No direct sell ploy behind e-tickets, Carnival UK insists

Agents’ concerns were raised at the launch of The Cruise Report 2010, the annual study into cruise trends produced by Carnival UK, the parent of P&O Cruises, Cunard, Princess Cruises and Ocean Village.

Giles Hawke, Carnival UK sales director, said the fact that agents have to provide customer details for e-ticketing did not mean that data would be used to cut out the trade.

“We have had a lot of positive feedback from agents and consumers about our e-ticketing initiative by and large,” he said. “I have had one or two negative comments but for me this is a way for travel agents to provide extra services to their customers.”

Hawke said the move had proved popular with guests, with more than 90% of customers on the first two P&O Cruises e-ticketing sailings this year accessing their tickets online.

Andrew Magowan, sales and marketing director of Yachts of Seabourn, Carnival Corporation’s luxury brand, said that within six weeks of introducing e-ticketing, 25% of the line’s guests booked for 2010 had taken the option.

“I think this is a customer service initiative and our guests are telling us it’s something they want,” he said.

However, Stephen Bath, joint managing director of Bath Travel, said e-ticketing was something brought in by no-frills airlines but was not appropriate for cruise.

“I think it’s a false economy to get people to print out bits of paper at home. Our consumers want to have something a bit more substantial,” he said.

Cunard president Peter Shanks said most customers checking in at their port of embarkation these days preferred to use their passports than the “huge wedges of paper” lines send them.

The proportion of direct bookings for cruise remains low, ranging from about 6% to 20% depending on the line and sailing.