Carnival Cruise Line Offers Travel Agents 15 Percent Commission for 2018
by Daniel McCarthy
Carnival Breeze, Tortola
Carnival Cruise Line is offering travel agents the chance to earn up to 15 percent as part of the second edition of its “Amp Up Commission Program.”
The new program, which follows the last September’s version, will allow agencies to bump up their commission to 15 percent by recording 125 bookings between Jan. 1 and March 31 of 2018. Once agencies reach the booking threshold, they will earn 15 percent commission on all new bookings made April 1 to Dec. 31, 2018.
“This is a really big one. You qualify during wave season and then your commission rate changes for the entire year,” Carnival vice president of sales and trade marketing Adolfo Perez told TMR.
If agents are unable to make 125 bookings during that period, they will still be able to earn an increased commission with lower booking thresholds—88 bookings will earn 14 percent commission, 63 bookings will earn 13 percent, 38 bookings will earn 12 percent, and 20 bookings will earn 11 percent.
According to Perez, over 1,500 travel agents participated in the first version of the challenge and it was a “tremendous success.”
“They were very excited, really positive feedback, anytime there’s an opportunity for someone to make more money, it’s a good story. People are really excited,” he said.
The open booking period for this version of the challenge will come during Wave Season, a period that is “traditionally the busiest booking season,” Perez said, so agents should “take advantage of all the leads you get, make proactive calls to existing clients.” There will also be Wave Season promotions to further entice clients to book a cruise.
FIT and group bookings made by agents who have earned an increased commission will also be eligible for the new commission level.
Agencies can register on GoCCL.com. Then, they’ll have to submit a marketing plan on the Amp UP Commission registration website, explaining how they intend to reach their goals.
At the end of March, Carnival will send agents a summary of their bookings and their commission level for the month.

