CruiseCompete Keeps Up to Date on Cruises Available this Summer

Major cruise lines are returning to sailing. CruiseCompete keeps track of what cruises are available © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

DETROIT  – Wondering which lines are sailing and to which destinations? CruiseCompete, an online cruise marketplace, has been working hard to keep up with the exhaustive list of cruise line itinerary changes. The best way to see sailings available is by month – June, July, August, September and more.

From June 2021 to December 2023, there are many sailings available now to book, from the rivers of the USA to the seas of the Mediterranean. The cruises and specific information are, of course, dependent on any new developments and changes in the cruise industry.

The service is simple to use: Find the desired cruise. Request quotes. Compare personalized offers, prices, upgrades, cabin credits and more. Contact member-advisors with questions and to book. If you’d like more information or assistance planning a future cruise or a cruisetour, visit CruiseCompete and try the Virtual Cruise Advisor™ or Live Help.

CruiseCompete member-advisors are among the most well-educated, forward-thinking and trusted cruise specialists in the industry. 

CruiseCompete has been the premier online cruise marketplace since 2003. Consumers come to CruiseCompete to research and book cruise vacations. They can compare offers from travel advisors, see consumer reviews of advisors and agencies responding, then contact travel advisors directly for more information and to book cruises. CruiseCompete is a member of the Family Travel Association, a resource for family travel information and is home to the Sea Tales 2021 Family Cruise Travel Planner at Travel Resources. CruiseCompete CruiseTrends™ offers monthly stats for an inside look at consumer trends and what consumers want in cruise vacations.

For more information, visit https://www.cruisecompete.com/  or  https://www.cruisecompete.com/group_cruises/

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5 Reasons to Book A Cruise Vacation With A Travel Agent

Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Lines ships docked at the Royal Naval Yard, Bermuda © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

October is Plan a Cruise Month and Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) and the international cruise industry are highlighting the vital role travel agents play in helping travelers navigate the sea of cruise vacation options.

“Travel agents play an important role in the vacation experience for both new and seasoned cruise travelers and can help cruisers create the most unique and personalized trip,” said Cindy D’Aoust, president and CEO, CLIA. “Agents are an integral part of the cruise industry and those interested in cruising will find working with an expert leads to the best overall experience and vacation satisfaction.”

Here are five top reasons to use a travel agent to book a cruise:

1. A Totally Tailored Trip:  Today, there are more cruise vacation choices and experiences than ever before making it possible for travel agents to tailor trips to each client’s travel preferences. For example, Francophiles with a penchant for cuisine? An agent can help book a perfect Parisian cruise and maybe even provide tips for finding the best crepes and macaroons during onshore excursions.
2. In Expert Hands: Travel agents are a wealth of information with plenty of real world travel experience. Agents can provide incredible advice for making the most of a cruise like the best onboard cafes or cruise ship activities for children as well as expertise on travel insurance, dining times and cabin location.
3. Deals & Discounts: Many travel agents have access to deals and discounts that aren’t available to consumers booking directly. Agents sometimes have the ability to book in bulk so clients are privy to lower pricing for booking through an agent.
4. Perks & Personalized Travel: There really are more perks when working with travel agents! Many agents can offer clients incredible perks like complimentary bottles of wine, vouchers for free specialty meals, prepaid gratuities, and onboard spending money.  In addition to fun extras, agents can also arrange personalized travel details for cruisers like gluten-free dining or post-cruise travel back home.
5. A Stress-Free Travel Experience: For a stress-free travel experience, contact a CLIA Certified Cruise Agent. These accredited cruise counselors are committed to providing the best travel experience for every client every time. Go to www.cruising.org to find a CLIA Certified Cruise Agent.

Add to this list the fact that a cruise vacation often entails other services, like airplane transportation to or from the departure or arrival; hotel accommodations the night before or after, pre- and post-cruise tours.

To connect with a CLIA-certified cruise specialist to book a cruise vacation, visit: https://www.cruising.org/cruise-vacationer/cruise-travel-guide/clia-agent-finder. For more information about Plan a Cruise Month, visit: www.Cruising.org.

 

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CruisesOnly® Adds Free Hotel Stay Option to its Loyalty Club Offerings

CruisesOnly^®, one of the largest cruise agencies and the flagship brand in the World Travel Holdings portfolio, has announced that it is adding a “free hotel stay” option to its already robust Loyalty Club, the exclusive benefits program that rewards customers who have booked with CruisesOnly in the past.

Membership in CruisesOnly’s Loyalty Club is free of charge and free of bother. Customers who have booked with the agency at least once are automatically enrolled and there are no membership cards, numbers or renewals to keep track of.

“It’s important to us as an agency that we recognize and reward our loyal customers,” said Jeff Sherota, senior vice president of CruisesOnly. “Offering a choice between a free hotel stay or an opportunity to earn back unlimited onboard spending provides our customers with options to suit their travel needs.”

Here are the benefits of membership in CruisesOnly’s Loyalty Club:

Book Now, Pay Later: No Deposit Required at Time of Booking
CruisesOnly will defer the deposit, up to $500 (or up to $1,500 on select luxury bookings), when eligible sailings of three nights or longer are reserved at least 110 days prior to departure.

A Free Hotel Stay OR the Chance to Earn Back an Unlimited Amount of Cruise Cash
Past customers can decide which benefit best suits their travel needs: a free hotel stay (up to a $500 value, based on total price of cruise booking before taxes and port charges) or the chance to earn back an unlimited amount of onboard spending after they’ve cruised to recoup expenses not included in their fare such as spa treatments and specialty dining.

A 10 Percent Discount on All Shore Excursions
Valid on any shore excursion booked on CruisesOnly’s website at least four days prior to departure. Travelers can choose from a wide array of adventures in ports of call located throughout Alaska, the Caribbean and other destinations.

A Discount of Up To 25 Percent, Plus Bonus Offers, On Car Rentals
Club members enjoy discounts of up to 25 percent, plus special extras like free days or free upgrades, on top-brand car rentals reserved on CheapRentalCar.com.

Advance Notice of All CruisesOnly Sales
Club members are always among the first to be contacted (via email) whenever CruisesOnly is about to launch an exclusive/special sale.

Combinability with Existing CruisesOnly/Cruise-Line Offers
Loyalty Club benefits are often combinable with other deals on the CruisesOnly website and in its emails, as well as any perks the customer may be receiving as part of a specific cruise line’s loyalty/rewards program.

Benefits Extended to First-Time Guests Traveling with a Club Member
CruisesOnly rewards loyal customers by rewarding the people that they’re traveling with too – even if they’ve never booked with CruisesOnly before. All of the Loyalty Club benefits are available to first-time guests, just as long as they’re traveling on the same sailing as a Club member and staying in an additional stateroom.

Learn more about CruisesOnly’s Loyalty Club and visit CruisesOnly.com or call 1-800-CRUISES to make a reservation.

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CruiseOne and Cruises Inc. Launch Mobile Websites

During the CruiseOne and Cruises Inc. national conference aboard NCL’s Breakaway, Sean Tolkin, business development director at World Travel Holdings, became the first American to run a marathon at sea, doing it in record time (3 hours 43 minutes), raising $50,000 to benefit Make-A-Wish®, the official charity of WTH’s CruiseOne and Cruises Inc. divisions. In all, the agents raised $108,000 for Make-a-Wish during their conference. © 2013 Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com

The best way to learn about the deals being offered by major cruiselines and sort through the myriad choices is to go through a travel agent or cruise-agent, and one of the leaders in the field, CruiseOne franchise and Cruises Inc. network of hosted home-based agents has made the information more accessible with a newly introduced mobile website.

CruiseOne franchise and Cruises Inc are part of World Travel Holdings, with 13 entities that collectively sell $800 million worth of cruises. Cruisegoers benefit from their collective buying power, inventory and relationships with the cruise companies.

On the cutting edge of technology and meeting the demands of its new and existing customers, CruiseOne^® and Cruises Inc.^® announced the official launch of their mobile-friendly consumer websites CruiseOne.com and CruisesInc.com at its annual National Conference onboard the Norwegian Breakaway.

“With smart phone capacity growing and online cruise travel searches up 48 percent year over year according to Google, it was only natural for us to take this next step in providing a mobile-friendly shopping experience,” said Sandi Szalay,  vice president of information technology at CruiseOne and Cruises Inc. who oversaw the creation of the mobile platforms.

The new user-friendly mobile sites provide a lean version of the homepage, cruise search/cruise finder and cruise line promotional pages. New features include “Find An Agent Near You” enabling users to search for an agent by geographic location according to zip code or state, as well as an option for consumers to sign up for free promotional emails offering exclusive vacation deals.

“Our clients are on-the-go and we want to make sure they can connect and engage with an agent regardless of time and location,” noted Dwain Wall, senior vice president and general manager of CruiseOne and Cruises Inc. “At National Conference, we emphasized that innovation is one key to success in meeting consumer demands and keeping ahead of the competition. The mobile websites are just one of the many innovative tools we provide our agents to help in their success.”

CruiseOne and Cruises Inc. agents’ personal websites are also now mobile-friendly, providing an improved shopping experience that makes it easier for consumers who are not near a computer to shop for deals and research itineraries.

For information, visit www.CruiseOneFranchise.com or www.SellCruises.com. 

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Cruise Industry Holds Sale of the Year During National Cruise Vacation Week, Oct.20-27; Deals Site Open

Royal Caribbean’s Explorer of the Seas and Norwegian Cruise Line’s Breakaway docked at Bermuda’s Royal Naval Dockyard. Thousands of CLIA travel agents and agencies will participate in National Cruise Vacation Week Oct 20-27 through online travel agency promotions and special live, in-person travel agent events selling specials from 26 major cruiselines © 2013 Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com

Take advantage of National Cruise Vacation Week (NCVW) taking place Oct 20-27, 2013, when hundreds of exclusive cruise deals and incentives from Cruise Lines International Association’s (CLIA) 26 member cruise lines representing more than 200 of the world’s most popular ships including river and specialty cruising are available during what is billed as the “World’s Largest Cruise Sale.”

Thousands of CLIA travel agents and agencies will participate in NCVW through online travel agency promotions and special live, in-person travel agent events.

Information on National Cruise Vacation Week, where to find a CLIA travel agent and agency and to view sample deals are already available at www.cruising.org/vacation/national-cruise-vacation-week-cruise-specials. 

NCVW savings and special offers include credits for shipboard spending up to $500, balcony upgrades, two-for-one fares, complimentary tours and free hotel nights in port cities on thousands of sailings in the Caribbean, Europe, Alaska, Canada/New England, the Panama Canal, South America, Australia and the South Pacific, the Middle East and Asia.

Additional cruise deals are expected to be announced in the days leading up to NCVW as well, so cruisers are advised to stay in touch with their local travel agents.

NCVW participating CLIA member cruise lines include: AmaWaterways, American Cruise Lines, Avalon Waterways, Azamara Club Cruises, Carnival Cruise Lines, Celebrity Cruises, Costa Cruises, Crystal Cruises, Cunard Line, Disney Cruise Line, Holland America Line, Hurtigruten,  MSC Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises, Paul Gauguin Cruises, Princess Cruises, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Royal Caribbean International, Seabourn Cruise Line, SeaDream Yacht Club, Silversea Cruises, Tauck River Cruising, Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection and Windstar Cruises.

For more information on CLIA, the cruise industry, and CLIA-member cruise lines and travel agencies, visit http://www.cruising.org. CLIA can also be followed on the Cruise Lines International Association’s Facebook and Twitter fan pages, and CEO Christine Duffy can be followed @CLIACEO and cruising.org/ceoblog.

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WTH’s Sean Tolkin Sets Record for Marathon at Sea; Raises $50,000 for Make-A-Wish

Sean Tolkin, business development director at World Travel Holdings, became the first American to run a marathon at sea, doing it in record time (3 hours 43 minutes) onboard Norwegian Breakaway, and raising $50,000 to benefit Make-A-Wish®, the official charity of WTH’s CruiseOne and Cruises Inc. divisions © 2013 Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com

Sean Tolkin, business development director at World Travel Holdings, became the first American to run a marathon at sea, doing it in record time (3 hours 43 minutes) onboard Norwegian Breakaway, and raising $50,000 to benefit Make-A-Wish^®, the official charity of WTH’s CruiseOne and Cruises Inc. divisions.

The “Run Like a Champion, Cruise Like a Norwegian” marathon was held during the CruiseOne^® and Cruises Inc.^® National Conference. As of race time, Tolkin raised nearly $50,000 for the non-profit organization, that is dedicated to helping children feel stronger, more energetic and able to deal with their life-threatening medical conditions.

“I am beyond thrilled with the outpouring of support I received from my colleagues, friends, family and passengers leading up to and onboard Norwegian Breakaway this week,” said Tolkin, whose final laps were cheered on by hundreds of cruise agents attending the conference. “This marathon blended my love of the travel industry with my passion for running all in the name of a good cause, to benefit our signature charity Make-A-Wish.”

During the time it took Tolkin to run the 26.2 miles, or 210 laps around the track, the ship, Norwegian’s newest, traveled 74 nautical miles. Hundreds of onlookers cheered on Sean during each lap, with several agents and World Travel Holdings employees joining Sean for each mile.  As a result of the marathon, Make-A-Wish will be able to grant five wishes for children with life-threatening medical conditions.

Keri Rivera, corporate alliances manager for Make-A-Wish®; Sean Tolkin, business development director for World Travel Holdings, parent company of CruiseOne® and Cruises Inc. ®; and Captain Evans Hoyt, Norwegian Cruise Line® © 2013 Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com

Combined with $53,000 raised by the 700 agents attending the national conference, CruiseOne^® and Cruises Inc.^® raised more than $103,000 for Make-A-Wish.

CruiseOne franchises home-based travel agencies; Cruises Inc. is a host network for home-based cruise agents who are independent contractors. For more information, visit www.CruiseOneFranchise.com or www.SellCruises.com. 

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