Cruise lines say that they’re seeing the first normal Wave Season in several years. Among them is Carnival Cruise Line, which announced the return of its “Amp Up Commission Challenge.” That allows travel advisors to qualify for higher commission rates—up to 15 percent—for the full year, based on bookings made between January 1 and March 31, 2023.
Windstar Cruises appointed industry veteran Joe Jiffo as its new director of field sales. In his new role, he’ll guide the North America field sales and inside sales teams. Most recently, Jiffo served as vice president of sales, American Queen Voyages.
On the product side, Paul Gauguin Cruises, which sails within Tahiti and the South Pacific, is offering its Moana Explorer program for families with children on 21 cruises in 2023 and 2024.
In other news, Travel Agent had the chance to speak with Cindy D'Aoust, the new president of American Queen Voyages, about what's ahead for the small-ship line in 2023. D'Aoust, formerly president of Cruise Lines International Association, has been at AQV for only a few months. Sister publication Luxury Travel Advisor has shared "Part 2" in its overage of a recent trip to Antarctica aboard Silversea Cruises’ newly introduced expedition ship Silver Endeavour. The article looks at the ship itself—changes from the Crystal era, onboard service, our Premium Veranda Suite, dining options and major public spaces.
During that voyage, WiFi was,in our opinion, quite good, despite the ship being at the end of the Earth in Antarctica. Royal Caribbean Group uses Starlink for Internet services on Silversea and its other brands. This past week, Carnival Corporation announced that it will add Starlink on the ships of all its brands: Carnival, Seabourn, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, Costa Cruises and others.
More Cruise News
Vantage Deluxe World Travel has announced new expedition and small ship cruise itineraries for 2023 and 2024. Among them are new, shorter cruises to Antarctica and the brand’s first journeys to South America, the Mediterranean and Caribbean.
Later this week, William Reilly plans to retire from Royal Caribbean Group’s board of directors; he’s been a director since 1998. As a former administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Reilly has been instrumental in leading the cruise company’s direction on environmental and safety issues.