Celestyal Cruises will boost its agent relations on "multiple fronts" this year with the relaunch of fam trips, a new reservation system and an increased focus on online training programmes.
It comes ahead of the line’s resumption of three- and four- night sailings on 18 April, and the restart of seven-night Idyllic Aegean itineraries from 30 April.
Chief commercial officer Leslie Peden told TTG the brand has geared up for its return to service by maintaining visibility with the trade during the past two years.
"We maintained our visibility and just switched to virtual meetings," he said. "We’ve used the last two years really effectively to be ready for the comeback.
"We’ve taken the opportunity to update our online training modules and we are also introducing a number of enhancements this season which will be available to agents through our online training portal."
Peden said Celestyal has "invested on multiple fronts" in its trade relations, including a new online reservations portal agents can use to access a variety of pre- and post- packages, rule-based pricing, payment and cancellations schedules, shore excursions and onboard experiences.
The line plans to host fam trips from May and further increase its online training offering in 2022. It has also launched a discounted programme specifically for agents looking to holiday with Celestyal, with savings of up to 60% available.
"Agents were always important in my view, and really the pandemic has underscored the value and expertise that agents bring to the consumer," Peden continued. "One of the things we’ve made a point of is maintaining a high level of communication with agents throughout the pandemic."
Peden said having a "clear, concise, efficient way" of keeping Celestyal’s trade partners up to date was "vitally important".
"Agents in the UK have really appreciated working with Celestyal as we’ve helped pull people into cruising for the first time, because our product is so uniquely different from everyone else," he continued.
In 2022, Celestyal are offering a range of new pre-bookable shore excursions, touching on themes such as archeology and music.
"For our agents, we pay them 100% of their standard commission on all pre-sold shore excursions," Peden said. "This is another important revenue generating opportunity for them."
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