As the Flight Centre Group sunsets its Gogo Vacations brand and offers best wishes to departing Gogo staff members, we are witnessing the closing act of one of the creators of the modern packaged travel industry, a company that ruled the segment for more than a generation Read the rest of this entry »
Royal Caribbean has canceled excursions from Labadee, its private island in Haiti, but is keeping the island open.
“Out of respect to our local communities surrounding Labadee, Haiti, and to ensure our guest and crew safety, we’re temporarily adjusting our tour offerings,” RCCL told passengers.
Passengers on social media reported cancellation of jet skiing, kayaking and walking tours, as they were asked to remain within the resort at all times.
The cancellations follows days of violence in the country, where armed gangs roam the streets and Americans are being evacuated. The Department of State in July issued a Level 4 travel advisory (“do not travel,” the highest warning level) citing “kidnapping, crime, civil unrest, and poor health care infrastructure,” and this morning sent in a Marine anti-terrorism unit to guard the US embassy in Port-au-Prince.
Travel advisors, meanwhile, are reporting minimal concern among clients, though some are not getting off the ship in Labadee and some are calling to express concerns about the Dominican Republic. The DR shares the island on which Haiti is located but has closed its border.
Many also mourn for the people of the island.
“I have a real heart for Haiti; I have helped missionaries and aid workers with flights in the past, and I have seen how they are helping the orphanages and people there,” said travel advisor Margie Lenau of Wonderland Family Vacations LLC in Grand Rapids, MI, who rued the earthquakes and hurricanes and political violence that have upended the island’s stability. “The question we get most often is whether it’s okay to travel to the Dominican Republic. I tell my customers that Haiti and the Dominican are two very different countries, and there is a mountain range and some distance between them. So far Dominican has kept away from the violence.
”The world can be a dangerous place. With the cruise lines and with travel advisors, safety is always number one. It’s nice to know that cruise lines and tour operators are keeping track to keep travelers safe.”
Labadee, RCCL’s first private island, is 130 miles from Port-au-Prince. Independence of the Seas, Oasis of the Seas, Symphony of the Seas and Odyssey of the Seas are scheduled to stop there in coming weeks.
As of now, RCCL has cancelled all stops to Labadee due to the current unrest in Haiti.
Michael Bayley, RCCL CEO, stated on Facebook “We have suspended calls into Labadee, Haiti for the next 7 days and will continue suspension on a rolling basis with 3 days advance notification to our guests sailing on itineraries impacted and changed as we monitor and evaluate the situation in Haiti.”
As the home of Mount Fuji, there’s already an expectation that Shizuoka will be a scenic delight of any trip to Japan. But outside the shadow of Japan’s highest mountain is a cultural heritage, beaches, and fresh seafood cuisine.
Read the rest of this entry »I was recently reminded how a true professional can really make a difference. Last month, while driving on the highway, I found myself flirting with disaster. Not knowing a worn ball bearing from a left-handed steering strut, I wasn’t sure what was happening when my steering wheel started to shimmy. My car suddenly veered to the left and the steering wheel was shaking wildly Read the rest of this entry »
It’s not often you get to spend a week at sea with two of the best cruise executives in the industry. Of course, I took the opportunity to talk travel news with Katina Athanasiou and John Diorio during the KHM Travel Group’s Crystal Awards, sailing Celebrity Reflection in the Caribbean, and they were gracious enough to chat with me Read the rest of this entry »
Thanks to a long-time reader for this note regarding our pricing charts: The per-diem charts you provide are a great time saver when comparing which line to choose for a trip. There is just one thing to consider, however. An 8-day cruise is really 7 nights since you have to exit the ship early on the 8th day. It would be more fair to readers if you use the cost/night rather than per diem based on days since that changes the denominator. Keep up the good work, Al. Read the rest of this entry »
Windstar Cruises is inviting its Yacht Club members to sail off into the sunset with the company’s president—to a destination as yet unknown.
It’s the company’s first-ever Mystery Cruise, promising “lots of new, thrilling, and exciting experiences” without announcing where exactly the 312-passenger, all-suite Star Legend is headed.
Each port will be announced just 24 hours before arrival. But Windstar president Christopher Prelog promises, “it’s going to be a lot of places—the majority of them, if not all of them—we haven’t been before.”
Even Prelog does not know the exact ports of call, he says. “I’m looking forward to the anticipation of finding out where we’re going along with the guests on board.”
Prelog says the idea was inspired by a recent Star Breeze Tahiti sailing, where just 2 days into the 11-day itinerary, the approach of Tropical Cyclone Nat forced the crew to craft a completely new itinerary.
“The positive response from guests, including a keen sense of adventure, sparked leadership to lean into this idea, and so the ‘Mystery Cruise’ concept was developed. It’s something different, something really interesting. It’s a cruise for guests who like adventure, and who don’t want to plan everything out.”
Windstar also this month announced a complimentary all-inclusive package for all groups sailing the Mediterranean this winter, and expanded its group program to include one tour operator credit for every seven guests booked, a 10% discount and a $100 onboard credit for every guest for 2024 and 2025 sailings to the Greek isles, Tahiti, the Mediterranean, Iceland, Costa Rica and the Caribbean. Groups must register (with no financial commitment) by March 31 to qualify.
Onboard Celebrity Reflection for its Crystal Awards cruise last week, host agency KHM Travel Group took the opportunity to offer tips for travel advisors whose clients are among the 25% of the US population that has some kind of disability, and to highlight two of the industry’s best inclusion and diversity programs—one by KHM and one by Celebrity and its sister brand, Royal Caribbean.
A new award this year, for “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Action,” went to travel advisor Amy Garner, and the new DE&I Supplier Award went to Celebrity. An eye-opening tour of the Reflection with Amy and Ron Pettit, RCCL’s director of disability inclusion and ADA compliance, pointed out the many touchpoints on the ship that most people don’t even notice, but that make sailing easier for many guests. They include:
The Royal Caribbean/Celebrity contact center for travel advisors has a staff of 45 available to answer questions and make arrangements.
All ships have at least two pool lifts. You can arrange with Guest Relations to meet you at the pool and they will be there to help you.
The Spa Café has a variety of food options for guests with specific dietary needs.
There are ramps throughout the ship and in some cabins. Some cabins have ramps leading to the balcony.
All venues have tactile and Braille signage.
Camp at Sea is autism-friendly, and like the ship in general, it tends to be quieter and less crowded than the kids programs on Royal Caribbean ships—making Celebrity a good choice for children with autism. Celebrity also is working to bring on Autism on the Seas, a respite service that gives caretakers a break.
On Celebrity ships, the Sunset Bar is multilevel so you can belly up with the rest of them.
For clients who use CPAP machines, Celebrity provides extension cords and distilled water; the newer ships have outlets near the bed.
The Reflection Theater has spots for people in wheelchairs and their guests at the front and back, and double-wide seats for those who need more room.
There are low tables at “iconic spots” around the ships, including tables for Texas Hold Em, blackjack and roulette at the casino, at Celebrity’s Martini Bars, at Boleros on newer Royal Caribbean ships, and at the Guest Relations and Shore Excursions desks.
There’s an accessible treatment room in the spa, with a massage table that lowers to wheelchair level.
And here’s a couple of tips from Pettit for travel advisors working with customers with disabilities:
Have them buy a Sunflower lanyard, available online and at most airports, so suppliers are aware they may need a little extra attention without the client having to say anything.
If you wonder about the correct words to use, follow the client’s lead. Royal Caribbean takes a people-first approach – “I have a client in a wheelchair” – rather than leading with the disability, “I have a wheelchair-bound client.”
When speaking to the client, don’t ask what they have. Ask what they need.
At KHM, meanwhile, Amy Garner last year created a library of resources on DE&I travel, going beyond the usual to include traveling as a single mom or a solo female – “all those niches that need a little extra support,” she told TRO.
The Travel Answers Group has been highly successful at growing a business for 32 years based on designing quality vacations to Australia, New Zealand, Africa and the South Pacific. The company’s transcontinental product range is broad and diverse. But its formula for success is a simple philosophy that can be expressed in a few words. It’s all about providing a high order of service. That company ethos provides the focus and the underlying driving force of its success Read the rest of this entry »
On February 29, Collette announced that US travel advisors will earn an extra $100 for each booking made in March 2024. This applies to tours departing through March 31, 2025.
And, for the big questions, there is no limit on what US advisors can earn with this offer… and Collette has said the bonus cash will be paid out in April 2024, even if the travelers cancel their bookings. The booking must be active at the time of payout.
“We value travel advisors and want to see them succeed,” said Jaclyn Leibl-Cote, chief executive officer at Collette. “This offer is one more way for us to show them our appreciation when they provide their customers with their expertise in planning a dream vacation.”
Adding to this, advisors will earn up to a $200 bonus with Collette’s Advanced Commission Program. These bonus cash payments are valid on new retail bookings only and are not applicable for group bookings.
For more information, please visit https://www.gocollette.com/en.
I was reminded of this simple yet profound truth on a Zoom meeting I recently conducted. The lesson today is very important. Please listen to what I am about to share with you.
As I always do, I asked my coaching students for their recent good news/bad news stories. I do this so we can all learn from each other’s experiences … both good and bad.
The topic that day was distribution, and more specifically, how we can spread the word beyond our current communication list. I began by offering an idea that once worked for me Read the rest of this entry »
Many in the travel industry reacted with dismay this week to the loss of another supplier, as 73-year-old GOGO Vacations shuttered its doors.
Even as it closed the GOGO brand, though, parent company Flight Centre Travel Group (FLT) said its goal is to better focus on the “strong leisure and corporate growth opportunities in the large U.S. market.” FLT is launching a new brand, Envoyage, with an eye to “its best performing sectors,” the independent and luxury sectors.
“With the wholesale model struggling in recent years, it has become increasingly difficult to justify the high costs of maintaining this brand,” said FLT Americas president Charlene Leiss. But “a transition team will remain in the business to service the existing GOGO bookings and support our customers throughout this period with the complete backing of Flight Centre Travel Group.”
An email to travel advisors promised that “all of your existing bookings are secure and will continue to be managed by a dedicated and professional team of wholesale consultants” and that “GOGO’s doors will not close until your last customer has returned home, and your commissions have been paid.”
While GOGO Vacations is no longer accepting new reservations, travel advisors can continue to use their Helio login to existing FIT bookings, and Softrip login for groups, and can access the online support team via chat, email, or phone to assist with booking modifications, schedule changes and general support, the company said.
Still, some travel advisors were feeling nervous. “I am very worried about my current bookings. I can’t cancel without a penalty but I’m reluctant to have clients pay them anymore money. I am not sure yet what my client wants to do; I am going to let them decide,” said Donna McClaugherty of Cruise and Travel by Donna.
And across the industry, many mourned the loss of a partner of many years.
“I’ve worked with them for 30 years on and off, and their closing leaves a void in the market,” said Travel Leaders Network VP of Sales Karen Viera. “They were a great company, very agent-friendly, with great products, and I am sorry to see them go. I’ll look up all our agents that sell GOGO and see how we can help them sell other preferred partners.”
“I’m literally sick over this,” said Angie Rhodes of Rhodes to the World. “GOGO is my go-to. I have been using them for 40 years.”
But many agreed with FLT that GOGO’s business model no longer fits the industry as well as it once did.
“I’m doing more complex FITs than fun in the sun, and I have found less and less need for that type of wholesaler,” said Linda De Sosa at Travel Experts.
More information is available on the GOGO website at Homepage | GOGO Worldwide Vacations (gogowwv.com).
The Danube River Cruise Pricing Charts are part of a continuing series of comparison charts and articles featuring European River Cruises offered by world class river cruise lines. Our goal is to provide a True Per Diem for each cruise, or the daily cost breakdown of the trip once all extra fees are added to the cruise fare Read the rest of this entry »
Justin Hinkle has spent more than a decade dreaming of owning his own business. Despite having an MBA, a Master of Science in Systems Engineering and a corporate job as a systems engineer for a ballistic missile defense system, he was searching for something more meaningful, something that put him in charge of his own destiny, something that better fit his personality. And something that incorporates his absolute favorite thing to do, travel Read the rest of this entry »
Last week, after ASTA responded to American Airlines’ move to deny frequent flyer privileges to customers who are not booking through its New Distribution Capability (NDC), I had the good fortune of speaking with William McGee. He is one of the top authorities on airlines, and a consumer advocate in the never-ending battles between airlines and the public they are mandated to serve. There is no better way to get clarity on airline issues than to speak with McGee Read the rest of this entry »
It may not last forever, but for now the new Delta Digital ID speeds passengers through security faster than PreCheck or CLEAR—and it’s free to boot.
After successful beta testing in Detroit and Atlanta, the biometric program now has expanded to LAX, LGA and JFK, and since the program is so new, its dedicated security lines rarely have a wait.
Delta Digital ID lets customers quickly move through bag drop and security checkpoints without having to show photo ID to an agent. To register, travelers must have:
Eligible customers will receive a notification in their Fly Delta app when traveling from a Digital ID-enabled airport, or can opt-in through their SkyMiles profile on Delta.com once the four requirements have been met.
They then can use the dedicated bag drop line – the one with the green “Delta Digital ID” icon – and security line.
Using Digital ID this week, I walked right through security behind just one other passenger at LGA, while my husband spent 10 minutes in the CLEAR line.
Someone once told me to remember that elephants don’t bite… mosquitoes do. This is a unique way of reminding us that it is the little things, when overlooked, will do us the most harm.
I was recently reminded of this when a former business acquaintance “reached out” and gave me an unexpected phone call. It had been a while since we last communicated which was a result of two busy people trying to make ends meet. It was good to hear his voice again Read the rest of this entry »
The latest attempt by American Airlines to disintermediate the retail travel community came down this week via an announcement from the airline that, as of May 1, it will stop awarding loyalty points to passengers who are booking through what American calls “non-preferred” agencies. Those non-preferred agencies are the ones that have not adopted American’s NDC, or “New Distribution Capability.” The airline also pulled 40 percent of its inventory away from agencies that are not plugged into the NDC.
The move comes a year after American deployed the NDC and tried to push agencies to adopt it, when it was not yet fully developed and still had a lot of bugs, according to ASTA President Zane Kirby.
According to a statement issued by ASTA, “Last April, AA forced an underdeveloped technology onto channel ‘partners.’ Nearly a year after its self-imposed NDC launch date, problems associated with basic servicing functions such as comparative shopping, split tickets, limitations on cancellations, booking multiple people on the same itinerary, and rebooking remain, creating extraordinary challenges for agencies and their travelers as they attempt to distribute American Airlines’ services to the traveling public.”
ASTA filed a lengthy formal complaint with the Department of Transportation (DOT) alleging unfair practices in American’s implementation of the NDC, including its pulling away 40 percent of its inventory from non-NDC channels.
The complaint cuts to the core of airline deregulation issues that are heating up again over an airline industry dominated by four major carriers that exercise monopolistic powers over their respective territories, and a rising wave of consumer dissatisfaction over airlines services, which seems to have fallen on deaf ears for decades.
The ASTA complaint goes into depth about issues that date back to the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978. Because the airlines were granted anti-trust immunity, according to the complaint, “The overall effect on the industry was a regime characterized by excessive restrictions on competition and, concomitantly, significant harm to consumers in the form of both above-market prices and limited services.”
American filed a response to ASTA’s complaint, and then ASTA filed a rebuttal to American’s response, saying that American had overstated the functionality of its NDC and had falsely claimed that it was instituted in response to consumer demand. The rebuttal also claims that American created a false impression of the state of competition in the airline industry.
ASTA stated that it is not opposed to progress or new merchandising models, but it is opposed to “monopolists abusing their market power to force change that no one, including AA itself, is ready for. And, because of their monopoly power, making everyone else pay—including the consumer—the price for said change.”
It’s not a fight over new technology, says ASTA, it is the effect of a new technology that is reducing competitive pressure on a handful of major airline corporations that control almost the entire U.S. market, and treat it like a captive market, which in effect it is.
ASTA is asking its members to join the fight by getting involved with its grassroots advocacy efforts, which can be accessed at https://www.asta.org/advocacy/stateAndFederalCampaigns.
On the heels of news that a major competitor is up for sale with its parent company declaring bankruptcy, American Cruise Lines opened the 2024 season with five riverboats cruising the Mississippi, in its largest season ever. This year, it will sail 16 itineraries on the Mississippi and its tributaries, the Tennessee, Ohio, and Cumberland Rivers.
American Cruise Lines has nearly tripled its US fleet over the past five years, introduced a new ship every year since 2018, and recently announced that it has five more ships under construction. Rival Mississippi steamboat company American Queen Voyages, meanwhile, has failed to fully recover from the pandemic, its parent Hornblower has announced, leaving Viking River Cruises as its only competitor on the river, at least for now. Hornblower last week entered chapter 11 and shut down operations at American Queen (for more on this see American Queen Is Up for Sale as Hornblower Files for Bankruptcy | Travel Research Online.)
In May, American will begin sailing several new Mississippi River itineraries, including an exclusive 12-day cruise in Great Smoky Mountains National Park on a sailing from Knoxville to Nashville, cruising the Ohio, Tennessee, and Cumberland Rivers. Also coming in May is a 35-Day Civil War Battlefields cruise on the Mississippi, Tennessee, and Cumberland Rivers and Chesapeake Bay, visiting more than 20 Civil War battlefields. In August, American will sail the longest river cruise in US history—a 61-day Great United States cruise—down the Mississippi, passing 20 states, 3 national parks, 4 rivers, and on to the Hudson River, visiting New York, Boston and Bar Harbor.
First in a series on the influx of untrained newcomers to the industry
“I am looking to join a host agency and feeling a bit overwhelmed,” reads a recent Facebook post. “I am looking for a smaller agency that is personable, honest, and helps you reach your goals. That is either low-cost or free. Sells cruise lines as well as Disney, all-inclusives, and more. Offers CLIA. High commission split and no requirements on how much you sell.” Signed, Anonymous.
We’ve all seen posts like that and cringed. And last week, Angela Hughes addressed it in an open letter to the industry—and to those looking to enter it—that I thought was worth sharing Read the rest of this entry »
Seine River Cruise Prices is part of a continuing series of comparison charts and articles featuring European River Cruises offered by world class river cruise lines. Our goal is to provide a True Per Diem for each cruise, or the daily cost breakdown of the trip once all extra fees are added to the cruise fare. Read the rest of this entry »