Royal Caribbean hails new agent booking system as faster, powerful and intuitive

Agents in the UK and Ireland will be trained on a new booking system for Royal Caribbean Cruises’ brands over the next two months.

Agents in the UK and Ireland will be trained on a new booking system for Royal Caribbean Cruises’ brands over the next two months.

The training comes ahead of the ahead of the March launch of Espresso, claimed to be a faster, powerful and intuitive reservation system for Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Club Cruises.

The system will provide side-by-side comparison views of selected itineraries to help agents identify the best possible cruise for their clients.

Once submitted, the search engine highlights the best available price and applicable promotional offers to deliver the best holiday options for agents.

A new predictive search function can help agents find an existing booking from a single identifier, saving time when servicing a client’s booking.

Espresso can also identify past passengers and display a customer’s history, such as recent promotions sent to them, last cruise taken, destination and accommodation preferences, and any other interests that have been shared, and automatically populates their information and preferences when making a new reservation.

The system will be optimised for tablet devices, giving agents the freedom to deal with their clients on the move.

An interactive deck plan allows agents to view the best available cabins with the ability to select one or multiple staterooms by clicking on them. Cabin details such as photos and layout are all available in the same place.

Stuart Leven, UK and Ireland managing director of Royal Caribbean International, said the innovation was “another demonstration of our commitment to making our brands the easiest in the industry to do business with.”

He added: “These new tools deliver an easier and more intuitive booking experience for our valued travel partners. We’re excited to see how this smarter, more dynamic platform will enhance their business results with our brands.”

Jo Rzymowska, UK and Ireland managing director of Celebrity Cruises, said “The new Espresso will harness the latest technology to deliver the industry’s most advanced booking system.

“A new simplified, intuitive, and modern user interface reduces the number of clicks to make a reservation – from seven to five – and clearly positions the most important and frequently used functions up front.

“All inventory is centralised and travel agents can select up to four stateroom categories at once for quick and easy comparison.”

Richard Twynam, UK and Ireland managing director of Azamara Club Cruises, said: “We listened to our travel partners and designed the new Espresso reservation system based on their feedback to build a powerful tool.

“Espresso allows travel agents to focus more on their clients than on their screens and significantly helps improve the experience when they are supporting customers.”