P&O Cruises launches trade incentive for fly-cruise bookings
Posted: January 29, 2014 Filed under: Cardiff Airport & RAF St Athan, Cruise News, Passenger Advice, Special Offers | Tags: Bookings, Cardiff Airport, Cruise News, EGFFC, Fly-cruise, Incentive, Launch, P&O Cruise, Passenger Advice, Ventura, WL Leave a comment
P&O cruises is giving away ten Fiat 500s, ten trips to Venice and 500 dinner vouchers as part of a campaign to promote its Mediterranean fly-cruises.
The cruise line is also giving away 100 cruises to agents who have achieved Commodore status on its online training course and is to launch reduced agent rates for the first time.
Launching the trade promotion, Chris Truscott (pictured), sales and distribution support director, said the Italian Extravaganza campaign was in direct response to feedback from agents.
“It’s a big promotion and to me it’s very important that travel agents understand the product more,” he said.
“We wanted to give them some recognition and rewards for what they do.”
Every booking made online for a fly-med cruise on Ventura between February 1 and March 30 will be placed into a weekly prize draw. A Fiat 500 car will be given away each week during that period, as well as the £20 dinner vouchers and Commodore cruises.
In addition the top ten individual bookers during the entire campaign will be whisked off to Venice for a trip hosted by the cruise line. One of those ten will also win a Fiat 500.
Truscott added: “I hope agents can see how strongly we value what they do and how much we want to engage with them.”
The Mediterranean go-cruises lead in at £599 for seven nights but the new agent rates are £379 or £579 for 14-nights.
The cruise line has recently be pushing its Mediterranean fly cruise options from Venice and Genoa by adding seven more regional departure airports and making the flight section of the booking commissionable for agents.
Truscott said all the work to promote the fly-cruises had come off the back of the Agent Matters scheme, which involved getting feedback from agents.
Sourced by Travel Weekly
P&O Cruises mulls move towards airline-style pricing
Posted: May 23, 2013 Filed under: Cruise News | Tags: Airline, Cruise News, Exploring, P&O Cruise, pricing, Style Leave a comment
By Lee Hayhurst
But the operator says it wants to increase the differential between the fare types so customers recognise the value in Vantage fares and the two types can be offered together throughout the selling process.
Work on how this might be achieved comes after agents complained some customers were angered by Cunard Getaway fares released in March five months before departure.
These were offering a £700 per couple saving which agents complained undermined the benefits of Vantage fares which they had persuaded customers to buy.
Although the operator has included a price promise with its Vantage fares under which it will make up any difference if they have to be reduced no such offer is made if the deal is a Getaway fare.
Speaking to Travel Weekly at the keel laying of P&O Cruises’ new ship in Italy last week, managing director Carol Marlow said deliberations were still at an early stage.
“It’s all about differential between the two fares and how much people value those differences,” she said.
“We are looking at the positioning of the two prices and whether there is demand for a Getaway earlier in the process more like an airline with a fully flexible fare and a more restricted fare.”
Marlow said that P&O Cruises has had to reduce its Vantage fares this year on a number of occasions and customers were able to take advantage of the price promise.
Meanwhile, Marlow said she was optimistic that the line’s as yet unnamed new superliner would be hitting the market at the right time as the economic upturn takes hold.
“There is a certain optimism out there even now. How great if this ship can add to that sense of optimism and encourage people to be positive and move on.
“We are looking at this ship as being a vehicle for us bringing in a whole host of new cruisers. This is the biggest and best ship built for Britain. We are seeing this as the next generation of new ships.”
The new vessel, which is the same class of ship as Princess Cruises new Royal Princess, will enter service in 2015, but will go on sale in around a year’s time.
Sourced from Travel News
Wales Air Forum 