Posts Tagged ‘World’s Largest Cruise Night’

ZamFest Kicks Off Tonight!

Tuesday, October 18th, 2011
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Our family spent this past weekend in the mountains. The fall colors were magnificent. Every little mountain town was packed with people who were enjoying the fall festivals and fairs surrounded by gorgeous fall color and cooler temperatures.

Festivals and fairs are a huge part of the fall program. YTB is getting into the action starting tonight @ 8:00 pm Eastern, 7:00 pm Central and runs through Midnight on Thursday, October 20, 2011. You can check it all out on ZamZuuTV.com.

This year we’ve got more than just e-commerce deals – we’re combining it with travel for some spectacular savings during CLIA’s World’s Largest Cruise Week. You can join a local party which are being held all over the county – or you can simply log into ZamZuuTV.com and check things out from the comfort of your own home. You can also text the word ‘ZamFest’ to 58203 for a chance to win great prizes.

New to ZamFest this year are travel deals. In years past, we’ve always separated the two events, and you may already know about CLIA’s World’s Largest Cruise Week. Just about all the cruise lines are offering great specials and attractive offers this week. YTB is highlighting two in particular with MSC Cruises and Holland America. You can find more information about CLIA’s World’s Largest Cruise Week and specific vendor promotions here. Information for Holland America’s sale can be found here.

Globus is also offering a really good deal this week, where you can save $800 per couple on all 2012 Europe air-inclusive vacations. More info can be found here.

Make sure you check out our Doll Jeanie Sharpless while on the webcast. Jeanie will offer up an incredible perspective and help you pick just the right cruise experience during the ZamFest webcast. And since we’re also talking Europe and Globus, YTB Founder Coach Tomer makes an appearance with his wife to share experiences from their recent travels in Europe. Both will be fantastic insider experiences.

If shopping is your pleasure – we have deals for you on that as well. Here’s a list of national companies we’ve been able to contract with for Zamfest this week.

Check this out…

Looking for a concert great theatre experience or sporting event this year? TicketsNow is your connection to all the fun and excitement of live music, theater and sports. TicketsNow is an event ticket resale marketplace where fans of live entertainment buy and sell tickets. The marketplace provides safe and convenient access to hard-to-find event tickets. This week, find the best tickets at a discount. Use the code ‘ZAMFEST’ when placing your next order for 10% off. With TicketsNow, it’s on. This special sale lasts through October 31.

Take advantage of huge savings for a limited time online at Brookstone. Use promo code ‘ZAMFEST2′ now through 10/22/11 and get 20% off site wide at Brookstone. (Some exclusions apply, see their site for details.)

Looking for lighting fast Internet speeds? Do you want the ability to roam with your Internet connection? Or how ‘bout making the leap to VoIP? We’ve been using Clear products for the last two years and LOVE it. It’s fast, reliable, and they’ve got fantastic customer service. Receive 15% off your order with code ‘coach’ October 18 – 20, 2011.

Try out a new restaurant this fall and save with Restaurant.com. Save 60% off most purchases with code ‘ZAMFEST’! October 18 – October 20.

InkGrabber: October 18 – 20th enter code ‘ZAMFEST’ and get 10% off your order!
(Excludes OEM Items)

And of course, we can’t forget our ZamZuu partners. These folks launched exclusively with ZamZuu and that’s how they got their business launched. Word of mouth advertising from thousands of ZamZuu faithful really help their bottom line. Ask any of these companies and they’ll tell you, you can’t find a better ROI than a company like ZamZuu.

Chaé Organics is making this Zamfest extraordinary by letting you have access to all open stock items at 50% off! Enjoy organic, ToxicFree® products for every aspect of your life. Choose from household cleaning supplies, a full pet care line, basics for babies, advanced high performance skin and body care as well as hair care for any texture and color! During ZamFest, when you order from Chaé Organics you will get a FREE gift. We’ll enclose a quarter ounce (0.25 oz) Vitality Serum and VitalEyes, a combined value of $18.00. Chaé Organics always covers your cost of freight with a free gift!

Personalize That: Receive 20% off your order! Use Code: Fall into Savings

Crystal Memories: Receive 20% off! No code required; order online through a ZamZuu
Shopping Site

pH Perfect: Ionizer – The best deal ever at only $750! Normal Retail Price: $949! While supplies last.

ZamZuu Nutrition: Receive four for the price of one! Stock up on the best daily nutrition product available through our ZamFest promotions.

Ganovia Coffee: Great Package! Get one bag of Ganovia Classic Black, one bag of Ganovia Arabica Black, and a pH perfect water stick for $49.99! (The pH perfect water stick retails for $69.99 alone!) Call in to order at 618-216-4322. Just ask for the Ganovia and pH perfect stick combo!

Tune in beginning tonight on www.ZamZuuTV.com @ 8:00 pm Eastern 7:00 pm Central. If you happen to miss it, no worries. We’ll be rebroadcasting every hour on the hour until October 20 @ Midnight Central time.

Enjoy your savings!

PS - If you're involved with YTB, sign up for our FREE Newsletter. As a Website Owner or Website Seller, we'll keep you up to date with all the latest news, acquisitions, and developments with YTB.

PPS - Subscribe to the Just Picture It Now RSS feed, (including e-mail) for all the latest posts and updates found right here!

Doug & Ronda Bauknight
Doug & Ronda Bauknight
AKA: TravelPro
Travel Agent / Networker
Phone: 678.458.5812
Book Your Travel & Vacations With


TSO #588629
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YTB Hosts World’s Largest Cruise Night with Carnival

Tuesday, October 12th, 2010
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It’s that time of year again – CLIA’s annual World’s Largest Cruise Night!

Every year in October, Travel Agencies from around the country round up clients in hotel rooms, office buildings, and even homes to promote what we’ve always considered “the best vacation money can buy” – a cruise. For Agencies it’s a great way to get a jump on sales for the coming year, and clients have an exciting vacation to look forward to.

CLIA (Cruise Lines International Association) came up with the idea six years ago and both cruise lines and travel agents have fallen in love with the idea as a way to boost sales in what “was” traditionally the slowest month for travel sales.

Today, CLIA, cruise lines, and travel agents all come together in the month of October to make this time of year the single biggest cruise promotion of the year. Last years event generated $45 million in cruise sales and nearly $6 million in new commissions for travel agents.

This year, YTB Travel network teams up with “The Most Popular Cruise Line in the World” to bring both savings and cruise upgrades which are available on virtually all “Fun Ship” departures through December 2011. Carnival will not only be offering the Best Available Upgrades on the majority of their sailings, but up to a $200 onboard credit per stateroom for all Carnival Magic Europe voyages booked on October 13.

The best part of this sale is YTB and Carnival comes to YOU via the World Wide Web in a special webinar hosted Wednesday night at 7:00 pm Eastern, 6:00 pm Central to showcase the largest fleet of cruise ships available, from the largest selection of ports in the industry. A special rebroadcast will air during the evening, so make sure you log in at some point during the evening.

YTB and Carnival will feature “Best Available Upgrades” which are available on virtually all sailings through December 2011 – and when booked on October 13th, use Fare Code: PCN when booking. Carnival’s bonus offer includes the Best Available Upgrade PLUS up to a $200 onboard credit per stateroom on European sailings – just use Fare Code: OCL. The sale is valid on new individual bookings made on 10/13/10. Best available upgrade available on like to like categories (interior to interior, oceanview to oceanview and balcony to balcony). Promotion is applicable on all sailings between through 12/31/11.

Best of all this is a fun learning opportunity. Cruising is all about you. You can find adventure, culture and education or, relax the day away. Dine on fine cuisine. Indulge at the spa. Reconnect with family. Share romantic moments. All this, in the destination of your choice, for a few days, a week or more, on a cruise that’s right for you.

Do something that’s just for you. Join us tomorrow night from the comfort of your own home for the World’s Largest Cruise Night Carnival Sale event and take advantage of Carnival’s exclusive offers and special promotions.

PS - If you're involved with YTB, sign up for our FREE Newsletter. As a Website Owner or Website Seller, we'll keep you up to date with all the latest news, acquisitions, and developments with YTB.

PPS - Subscribe to the Just Picture It Now RSS feed, (including e-mail) for all the latest posts and updates found right here!

Doug & Ronda Bauknight
Doug & Ronda Bauknight
AKA: TravelPro
Travel Agent / Networker
Phone: 678.458.5812
Book Your Travel & Vacations With


TSO #588629
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Trivia Night with YTB and Princess Cruises

Wednesday, January 27th, 2010
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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!

PS - If you're involved with YTB, sign up for our FREE Newsletter. As a Website Owner or Website Seller, we'll keep you up to date with all the latest news, acquisitions, and developments with YTB.

PPS - Subscribe to the Just Picture It Now RSS feed, (including e-mail) for all the latest posts and updates found right here!

Doug & Ronda Bauknight
Doug & Ronda Bauknight
AKA: TravelPro
Travel Agent / Networker
Phone: 678.458.5812
Book Your Travel & Vacations With


TSO #588629
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YTB Celebrates World’s Largest Cruise Night

Wednesday, October 14th, 2009
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For the fifth consecutive year, CLIA will host the World’s Largest Cruise Night tonight. Thousands of agents will be hosting events all over the country and YTB is no exception. Princess Cruise Lines will partner up with YTB for it’s second Sail-A-Thon this year to help celebrate.

October is National Cruise Vacation Month. Tonight, you can join YTB as they host Princess Cruise Line for a Sail-a-thon during CLIA’s World’s Largest Cruise Night. The event will be hosted live from YTB booking engines at 6:00 pm Central with a special rebroadcasts at 7:30 pm and 9:00 pm Central.

In one 24-hour period, thousands of Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) member travel agencies will participate in the World’s Largest Cruise Night. Travel agencies across North America will join together to promote cruising as the vacation option of choice – all in a single day.

This is the perfect opportunity for friends and family to book incredible cruises. Tonight’s broadcast will feature a new Alaska Family Cruisetour with 25% off for the Entire Family.

This 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.  It will enable the entire family to “Escape Completely” – with Princess.

Alaska not your thing? Want Europe or the Caribbean for your next destination. No problem. As an added incentive to “come aboard”, Cruise customers will see some great prices for all destinations tonight along 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

CLIA’s World’s Largest Cruise Night has been gaining recognition and exposure over the years. According to the CLIA press release, which announced this years event:

In 2008, over 4,000 agents participated in WLCN events and online Virtual WLCN promotions estimated to have generated almost 43,000 bookings, $41.4 million in sales and nearly $5.4 million in commissions.

A record number of over 65,000 CLIA member line videos were viewed by consumers during virtual WLCN cruise events held by over 3,000 agents. These CLIA members who participated in Virtual WLCN promotions, sent email invitations to consumers inviting them to visit a customized Web site with cruise line videos, agency contact information and special offers. Over 1,100 agencies conducted traditional WLCN events, also a record. Nearly 500,000 consumers were invited to visit a customized WLCN website to obtain information on special offers. All of Liberty Travel’s locations participated with in-store events along with many of the leading vacation agency distributors in North America.

Cruise Lines and Agencies pull out all the stops for a night like tonight not just to get customers on their ships, but to show the benefits of cruising. We’ve been telling people for 13 years that a cruise is the best vacation money could buy. It doesn’t matter if you’re a avid cruise-a-holic like us or first time cruiser – the best time to check out what’s available is tonight.

So sing it with me now…

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

Now that you’ve got that song firmly cemented into your head for the day – you’ll be sure to remember to join us.

Like I said…we pull out ALL the stops! ;-P

PS - If you're involved with YTB, sign up for our FREE Newsletter. As a Website Owner or Website Seller, we'll keep you up to date with all the latest news, acquisitions, and developments with YTB.

PPS - Subscribe to the Just Picture It Now RSS feed, (including e-mail) for all the latest posts and updates found right here!

Doug & Ronda Bauknight
Doug & Ronda Bauknight
AKA: TravelPro
Travel Agent / Networker
Phone: 678.458.5812
Book Your Travel & Vacations With


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Ho Ho Whoa!

Monday, December 1st, 2008
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I can’t think of a better way to get going again after an extended weekend like we just had than hosting a “Travel Party”. I love weeks like this. Everyone is longing for more vacation time and looking to get back into that relaxation mode. The only difference I can see is possibly replacing “turkey” with “lobster” when it comes to stuffing ourselves. Short breaks like this, spending time with family, (mine who by the way are still here) and getting a break from traffic, time clocks, and office politics remind people how much they need a vacation. I love the sparkle in people’s eyes when the subject of travel or vacations comes up. It never ceases to amaze me how this subject is so universally loved by everyone. I’ve yet to meet anyone who’s told me;

You know, I’ve tried one of those vacations once…HATED it!

No, bringing up the subject of vacations is something everyone loves to talk about, and for some, you can’t get a word in edge wise. Not a big problem, but some do tend to go on and on about how much they just LOVE the destination they came from or the destination they’re looking to head to next. With the economy looming over everyone’s head these days both agencies and suppliers are looking for that edge to help increase both visibility and sales.

This week, both YTB and Carnival appear to have that answer. Apparently, Carnival was pleased with the outcome of last years 24 Hour Cruise Event and has come to YTB again to help boost last minute year end sales to help both our bottom lines. Back in October, CLIA held its annual “World’s Largest Cruise Night”, which in years past has produced fourth quarter sales for both agencies and cruise lines. Last year the month long promotion for CLIA produced some 17,852 cruise bookings, however I’ve yet to see any hard numbers on this year’s event. YTB’s own cruise sale last November produced 12,000 passenger bookings. (Although, critics like to cut the number of “passengers” in half.)

This Tuesday, December 2 at 7:00 p.m. in each time zone, YTB will host the World’s Largest Travel Party in several cities around the country.  All locations are teaming together to host one huge event. The cities include:

  • Atlanta, GA
  • Baltimore, MD
  • Boston, MA
  • Chicago, IL
  • Dallas, TX
  • Denver, CO
  • Detroit, MI
  • Houston, TX
  • Kansas City, MO
  • Miami, FL
  • New York, NY
  • Orange County, CA
  • Philadelphia, PA
  • Reno, NV
  • Richmond, VA
  • San Diego, CA
  • San Francisco, CA
  • St. Louis, MO
  • Tampa, FL

At each location, door prizes will include one free cruise certificate (for guests only) and five tickets to YTB’s 2009 National Convention for Reps or Travel Site Owners. Rooms at the live venues will have a party atmosphere with round tables, fun music, snacks, and drinks. (No alcoholic beverages.) The Cruise giveaways for two are for guests only, and you must be present to win. There will be a short video entitled “Cruising, the Best Vacation Value” followed by a live feed from the YTB Home Office via streaming video. After the presentation a flyer with the December 4th Sail-a-thon Cruise Specials will be handed out in addition to the free cruise drawing for each city.

On Thursday, December 4th, there will be a live webcast from 5 -10:00 pm Central from the YTB Headquarters in Wood River, Illinois. Phones will be open all day till Midnight Central Standard Time as well.

RTA’s have an opportunity to invite friends and family over for this Carnival Cruise Night on December 4th to watch Coach, Kim, and Scott, along with many guests, through a live webcast sales event. There will be dozens of cruise specials and a live team ready to take reservations. Travel customers can also choose from 18 different Gift Certificate options available for online purchase through December 31, 2008. Certificates are valid for a 3, 4, 5, 7 or 8 day Fall Cruise for Two and most include all Government Taxes, Fees and Gratuities. ALL certificates are upgradeable if desired and are valid for up to 18 months. Upgrades are never a problem at the time of booking, simply pay the difference.

It’s nice to see Carnival and YTB teaming up again in this way. I’m not aware of any other supplier who teams with a single agency such as this, but then again, no other single agency has the potential to reach as many customers at one time as YTB does. It’s very unique to our model and our company.

It’s all in an effort to “Be Number 1 with The Number 1!”

Happy Sailing!

PS - If you're involved with YTB, sign up for our FREE Newsletter. As a Website Owner or Website Seller, we'll keep you up to date with all the latest news, acquisitions, and developments with YTB.

PPS - Subscribe to the Just Picture It Now RSS feed, (including e-mail) for all the latest posts and updates found right here!

Doug & Ronda Bauknight
Doug & Ronda Bauknight
AKA: TravelPro
Travel Agent / Networker
Phone: 678.458.5812
Book Your Travel & Vacations With


TSO #588629
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The “Spin” On 12,000 Bookings…

Thursday, December 6th, 2007
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The final numbers for the Carnival One Day Sale were announced by YTB yesterday afternoon. While I had seen, and wanted to post about this release yesterday, I also was curious to see how some of our “Travel Agents” would respond to the news, and what kind of “spin” they would have before I started to write. To their credit, the response is admirable and while I certainly don’t believe YTB shocked the industry, we certainly did better than anyone expected when combined with the short notice and the assumption that we’re not a “Travel Company” per say, but a “Marketing Company” in their view.

On November 8th, YTB booked more than 12,000 cruise passengers through gift certificates, individual, and group cruises. If you recall the Cruise Lines International Association said its Oct. 17 World’s Largest Cruise Night (WLCN) is expected to generate 17,852 bookings.

Based on what we now know about the One Day Sale, I’m going to direct you to John Frenaye’s response and perception concerning the take on YTB’s One Day Sale and how it relates to CLIA’s Worlds Largest Cruise Night. It happens to be consistent with the mindset and reasoning concerning our company, and John, to his credit, happens to be rather professional, and does provide documentation in an attempt to support his views. In addition, John’s perception of who we are and what we do illustrates perfectly what so many of our opposition keep telling people about YTB regarding how little Travel is sold through our RTA’s. These One Day Sales give us the best example that I can recall to actually compare apples to apples by using each of the numbers generated by the “One Day Sales”.

John writes:

“Based on the 130,000 Referring Travel Agents that participated, all things being equal, each would have earned 60% of the YTB commission or about $1.77 per Referring Travel Agent.”

John later states:

“So, 4,000 traditional agents produce 34,654 bookings (probably 70,000 passengers) resulting in sales of $43 million and commissions of $5.8million. This seems a bit more successful than 130,000 agents producing 6,000 bookings, resulting in sales of $2.4 million and commissions of $384,000.”

There are several problems with the statements above.

Two words mysteriously disappeared between what is actually reported in Modern Agent and what John is trying to convey. The report states 4,000 participating agents “and agencies”. In addition, the 34,654 and $43 Million being reported was not generated in one day, but between Oct. 15-31. The “One Day” or Oct. 17 World’s Largest Cruise Night (WLCN) is expected to generate 17,852 bookings, which translate into an estimated $22.3 million in sales and more than $3 million in travel agency commissions.

I know the opposition would like to lead you to believe that all 130,000 RTA’s participated in the One Day Sale to help the cause of YTB. If we are to assume that all 130,000 participated then we must also assume the entire Travel Agent Community participated in CLIA’s World’s Largest Cruise Night. I did some research, and found more than 20,000 ARC-accredited Travel Agency locations and Corporate Travel Departments. Since our opposition assumes that all YTB RTA’s participated in the One Day Sale, can we therefore assume that all Agencies and Agents participated in CLIA’s World’s Largest Cruise Night? Liberty Travel has 200 storefront locations, with 8 – 20 Agents per location, that’s a possible 4000 Agents from just one Agency. Just 10 Agents per Agency would consist of 200,000 Travel Agents overall.

Of course we couldn’t average everyone in the Industry overall, and I can just see the comments listed below now.

  • Not all ARC Agencies participated.
  • Not all Travel Agents sell cruises, some just do tours, some just do corporate, some just focus on all-inclusive vacations.
  • Not all Travel Agents are CLIA certified and may not have known about the Cruise Night.
  • You can’t assume that every Agency has a minimum of 10 Agents working for them, some are Independent.
  • We only booked a few on that very night, but we did book some between Oct. 15-31.
  • You can’t lump the entire Travel Industry together and divide it like that.

Oh…but of course I could, and I just did. The average Travel Agent will make just $11.50 in commission for their efforts in CLIA’s World’s Largest Cruise Night.

That’s all things being equal folks, but as you can clearly see, we don’t play by the same set of rules as everyone else. And I promise you, there will be people who will take John’s math and assumptions as fact and leave it at that. They don’t realize that the math actually used doubles (34,654 not 17,852) CLIA’s one day sales total, and divides in half YTB’s numbers from 12,000 to only 6000 and we are to believe that’s “all things being equal”.

Go figure.

In closing, I don’t mean to pick on John specifically. Like YTB, he just happens to be the most vocal of all the Traditional Travel Agents out there. With his industry connections in the media, he is far more capable than anyone in getting his views and opinions published in the press to promote his views. I will tell you that while John and I are on opposite sides of the fence concerning what is considered beneficial in our industry, we have formed a mutual appreciation for our difference of opinion. He has made very valid arguments in the past that I not only agree with but support. His perception of what YTB has actually accomplished with our successful one-day cruise sales event in November however happens to miss the mark.

For those of us who actually participated in YTB’s One Day Sale, I say kudos to you for your effort and responsibility in helping YTB in their efforts to let the industry know that we have stood up and want to be counted in the same fashion as everyone else in this industry. What we book we keep as our own. What is booked by any other Agent or Agency in this industry is not of our concern or part of our commissions earned. All things being equal, we are independent and we book travel just like anyone else.

PS - If you're involved with YTB, sign up for our FREE Newsletter. As a Website Owner or Website Seller, we'll keep you up to date with all the latest news, acquisitions, and developments with YTB.

PPS - Subscribe to the Just Picture It Now RSS feed, (including e-mail) for all the latest posts and updates found right here!

Doug & Ronda Bauknight
Doug & Ronda Bauknight
AKA: TravelPro
Travel Agent / Networker
Phone: 678.458.5812
Book Your Travel & Vacations With


TSO #588629
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24 Hour Carnival Cruise Event – November 8th!

Sunday, November 4th, 2007
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The debate over which business model is more profitable for cruise lines, and which is better suited for customers has certainly escalated in recent weeks. So much so, both John Frenaye and I have gotten the attention of George Dooley, Senior Editor of Travel Trade with a fair and objective review of what each of us are trying to do to suggest much needed changes.

On Friday I documented that CLIA (Cruise Line Industry Association) created 17,852 bookings on October 17th, which translate into an estimated $22.3 million in sales and more than $3 million in travel agency commissions. An entire industry, consisting of 20,790 agencies and 24 Cruise Lines with a combined 180 ships generated this number from my understanding. While Liberty Travel was one of the apparent leaders of this “sale”, they certainly didn’t leverage with CLIA in their efforts. Others, like Cruise Planners, did look as if they partnered with what CLIA and potentially capitalized with this Association and name.

If your scratching your head like I was how an entire industry with a month long promotion could possibly only generate $22.3 in sales in one day, I’ve been researching this a little over the weekend. If you recall,Vicki Freed had documented in an article released on Friday, “I know the argument may be that an average sales-volume-per-member may not be that meaningful,” she wrote. “But, truthfully, we have many of models in our database — including traditional — that are not solid producers. In fact 60 percent of our travel agencies produce less than 10 guests per year.” While I’m not certain exactly what percentage does or does not support the industry, I would venture that the majority feel the way Joyce does when she commented “Why would we support you on cruise night when you don’t support us? You and Carnival are in bed with the MLM’s. Well too bad Vicki, I ain’t selling Carnival till you support the real travel agents.” Of course we all know by this point that Royal Caribbean DOES support “real travel agents”.

So how do we as a group of un-trained, un-qualified, un-regulated bunch of Yahoo’s respond to all this? We’ve been asked by the Leadership of YTB not to sling mud, not to go knocking down doors, not to write letters, but to do one thing and one thing only.

ONE day.

ONE Cruise Line.

ONE Travel Agency.

I’ve always loved how the leadership in YTB doesn’t simply react to all this non-sense, they respond. And for those of you who don’t know the difference you should after November 8th.

Carnival and YTB are teaming together to set an all time one day cruise record to show just how viable our business model really is. We are now accepting reservations to be booked between Midnight and Midnight on Thursday, November 8th, for a sailing of your choice with The Most Popular Cruise Line in the World. Not only will I and others involved in YTB be eager to assist you, but we will also have the help and support of Carnival with a special 800 number to make these bookings for you.

Here is the required information we will need to better assist you with your booking with us.

● Full Legal Names (Ex: “Bob” legal name Robert)
● Date of Birth (dd/mm/yy)
● Citizenship
● Emergency Phone Contact for guests sailing
● Dining Preference (Main/Late dining times)
Note: Dining is on a request basis only and confirmed the day of sailing.
● Purchasing Carnival’s Insurance (?) YES/NO
● Payment Information

After Completing the Reservation, Carnival and YTB will provide you with a reservation “Booking Number.” This booking number or confirmation number is your reference number for any questions/changes to the reservation. Please keep it in your file.

● Deposit/ Final Payment must be met or your reservation will be canceled.
Passports are required.

Selected sailings will qualify for a one to two category upgrade during this sale. Please check with your YTB Specialist for these sailings. (And yes, I consider myself a Carnival Specialist.) My wife and I have sailed on Carnival Imagination, Fascination, Inspiration, Triumph, Victory, and Legend. Who knows, you might even get lucky and sail Fantasy during a major hurricane preventing you from getting back into the port of call! (What a cruise THAT was!)

So there you have it. We’ve been called out and this is the way we’ve decided to respond to all the “Retail Agents” out there. You’ve shown us what you can do. Thanks to the support of Carnival Cruise Lines, YTB now has an opportunity to show you what we can do. It’s our chance to show the world just how viable our business model really is, and just how refreshing, tall, and cool this glass of Kool-aid really is.

I will not be posting the rest of this week. Instead, I will be busy following the play that has been called, which is gearing up and qualifying my clients with the Carnival Cruise Vacation with which Ship they wish to sail on, sailing date, number of people traveling (double, triple, quad cabin), type of accommodation (Interior, Ocean View, Balcony, Suite), air city (if air tickets are needed), getting the Carnival ” Best Fare” and promotional fares that may apply. (Senior fares, Past Guest offers, Military Fares, Cruise Only fares, Resident specials.) These are capacity controlled and not available on all sailings.

PS – If you’d like to take advantage of these great rates and specials, you can contact me here!

Bon Voyage Everyone!

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Doug & Ronda Bauknight
Doug & Ronda Bauknight
AKA: TravelPro
Travel Agent / Networker
Phone: 678.458.5812
Book Your Travel & Vacations With


TSO #588629
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