P&O Cruises to launch travel agent live chat

P&O Cruises plans to launch a travel agent live chat tool later this year in a bid to answer questions quicker than current wait times.

Addressing agents on P&O Cruises’ Britannia at the Clia Conference, Ruth Venn, the line’s associate vice-president for sales and distribution, said the move was part of making the brand “easier to do business with”.

She said: “Ease of doing business is really important to us and we need to make sure our UK-dedicated partnerships desk is trained and available to support you.

“We are going to have a travel agent live chat coming later this year and we are really excited by that so agents will not have to be on hold with us.”

Current average wait time for agents contacting P&O Cruises’ support desk is 11 minutes, but Venn said the service “needs to be quicker”, especially when agents have customers in front of them or on the phone ready to book.

The live chat will be available to offer answers from the help desk “instantly”, she added, with the first phase putting agents in a direct message with the cruise line’s advisors, and the second phase introducing an agentic AI solution.

The tool will be hosted on Shine Rewards Club and will be designed to support with questions related to confirming new bookings such as specific cabins, itineraries and ship information, in conjunction with the existing webform which is intended for less urgent post-booking questions.

Chief commercial officer Stuart Allison emphasised the line’s commitment to the trade as he said there was “a great opportunity” in the current market to lean into cruise.

He said the last few months had been “probably the hardest period for selling” since the pandemic.

He added: “There is so much fearmongering about getting stranded or everyone running out of fuel, so there has never been a better time to recommend a cruise from your doorstep.

“Now is the time to try a cruise and the convenience of sailing round-trip from the UK and in times like this you need a trusted partner.”

He also acknowledged the introduction of all-inclusive packages last year was “clunkier than we hoped for” when selling upgrades to passengers who had already booked.

Allison thanked agents for “persevering” through those difficulties as he said the company aimed to provide “an effortless holiday” where people can prepay even more to give “peace of mind”.

Venn added they were “still hoping to improve” that function.

Senior sales manager Paul Moran urged first-time cruise sellers to switch-sell from land-based holidays, highlighting the opportunity for incremental earning opportunities with high repeat business.

“The commission and earning opportunity is real, so once you get the guest in, you have a guest for life, so be aware that cruises are a notoriously loyal holiday type.”