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more: “‘Find me something out of Florida,’
they keep telling me.”
With so many clients interested in Carib-
bean cruises from drive-to ports, she added,
the demand for Alaska seems to have fallen
off at her agency.
But that is not the case in Austin, Texas,
where agent Bill Wodarski operates Above
& Beyond Travel.
“Our cruise bookings are good for 2012,”
he reported. “We’re selling a lot of Alaska
for next summer.”
According to Wodarski, the economy is
not turning people off.
“Texas is notorious for having late bookers,
but now we’re booking way further out than
we’ve become used to,” he said. “We have cli-
ents booked already into 2013 cruises.”
While the economy isn’t a negative for
his clients, Wodarski said some of the cruise
fares are.
“We are doing a whole lot more compari-
son shopping for our clients, and we’re see-
ing big differences in fares — like $300 or
$400 — within one cruise line’s offerings,
even within a month’s time,” he said. “I had
clients who were looking at an early April
cruise, but if they went in March instead
they’d save $400.”
Alaska, he predicted, will be in great de-
mand, adding, “It’s absolutely one of the most
requested destinations for us right now.”
Another Texas agent agreed that Alaska
was turning out to be a top draw for next
summer.
Tom Kleefisch, who owns a Cruise Planners franchise in Dallas, said his clients are
hankering for a cool, watery destination.
“I think, maybe subliminally, the Texas
weather has been having an impact on
them,” he said, alluding to the extreme
drought the state has experienced in recent
months. “There’s been an absence of Carib-
bean bookings. Too hot and dry, maybe.”
But Kleefisch, like other retailers, isn’t
betting the farm that 2012 will be a great
year.
“It’s not that things economically are all
bad,” he said. “It’s just that the news hasn’t
been good, and people like to hear some
good news once in a while. I see painters
at my neighbor’s house, I see some friends
buying new cars, but overall I don’t think
people are bullish about anything right
now.” Moreover, he said, with the presidential election looming next year, “people are
going to keep hearing how bad things are.”
There is room for optimism, though.
Kleefisch said he recently attended a luncheon with other agents from the Dallas
BOOKINGS
area and they found a common theme
among them: a disproportionate amount
of business to the Mediterranean next fall.
“We can’t figure why,” he said. “The
cruise fares are not particularly good, and
the airfares that killed off demand for the
Med this year don’t seem to be a factor for
2012.”
Typically, Kleefisch said, early autumn
is a busy time for his agency: “The kids go
back to school, and the moms start making
vacation plans for the family.”
But this year the postsummer booking
trend never kicked off.
In the Pacific Northwest, river cruises in
Europe are the hot ticket for Rich Skinner,
co-owner of Cruise Holidays in Seattle.
“I am seeing a lot more interest even
though pricing is higher and air is still a
disadvantage,” he said. “The river cruise
lines have upgraded their products, they
include things like excursions and they’ve
done a good job bringing down the age
group.”
Viking River Cruises, he noted, is adver-
tising on the Golf Channel, a move he be-
lieves is attracting younger cruisers.
“Now the boomers and Xers are start-
ing to become interested in river cruising,”
he said. “It’s great for the people who’ve
cruised a few times and now want some-
thing a little different.”
Skinner said he knows that his agency
benefits from its location, where it draws
clients from a population employed by
companies such as Microsoft, Boeing and
Amazon.
“In our area, we weren’t as badly hit by
unemployment as other parts of the coun-
try,” he said. “But we have dealt with declin-
ing home values and 401(k)s going up and
down, so there is some angst. We’re also
seeing some of our clients say, ‘Hey, the
world is going on. I’m going on vacation.’”
Skinner said that affinity group bookings
and extended family bookings have been
doing well for 2012, and that there’s “a lot
of interest in new product, such as [Royal
Caribbean’s] Allure of the Seas and Oasis of
the Seas, the over-the-top kind of stuff.”
And he’s looking forward to when Dis-
ney comes to town. The line announced
earlier this year it would homeport the
Disney Wonder in Seattle for a series of
Alaska cruises. From May 28 through early
September, the ship will sail 14 seven-night
cruises to Tracy Arm, Skagway, Juneau and
Ketchikan, Alaska; and Victoria, British Co-
lumbia.
Agents, suppliers join CLIA push
October is National Cruise Vacation
Month, and Oct. 17 to 23 is National
Cruise Vacation Week. Both promotions
are sponsored by CLIA
and are tailored to focus
consumer attention on
cruising, through agency
events and special offers
from member cruise
lines.
For example, Post
Haste Travel in Hollywood, Fla., will hold
a “special cruise night” on Oct. 20 at
Mercedes Benz of Fort Lauderdale. The
agency will provide food, drinks and special cruise sale offers.
American Cruise Lines is participating in
National Cruise Vacation Month.
Another agency, Cruznfly Travel, based
in Bonita Springs, Fla., will host an open
house/pool party at the Fairway Dunes
Club House in Bonita
Springs on Oct. 18.
CLIA member lines are
participating with incen-
tives tied to the month-
long promotion. Ameri-
can Cruise Lines, for
instance, is offering free
shore tours and $500
per stateroom savings.
Carnival Cruise Lines is offering up
to $300 cash back per stateroom, and
Princess Cruises is providing onboard
discounts worth up to $325. — D. T.
