video link and YTB Travel Network President, Kim Sorensen’s Facebook page to ask questions, interact with others and win prizes just for participating. It should be a really good time and since you’re probably going to be on Facebook anyway tonight, might as well get yourself an exceptional deal on your next cruise with Carnival Cruise Lines!

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I’ve mentioned this a time or two before on the internet, but I’m not sure if I’ve ever written about it here on this blog. When a client comes to me with a request for a cruise, the very first place that I look is on our Groups Page to see if anyone has something that would fit.

The search for a Group that matches a clients request just became a piece of cake with YTB’s new Group Search Upgrade on the YTB Booking Engine. It also enables your customers to book your group without having to search through all of the groups. (Over 500 at any given time!) You can now search by ship, by name of group, destination or date.

How cool is that?

The new group page comes via Convergentware, an upgrade that YTB purchased last year that I really like. The technology platform is extremely versatile and easy to use from an end user prospective. It’s also easy to use from a Travel Agent perspective. Set up a client with a user name and password, create the itinerary, and send them a link to view and book it themselves.

One of the reasons I love groups so much is because the price just can’t be beat. Typically, a group cruise is going to be $50 less per person than anything else a client can find on thier own. I’ve had some challenge me on this, but quickly shut them up when they realize they never added port charges or taxes (and sometimes gratuities) to the total price.

In all the years I’ve been doing this, a group rate has never been beat. (And if anyone else tells you differently, just smile – tell them “Thanks for sharing” – and move on. They’re not worth the time.)

A couple other cool changes you need to be aware of with the new upgrade that I like. As a site owner, you have the ability to have a public or private group. A private group will be assigned a special code that will be needed in order to view the group. If you want to reserve the space for just family, or a class reunion, you can now do that.

Also added is the ability to reserve as few as 8 cabins to start. If you need more, all the better. In that past, a group required 20 cabins to get yourself listed on the groups page. (One of the reasons the price was so attractive.) Convergentware also makes it easier for the Home Office to set up, so they’ve lowered the minimum requirement to get your group listed on the page.

To show you how easy it is to use this puppy – let’s say you’re looking at the new Carnival Dream. Simply pull up the new Groups Page from any YTB website (preferably mine) and select “Ship Name” for the pull down menu in the box. From there you can select the “Carnival Dream” and click the “Find It” button. Up comes two pages of group cruises ready for you to book at the special group rate on the Carnival Dream. You can do the same for length, date, region..you name it.

A couple things you need to keep in mind when looking at this pricing. Pricing is not only based on double occupancy (meaning it includes both berths in the cabin) but also includes port charges and taxes. Most but not all, also include the gratuities for the length of the cruise as well in the unit price that you’ll see. Most clients will realize the value you provided them when they compare apples to apples with any other Agency or Online Booking Engine they do a price comparison with. (Some clients, and all critics however, will need some help with this.) It should also be noted that most of these groups will only require a $25 deposit (per person) at the time of booking to reserve the space. This provides some additional time for them to budget for the deposit and the final payment due around 60 days before sailing. (Most really like this option.)

I’m really jazzed about this new upgrade. My job just got A LOT easier for those clients who look to me for a great cruise value. If you’re serious about making some decent money selling travel, cruises are an area you need to specialize in. All you really need is one 7 day cruise booking to break even per quarter, and when you add just one group per year – that my friends is gravy!

Thanks YTB!

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