Royal Caribbean Group — consisting of Azamara, Celebrity Cruises, Royal Caribbean International and Silversea Cruises — is helping its travel partners overcome the coronavirus crisis with RCL Cares. The new program is dedicated to educating travel advisors about available government benefits such as those outlined in the CARES Act.
While the program will not dispense legal advice, the group is setting up educational materials and a resource desk accessible via www.cruisingpower.com. RCL Cares will also offer individual assistance regarding the act and how travel professionals can take advantage of applicable economic relief. The information includes Small Business Association resources, FAQs and other tips.
“Any piece of legislation can be challenging to understand, and we want our travel advisors to receive all the financial assistance available to them,” said Richard Fain, chairman and CEO, Royal Caribbean Group, in a press release. “While our ships are idle, we have resources that can be redirected to helping our travel partners so that they will be fully ready and able to charge ahead when we return to service.”
While our ships are idle, we have resources that can be redirected to helping our travel partners so that they will be fully ready and able to charge ahead when we return to service.
In other words, agents are not alone in this.
Providing one-on-one services are Royal Caribbean’s corporate brand sales teams. During a media roundtable, the following industry leaders discussed how agents can navigate the program and its benefits: Vicki Freed, senior vice president of sales and trade support and service, Royal Caribbean International; Dondra Ritzenthaler, senior vice president of sales and trade support and service, Celebrity Cruises; and Carol Cabezas, vice president and chief operating officer, Azamara.
“Without travel partners, we aren’t in business,” said Freed, who emphasized that this isn’t about selling but rather about “making a difference” to help independent contractors get access to loans and grants.
The first step in developing the program was training the sales teams on what parts of the CARES Act specifically apply to travel. That was followed by establishing RCL Cares at Cruising Power for those agents seeking help.
Expected to be ready in the next day or so is the escalation desk, which helps advisors directly and in greater detail. More than 3,000 agents have already reached out to RCL Cares, and more than 200 are asking for extra assistance from the dedicated desk, which is manned by highly trained sales reps and other experts handling the toughest questions.
“Our company has always been focused on doing good things,” Cabezas said.
According to the executive, RCL Cares is all about “discussing a positive scenario in the midst of things that aren’t positive.”
As expected, many agents have been spending time retaining business, but that’s not to say there have been no new bookings.
“We’re still moving forward,” Ritzenthaler said. “Our sales force is still being our sales force.”
After all, agents continue to host cruise nights, albeit virtually, and she expects there to be a lot of pent-up demand for cruises coming out of this.
Cabezas recognizes that there will be changes to the industry in order to make travelers feel more comfortable, citing increased regulations and enhanced cleanliness. She also adds there are many people saying, “I’m going to be ready to travel.”
Until then, RCL Cares will continue to roll out new services and tools to assist the travel agent community. The purpose is ultimately to connect with travel agents and “keep everyone healthy and moving forward,” Ritzenthaler said.
The Details
Azamara
www.azamara.com
Celebrity Cruises
www.celebritycruises.com
Royal Caribbean International
www.royalcaribbean.com
Silversea Cruises
www.silversea.com
Read more from TravelAge West about the COVID-19 outbreak.
