The cruise company has unveiled its most advanced booking system, which will transform how travel agents book and market cruises from Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, Pullmantur, Azamara Club Cruises, and CDF Croisières de France
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. today announced ESPRESSO, a new booking system designed for travel agents who book and sell cruises from Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, Pullmantur, Azamara Club Cruises, and CDF Croisières de France. With its planned launch next March, ESPRESSO will offer a faster, more powerful, and more intuitive booking system that will help travel agents sell more cruises and increase their profits.
“Royal Caribbean’s relationship with travel agents has always been our highest priority, and this is yet another demonstration of our commitment to making our brands as accessible as possible,” said Vicki Freed, Senior Vice President of Sales and Trade Support and Service at Royal Caribbean International. “This new tool offers a simpler and more intuitive booking experience for travel agencies. We are excited to see how this more dynamic and intelligent platform will improve their relationships and results with our brands.”
“The new ESPRESSO will leverage the latest technology to offer the most advanced booking system in the industry,” said Dondra Ritzenthaler, Senior Vice President of Sales for Celebrity Cruises. “A streamlined, intuitive, and modern interface reduces the number of clicks required to make a booking and allows for other enhancements such as easy access to frequently used features and the ability to compare up to four different stateroom categories at once.”
“We listened to travel agents and designed the new ESPRESSO booking system based on their feedback, resulting in a very powerful tool,” said Ellen Bettridge, Vice President of Marketing and Sales at Azamara Club Cruises. “ESPRESSO allows travel agents to focus more on their customers than on their computer screens, significantly improving their experience.”
ESPRESSO, hosted on www.cruisingpower.com, also offers the option to compare multiple itineraries simultaneously, which is extremely helpful in identifying the best possible cruise. Once selected, the new booking system searches for the best available price and any applicable promotions so that agents can share them with their clients.
The new predictive search feature will help agents find an existing booking using an identifier, saving significant booking time. ESPRESSO can also identify past passengers and display their history, including promotions they've received, their last cruise, destination and accommodation preferences, and any other relevant information, automatically displaying it when a new booking is made.
Furthermore, ESPRESSO is optimized for tablets, a completely new feature that gives agents the freedom to continue serving their customers regardless of their location. Interactive deck plans will display the best available cabins and the selected criteria: connected cabins, the closest cabins, the most accessible cabins, and a new interactive map that allows agents to select one or more cabins simply by clicking on them. Additional details such as photos and layouts will also be available.
Travel agents can also get immediate help in their preferred way: via chat or by requesting a call.
