Carnival Cruise Lines Launches Live Internet Booking Engine
Go Fig
Jay
Wed, Mar 10, 1999
2:57:10 PM
mailto:go...@mailexcite.com
>Carnival Cruise Lines Launches Live Internet Booking Engine
>(Last updated 9:01 AM ET March 10)
>Current quotes (delayed 20 mins.)
>CCL 45 1 1/4 (2.86%) MIAMI, March 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Carnival
>Cruise Lines, the largest operating unit of Carnival Corporation
>(NYSE:CCL), has introduced BookCCL.com, a live Internet booking engine for
>travel agents, which can be accessed directly at web address BookCCL.com
>or through a link on Carnival's web site at www.carnival.com.
>"The Internet offers ease of access, convenience and 24-hour-a-day
>availability to travel agents, many of whom do not necessarily subscribe
>to the major electronic cruise booking services, or may be working from
>home or at hours when Carnival's phone lines aren't available," said Bob
>Dickinson, president of Carnival Cruise Lines.
>He pointed out that a recent study by the Travel Industry Association of
>America in Washington, D.C., revealed that an estimated 33.8 million
>adults used the Internet in 1998 for travel planning, which represents a
>1,000 percent increase within the past two years alone.
>"People are gravitating more and more toward on-line purchasing and travel
>agencies can take full advantage of that trend by incorporating the
>Internet into their business operations as a sales and reservations
>vehicle thereby enhancing their overall level of service," said Dickinson.
>Each travel agency will be required to designate one individual who will
>contact Carnival for that agency's user I.D. and password. Following a
>verification process, that individual will be responsible for
>disseminating the information within his or her respective agency.
>Once having accessed the agent-exclusive area, Carnival's Internet booking
>engine guides users through each step of the reservations process in a
>simple, easy-to-follow format.
>All 14 ships in the "Fun Ship" fleet, including the 102,000-ton Carnival
>Triumph, which is scheduled to enter service in July, are available for
>booking via BookCCL.com.
>The company is also developing a similar live Internet reservations
>vehicle for consumers, which is expected to be launched later this winter
>and will provide easy and convenient access to the company's reservations
>system for virtually anyone who uses the Internet. Holland America Line,
>another operating unit of Carnival Corporation, is expected to launch its
>own booking engine for travel agents later this year.
>Carnival Corporation is comprised of Carnival Cruise Lines, the world's
>largest cruise line based on passengers carried, Holland America Line,
>Windstar Cruises, a majority interest in Cunard Line Limited, which
>operates the Cunard and Seabourn cruise brands, and interests in Costa
>Cruises and Airtours plc. Combined, Carnival Corporation's various brands
>operate 43 ships in the Caribbean, Alaska, Europe and other worldwide
>destinations.
Go Fig
>On Wed, 10 Mar 1999 14:57:21 -0800, go...@mailexcite.com (Go Fig)
>wrote:
>
>>Hey Ray. . . are ya sleeping. . . . :))
>
>Hi Jay,
>
>Heck, I saw it but since they were announcing the Internet booking
>being available for agencies and not the public, I did not bother to
>type all of that and post it. Give my poor overworked fingers a
>break, will ya'? <vvbg>
Actually, I was hoping that my Financial News Service would be getting the
info PRIOR to T/A Press releases. . . guess not.
Jay
Wed, Mar 10, 1999
11:23:54 PM
--------> thinks Ray needs to get a scanner and OMNI PRO. :)))
>
>Best regards,
>Ray
>LIGHTHOUSE TRAVEL
>800-719-9917 or 805-566-3905
>http://www.lighthousetravel.com
Ray Goldenberg
wrote:
>Hey Ray. . . are ya sleeping. . . . :))
Hi Jay,
Heck, I saw it but since they were announcing the Internet booking
being available for agencies and not the public, I did not bother to
type all of that and post it. Give my poor overworked fingers a
break, will ya'? <vvbg>
Best regards,
Ray Goldenberg
wrote:
>Actually, I was hoping that my Financial News Service would be getting the
>info PRIOR to T/A Press releases. . . guess not.
Hi Jay,
Don't feel disappointed. The press releases that I post are not
issued to travel agents. I use several different sources but seldom
get one as a TA.
John McDonald
I completed Carnival's form with all information (departature date, ship,
passenger count, nationality, etc.). Nothing was left out. After two or
three days I received an E-mail that said that they couldn't possibly quote
a fare, since I had left out dates, itinerary, etc..
Their reply included my original message with all the necessary information
clearly complete!
I sent it back, pointing out that they already had ALL information. It's
been about a week, and I haven't heard anything from Carnival.
Guess what -- my trusted travel agent has answered all my questions an quote
requests within minutes. And I booked Princess.
So much for the lightening speed of the Internet.
As a Carnival stockholder, I'm really tuned off.
John
Go Fig wrote in message ...
>Hey Ray. . . are ya sleeping. . . . :))
>
>Jay
>Wed, Mar 10, 1999
GEORGE M HALL
The current form system is not what the news release is talking about. That
form system has been up for sometime and as you noted totally useless. The
NEW system is up for TA's and I have seen it. My presumption is that the NEW
passenger booking system will be part of that system. It allows you to
select a cabin, book it etc. It would have been smart of Carnival to remove
their old form request before announcing so that people wouldn't be
confused. As I stated it is my belief that the new system will be one that
is interactive with Carnivals reservation system, not a form quote.
George in NY
John McDonald wrote in message ...