How to earn more when cruise comms drop

DESPITE increasing Non
Commissionable Fares
(NCF) on cruise line tickets,
cruising remains a highly
lucrative niche, say South
African cruise specialists.
A recently released white
paper ‘Review of NCFs’ from
the American Society for
Travel Agents (ASTA) says it
is evident that cruise lines
have started using NCFs to
decrease their commission
costs. The report says
this has encouraged many
agencies in the US to look
for alternative products for
profit and steer away from
cruising altogether.
NCFs are much like airline
surcharges, in that it forms
part of the cruise fare that
the travel agent is not paid a
commission on.
Claire Swanepoel, Flight
Centre’s product manager
for Cruises, says NCFs have
always been an obstacle in
the cruising industry, just
as air taxes are an obstacle
in the aviation industry. But
recently certain cruise lines
have started reducing their
cruise fares considerably
in order to fill up the ship.
In cases like this, the NCFs
are so high agents earn very
little commission on the
cruise fare, she says.
However, instead of looking
outside the cruising industry
for profitable opportunities,
Claire says the solution is to
offer comprehensive cruising
packages including hotels,
travel insurance and drink
packages. She says some
luxury brands allow agents
to earn commission on the
whole package. They will also
offer bonus commissions
to help boost cruises. “This
allows agents to earn extra
commission in order to try
and compensate for the high
NCF,” she says.
Thaybz Khan, marketing
executive of Cruises
International, says NCFs have
increased over the years.
“Slowly but surely, cruising
is becoming a big part of the
economy in countries around
the world. Cruise lines have
to pay taxes for the time
spent in a port. These rates
are negotiated with the
various ports of call visited.
However, this cost depends
on various factors, and if a
country decides to increase
its taxes at the port, the
cruise lines will increase the
tax payable by the client.”
Thaybz explains that
selling packages or
up-selling products will allow
agents to still earn a good
commission. “We have
always encouraged agents
to sell a packaged deal to
the consumer rather than a
cruise only. Agents ultimately
earn more commission on a
complete package. Over and
above this, we encourage
agents to sell premium and
luxury products where they
will earn more commission
from the outset, again to
protect them from reductions
like these.”
Claire adds: “Cruising is a
growing market. Each liner
increasingly offers valueadded
products that can
be pre-purchased and on
which the agent can earn
commission. Not everyone
opts for the cheapest cabin.
Agents can still earn a
decent income by up-selling
to balcony and suites.”