A new holiday advice line to aid agents selling family holidays, staffed exclusively by mums and dads, is promising to make selling family holidays a stress-free experience.
Dubbed the ‘Royal Mums & Dads’ advice line, the new service launched by Royal Caribbean International, is a travel industry first. The specialist phone line is operated by knowledgeable parents who work the cruise line and have comprehensive experience of planning, booking and taking family cruise holidays with their own children, as well as giving valuable first-hand advice to first-time cruisers.
Royal Mums and Dads can answer questions from agents about selling family cruising from what is on offer to keep children entertained, to health and safety questions.
RCI promises that all of the staff on the Royal Mums line have cruised recently, many of them several times in the last few years. Some of the Royal Mums have teens, while others have younger children, so they are able to offer frank and insightful feedback on what to consider when cruising with children of different ages.
Cruising for Excellence
Royal Caribbean International’s award-winning Cruising for Excellence Online e-learning programme has also added additional content to further assist agents in selling family holidays at sea. This includes information on the Royal Mums and Dads on the home page; an extra page on the Essential Training module for Kids & Teens; and accessible bite-sized chunks of information that will be located around the virtual H2O environment, for agents to locate and earn nautical points as they navigate the site.
An e-shot will be sent to over 20,000 agents registered to use Cruising for Excellence Online, with more information on the Royal Mums and Dads line.
Lorraine Quinn, Honorary Royal Mum and Head of Sales for Ireland, and mum to Shauna, aged 6, and Evan, aged 3, said: “Trying a new kind of holiday for the first time can be daunting so, by giving parents the reassurance that they can talk to a mum or dad who has already cruised with their children, we hope to share our favourite family holiday memories and provide all the information that a diligent mum or dad would want to know before taking to the ocean waves with their children.
“We hope to assist agents in converting a sale by offering our own expertise to reassure clients looking at cruising for the first time. Our Royal Mums and Dads cannot wait to share stories from their own experiences and provide their honest feedback and insights into holidays at sea – my family loves it, having cruised for many years together, especially because it allows us as parents to relax while the children have the most incredible fun with other kids of their own age.”
Offering a dedicated advice line for agents trying to grow their family holiday sales follows the cruise line’s significant growth in the traditional family package holiday market. Over the past 10 years the number of families taking a Royal Caribbean International cruise has grown by over one-third, with many families taking to the sea for the very first time. Through the new advice line, agents will be able to talk to the specialists and answer all of their customers’ questions on why cruising offers exceptional amenities and value for money, helping them to convert even more sales.
Staffed by working mums and dads, the Royal Mums agents’ advice line is open between 9.30am and 2.30pm every weekday.
Mums and dads working throughout the Royal Caribbean International business were recruited as specialist advisors for the Royal Mums telephone line. Full profiles on all the Royal Mums and Dads and their family holiday experiences and top tips can be viewed at www.royalcaribbean.ie/mumsanddads
Dominic Paul, Vice President and Group Managing Director, Europe, Middle East and Africa, Royal Caribbean International, and proud dad to four young children, added: “Our Royal Mums and Dads are united by their passion for spending fun and quality time with their children. Before I took my children on their first cruise I quizzed other mums and dads to get their true feedback on if this was the right family holiday for us. Reassurance for any parent is important – we all want to have the best time together with our children. We hope that the no-obligation Royal Mums phone line will be used by agents to boost their own expertise, and that more people will make a cruise their family holiday choice.”
The Royal Mums and Dads can boost agents’ knowledge of some of the top family holiday options offered by Royal Caribbean International such as shows and parades with characters including Shrek, Donkey and Princess Fiona from the Shrek and other DreamWorks films; ice skating lessons onboard; children’s theatres for their own drama club and productions; teen only nightclubs and even science labs for budding chemists, physicists and mess-makers.
To talk to a Royal Mum or Dad for assistance in selling family cruises call 1800 937 631 or visit www.cruisingpower.ie.
