Agent bags 100 Royal Caribbean bookings in less than two years

A travel agent has confirmed 100 bookings with Royal Caribbean since the start of the line’s agent loyalty programme, Upper Deck, in September 2024.

Dan Bartholomew Oates, director of The Awesome Adventure Travel Co, reached the milestone after attending a shakedown sailing on the line’s newest Icon Class ship, Legend of the Seas.

Bartholomew Oates, who is a member of Travelosophers, told Travel Weekly: “I did 20 Royal Caribbean bookings in the last month alone, with about four for Legend of the Seas, quite a lot for Freedom of the Seas out of Southampton and a couple more Icon Class ship sailings.

More: Win a China and Japan cruise with Royal Caribbean!

“It helped having the next cruise vouchers from Legend, and I used all 10 of those within three weeks of getting back.”

He added that most customers who booked recently were new to cruise, though historically his core clientele has been families looking for a premium four or five-star experience.

Bartholomew Oates said Royal Caribbean was his biggest cruise seller, making up about 80% of his cruise sales.

“I am seeing good demand for cruise across the board,” he said. “I would say cruise is about 30% of my market, and the rest is touring and long-haul or multi-centre.”

He praised the “fantastic” UK trade team for helping him get bookings over the line and urged agents to take part in more training and fam trips to help boost sales across multiple suppliers and destinations.

Bartholomew Oates said: “I think training is a massive one of those underrated things that maybe agents do not do as much as they should.

“Fam trips are another thing that I think are equally important if it’s something you specialise in or have never tried or can get social media content from or is a product you do not know.

“When I get back from a fam trip, it is very rare I do not sell that supplier or destination within a month.”

More: Win a China and Japan cruise with Royal Caribbean!