RCI Official Anouncement

[Chucksta63]

This is an e-mail I got from our agency & RCI.

They are going to stop allowing certain Agency's to book cruises!

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. have begun terminating our business

relationships with certain travel-related companies that we have

concluded

are in the "card-mill" business because we have a fundamental concern

with

the business practices of these companies.

I sure am glad that I am with a Reputable Host Agency!

[Chucksta63]

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.

Calling "card mills" a "growing and troubling trend within the travel industry," the letter stated that such business practices "have many negative effects," including: negative consumer experiences, "undermining the integrity and business reputations of accredited and certified travel agents," devaluing "the knowledge, experience and expertise that legitimate, professional travel agents provide their clients every day"; substantially increasing "the costs of our operations by causing us to provide costly and valuable benefits to a set of persons or entities for which those benefits were not intended;" creating "an environment in which the traditional and full set of services we expect a travel agency to provide to consumers are, in fact, not provided, despite the payment of a full commissions in connection with a booking"; and misleading "normal consumers with unrealistic expectations of 'travel-agent-only benefits,' when, in fact, they are not travel agents."

The letter encouraged "legitimate, independent agents" to become affiliated with an accredited Host agency.