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Quarterly Business Update (Second Quarter)
Dear Travel Professional,
In the second quarter of 2008, we have announced the rest of our 2009/2010 programs and ship deployments, added new programs like the new Princess Platinum Vacation Protection, as well as new sales tools. We appreciate your support and want to keep you posted on all of the new happenings at Princess Cruises.
PROGRAM RELEASES
Alaska
In April, Princess launched our new 2009 Alaska program with a total of 130 Alaska sailings, with Diamond Princess, Sapphire Princess, Coral Princess, and Island Princess traveling on the line's signature Gulf of Alaska sailings and cruise tours. All these voyages include Glacier Bay National Park. Golden Princess and Star Princess will be sailing the Inside Passage routes on weekend departures from Seattle and the Sea Princess sailing on 10-day voyages from San Francisco. Pacific Princess takes over the line's small ship experience on 14-day Connoisseur voyages to some of the state's less-visited ports, with new roundtrip departures from Seattle. Please take out group space immediately to take advantage of our group rates and special amenities.
Panama Canal & Coastals
In May, we opened our 2009-2010 Panama Canal & Coastals season! It's mankind's greatest engineering feat and one of the world's wonders – the Panama Canal. Princess® showcases this modern marvel on eight thrilling itineraries, ranging from 10 to 20 days. Two of the four ships sailing the region, Island and Coral Princess®, were custom-built to transit the Canal, giving travelers an up-close look at its mighty locks in action. A new 2-day Panama Canal Experience is available on all 15- to 20-day cruises. Please make note of this unique selling point. Your clients can see more of the region with a full transit of the Canal as well as a full day at Fuerte Amador, the gateway to the sights of Panama City. Take the Panama Canal Railway, tour Soberania National Park Rainforest, visit an authentic Embera Indian village and more. These itineraries also include calls in colorful ports throughout the Caribbean, Central America and the Mexican Riviera. Plus, on a 20-day voyage on Royal Princess®, one of the Small Ships of Princess®, you can visit a new port – Puerto Chiapas, Mexico – which borders Guatemala and is rich in Mayan culture.
Caribbean & Mexico
Princess will offer six ships with 13 unique itineraries ranging from 7 to 14 days. Princess offers over 25 different ports on the youngest fleet in the Caribbean. For the 7-day, Emerald will sail the Eastern Caribbean, Crown will offer an enhanced Western Caribbean itinerary (now including Roatan), and Caribbean will continue out of San Juan. Ruby will sail the 10-day Eastern and Southern itineraries, while Grand returns to the 14-day - both ships roundtrip Ft. Lauderdale. In Mexico, Sapphire will sail on the 7-day roundtrip from Los Angeles, and Star will offer two, 10-day cruises out of San Francisco.
Launch Savings
Please make sure your teams are fully briefed on our new Captains Circle Launch savings which is a major enhancement to our loyalty program. We asked our past passengers what they want most and it was a special discount. So we are now offering up to $300 discount for all past passengers.
POLICY HIGHLIGHTS
Deposit Requirements
Based on your feedback, Princess has lowered the passenger deposit requirements for new bookings on summer 2009 voyages and beyond. Now all bookings will require a deposit of just 20% of the cruise or cruise tour fare, reduced from the previously announced 30% requirement. We understand the challenges of today’s economic environment, and are pleased to make this change to help you close more sales, more easily. The World Cruise deposit will remain at 10% for the initial deposit.
New Fuel Supplement
Because of the continued rapid escalation of fuel prices, six of Carnival Corporation & plc’s brands, including Princess Cruises and Cunard Line, increased their current fuel supplement from $7 to $9 (USD) per person per day. The fuel supplement for third and fourth passengers will increase from $2 to $4 (USD) per person per day. The new fuel supplement will apply to all new bookings effective June 12, 2008. The fuel supplement will not exceed $126 per person per voyage for the first and second passengers, and $56 per person per voyage for the third and fourth passengers in a stateroom.
Air Policy Disclosures
Due to the volatility of the airline price changes, we want to highlight the fact that all air prices are not guaranteed until full payment is received by Princess. This is not new, but rather a re-communication of our existing policy. As long as a passenger has paid for their cruise and air in full, they will not be required to pay any additional air costs.
Platinum Vacation Protection
Starting with voyages departing in summer 2009, Princess is pleased to introduce Princess Platinum Vacation Protection. Our Platinum Plan provides a future cruise credit value of 100% of the normally non-refundable charges if you must cancel for a reason that is not eligible for 100% cash reimbursement. And, upgrading to our new Platinum Vacation Protection plan (or Travel Care Gold for voyages prior to the summer of 2009) will also double coverage for medical expenses, lost baggage and emergency medical evacuation. Also note that Princess purchases the Platinum coverage for Platinum and Elite Captains Circle members who purchase the standard program- a savings of up to several hundred dollars.
PRODUCT ENHANCEMENTS
Star Princess and Caribbean Princess to Add Popular Amenities
The upcoming makeovers of Star Princess and Caribbean Princess will include a transformation of the Deck 5 atrium into the inviting piazza-style street café including Headline Entertainers as currently found on Crown Princess and Emerald Princess, a new wine bar concept including a walk-in cheese humidor and a fully stocked wine store. Additionally, we will add the company's signature adults-only Sanctuary and showplace Crown Grill steak and seafood restaurant, along with a more centrally located casino and seven new suites. Star Princess will also receive a Movies Under The Stars screen during her September dry dock in San Francisco and Caribbean Princess will follow in January 2009.
Complimentary Hot Chocolate and Mid-Morning Bouillon
We are pleased to offer our passengers in cold weather itineraries, complimentary Hot Chocolate and mid-morning Bouillon. These special offerings are currently available on board our ships in Alaska.
Evian Misting Stewards
Launching in August, passengers will be able to take pleasure in being misted by our new Evian Misting Stewards while enjoying the sun on deck. This service is offered in our warm weather itineraries and is sure to be a hit with our passengers.
Waffle Stations
Available in late August, passengers can enjoy fresh waffles made to order at the Waffle Stations located in the Horizon Court buffet. Unlike other operations, Princess Cruises will offer fresh waffle creations for breakfast, brunch and throughout lunch. What better way to start the day!
Complimentary Lemonade
Complimentary Lemonade will be available later in 2008 on board all Princess ships.
In support of our ongoing partnership with Nintendo, Princess was the first cruise line to launch the new Wii Fit device on all vessels. Representatives from Nintendo of America introduced and trained cruise and teen staff on the popular Wii Fit through participative and interactive training courses. Family and adult tournaments are now featured on all vessels fleet wide.
Princess recently won 3 Telly Awards as part of the 29th Annual Telly Awards. Out of 15,000 entries, Princess was awarded two first prizes (for our New York Documentary video and Glacier Bay Kids video) and one second prize (for our collection of seven Alaska Port Documentaries). The "Telly Awards" are the #1 award bestowed upon non-broadcast film productions.
Ruby Princess Inaugural Festivities
Ruby Princess’ inaugural festivities are currently in the planning stages. They will take place in Ft. Lauderdale, during the two days prior to the Ruby’s debut Western Caribbean sailing on November 8, 2008. Ruby Princess, a sister ship to Emerald Princess and Crown Princess, will feature a dramatic piazza-style atrium featuring small-bite eateries and an ever-changing array of performing street entertainers, Princess' signature adults-only retreat called The Sanctuary, an Italian trattoria, a seafood and steak house, a "Movies Under the Stars" giant outdoor movie screen and 900 cabins with private balconies. Stay tuned for our upcoming announcement about the naming festivities!
Webinars with Senior Fleet Operations team
The first week of July we launched our first webinar in a series featuring senior management representatives of various aspects of our product. Rai Caluori, our EVP of Fleet Operations, gave a webinar to over 500 agents which briefed them on new onboard product developments at Princess. Copies of the webinar and responses to the Q&A will be available soon at Onesourcecruises.com.
ACADEMY
CRUISE Video Course
Our new Princess Academy video series gives agents an insider’s view of customer service training. The C.R.U.I.S.E. video stars everyone’s favorite Princess ambassador, “Love Boat Captain” Gavin MacLeod as a self-appointed customer service “spy”. His mission is to assess the service offered on Princess by following a couple around the ship – unbeknownst to them. The C.R.U.I.S.E. program (standing for Courtesy, Respect, Unfailing in Service Excellence) is the service touchstone for Princess and is the longest such running program in the cruise industry. The training was launched over a decade ago across the fleet’s ships, and has since been introduced throughout the company’s shore side operations.
Ultimate Commodore Contest
Travel agents who've reached the top Commodore level of Princess' acclaimed online training program, Princess Academy, have a unique opportunity to put their knowledge to the test with the Ultimate Princess Commodore Competition. Thousands of agents are participating in this new Academy feature as agents compete in an entertaining challenge to win a variety of prizes, including a chance to sail on the new Ruby Princess, or be invited to the ship's naming festivities later this year. The contest runs through August 31, 2008. Please make sure your agents make their run at top position!
PRINCESS ONESOURCE
Cruise Sales
Remember agency owners can schedule cruise sale promotions on POLAR Online. By booking within the time frame, your clients can place a lower deposit and receive a coupon book for use onboard. Agencies may have 2 promotions per quarter and up to 6 per year. The promotion applies to all destinations and is combinable with group amenities. Cruise Sales promotions are an easy way for you to create urgency for your clients to book. We have seen a recent increase in Cruise Sales requests via POLARonline so please make sure your agency is not missing out! Also note that you can now build bonus cruise sales via POLARonline.
PRINCESS ALLIANCE PROGRAM
New, Exciting Updates
Princess Alliance is now open to all agents of Commodore agencies. This means that if your agency has at least one Commodore then any agent in your agency may participate. All they need is a OneSource account, making it easier for you to delegate or have branch offices participate. In addition now the system will accept a variety of file types (including Client Base and Microsoft Excel), making uploads easier. We hope you’ll take advantage of this exciting opportunity to promote and sell Princess escapes through this unique partnership!
Princess Cruises Will Host 5 Additional Mailings
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Product |
Participation Period |
Drop Date |
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Europe 2009 |
July 21 – Jul 31, 2008 |
27-Aug-08 |
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Alaska CO/CT 2009 |
Aug 11 – Aug 21, 2008 |
18-Sep-08 |
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Caribbean/Mexico Spring 2009 |
Sept 5 – Sept 18, 2008 |
15-Oct-08 |
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Exotics Fall 2009/Spring 2010 |
Oct 7 – Oct 20, 2008 |
14-Nov-08 |
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Europe 2009 |
Nov 3 – Nov 14, 2008 |
15-Dec-08 |
COLLATERAL
Europe 2009 Brochure Now Available
Inside, you'll find everything you and your clients need to know about this incredible Europe season with Princess®, including information about the three regions we visit in Europe, our 36 cruise itineraries – featuring nine new itineraries – plus three cruise tours. Further brochures will be available over the next few months.
Based on feedback from you, we have now made brochures available online for all agents as well as an array of other helpful tools, including our 4-page 2009 Europe Program Overview Flyer. Visit onesourcecruises.com to order materials online from OneSource Collateral, take a new Academy course and more.
TRAVELAGE WEST’S ‘WAVE AWARDS’
Princess Cruises was honored this June with the 2008 WAVE Award for “Best Cruise Tour Program” and our own Paulette Pyrick from Arizona was named “Best Cruise District Sales Manager” The annual awards, which recognize travel companies in a wide range of product- and service-related categories, are based on feedback from TravelAge West readers, which include travel agents from 14 western U.S. states, as well as information gleaned from the publication’s editors.
So beginning with summer 2009 voyages, Princess Captain's Circle members who book early can enjoy up to $600 per couple discounts on cruise fares, depending on the itinerary and category they select. Better yet, these discounts combine with Escape Fares, group fares, regionals and other past passenger promotions - once booked, if a lower fare becomes available for which your client qualifies, the Launch Savings discount will combine with the lower fare. For 2009 Europe and Alaska, bookings made by September 31, 2008 qualify for the Launch Savings discount. For other 2009-2010 sailings, bookings made by December 31 qualify. This is a great new tool to help you close future sales earlier with your regular Princess cruisers.
Warmest Regards,
Senior Vice President of Sales and Customer Service
Princess Cruises
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