Royal Caribbean upgrades agent booking system

Espresso, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.’s reservation system
for travel agents, has been given new capabilities.

It is the first major upgrade for Espresso since it was
launched to replace Cruise Match in March 2015.

A major thrust of the upgrade is making group bookings
easier and more functional. The number
of steps required to make an initial group booking has been pared from five to
three, said Juan Silva, director of trade e-marketing and distribution.

“All you really need to block a promo group now is just
the ship and sailing date, the type of inventory you want to block space for,
and we would come back with a confirmation number,” Silva said.

Another central addition is the ability for agents to use
the automated system to book into group space that has been reserved by and is
being promoted through the headquarters of their consortia, host, network or
other affiliate group. Some systems run by other cruise lines have had this for
several years.

“It’s something that we’ve had on the list for many
years, and we’re finally going to have it,” said Vicki Freed, Royal
Caribbean International’s senior vice president of sales, trade support and
service.

Freed said consortia are increasingly leading the process of
forming and marketing promotional groups. Without automated access to that
process, agents would have to spend more time on the phone. Tracking
confirmations, making payments and getting credit for booking was more
cumbersome.

“Now [consortia] will take out space at the headquarter
level, create all their marketing pieces, it goes out to the consumers, and
there it is a Celebrity cruise being marketed at the headquarters level,”
said Dondra Ritzenthaler, Celebrity Cruises’ senior vice president of sales,
trade support and service.

Another improvement in Espresso is the ability to redeem
group amenity points online rather than over the phone.

Agents who want an overview of the changes can find an
updated microsite at BookEspresso.com, including a self-guided tour and a
schedule of webinars and other training sessions.

Royal Caribbean maintained both Espresso and Cruise Match
for over a year, but discontinued Cruise Match in June.