Ship Tours and Luncheons 101
by Jeff Grieder
Owner / Travel Consultant of Travel By Jeff
Houston Director for the Outside Sales Support Network

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I have attended quite a few Ship Tours and Luncheons since then and I have learned a lot. Especially when it comes to proper etiquette and professionalism while attending these functions. Since I had mentioned my first mistake of wearing a suit and tie with brand new shoes, lets discuss attire. Usually a Ship Luncheon Invitation will let you know what is proper attire. From the beginning I recommend comfortable shoes. There is a lot of walking in a short amount of time. Dress shoes and heels will only slow you down and your feet will be killing you by the end of the Tour. Dress is usually Resort Business or Resort Casual. Slacks and resort shirt for the guys and slacks and a blouse or sweater for the ladies is considered appropriate. I do not recommend jeans and a t-shirt or even shorts and short skirts either. Please remember that you are representing yourself and your Agency and you should do so in a professional manner.

Be On Time! Your invitation will state clearly what time to arrive at the port for check in. I highly recommend arriving 30 minutes early to avoid issues such as directions to the port, to find parking and where to check in. Due to very stringent security you are normally required to have a photo ID and business card to board the ship. Please have those readily available at check in and note that your photo ID will most likely be held until you disembark the ship from the Tour. Pay close attention to note the time you are to board the ship, as there is no boarding after that time. You really do not want to travel all that way just to be turned away.

Some cruise lines will offer an escorted tour of the ship. Others will pass out an itinerary at check in that will allow you to move about the ship freely. This itinerary will show you which staterooms are open for inspection and which decks to locate the common areas. The itinerary may also state what time a cruise line representative will offer a presentation and where. It will also mention what time and which restaurant to meet for lunch if available. If the cruise line is offering a sit down lunch as a part of your tour, PLEASE refrain from eating at the Buffet Restaurant! CLIA (Cruise Lines International Association) also has a Checklist for Shipboard Inspections that is a great tool for Ship Tours as well. Usually, you are more than welcome to take pictures during the tour. Getting pictures of the staterooms and common areas is a great tool of reference when selling to your clients. Normally the cruise line representatives will also have brochures on hand with ship information and future cruise itineraries that you will be able to use as references as well. This information is passed out either at check in or during the cruise line representatives presentation.

So now you have inspected several of the staterooms, visited all the common areas and enjoyed a wonderful presentation. Now it is time for a fabulous sit down lunch that the cruise line was nice enough to host for you. This is your opportunity to learn about the dining experience on board so that you can inform your clients of the culinary delights they will encounter during their vacation. Wine is sometimes served with your ship luncheon as well. I highly suggest you drink in moderation as you are still representing yourself in a professional manner. I have literally watched a travel agent get very loud, stumble out of the restaurant and fall while disembarking the ship. Don't let this happen to you!

The cruise line representative will let you know what time you need to be off the ship once the Tour and Luncheon is complete. It is at this time that regular passengers have already started embarking the ship to start their vacations and you do not want to delay the ship from departing on time. Disembark the ship in a timely manner and try to stay out of the way of the regular passengers as they embark the ship. Please do not forget to collect your photo ID as you leave the cruise terminal. The ship will not be able to depart until ALL photo ID's are collected to make sure all travel agents are off the ship. It has happened where a travel agent has left their ID at the port and return to find that the ship is being held from departure because they thought the agent was still on board.

No Shows! This has become a big problem and quite honestly is very unprofessional. Very simple, don't RSVP for a Ship Luncheon unless you are sure that you will be there. If for some acceptable reason that you cannot attend, please let the cruise line know that you will not be able to make it. Cruise lines have been reporting very high percentages of no shows for Ship Tours as of late. It's because of this we are experiencing far less Ship Tours for travel agents becoming available. Some cruise lines are, and now considering, charging for Ship Tours. Why you ask? It's because the cruise lines have a budget for their Ship Tours. Each time you RSVP for a Ship Tour, that comes out of the cruise lines budget. If you are a no show for that Ship Tour, it still comes out of their budget since they held that space for you. Space that could have gone to another travel agent. So please respect your RSVPs, cancel if you cannot attend and hopefully the cruise lines will open more opportunities for Ship Tours in the future.

Ship Tours and Luncheons are very important for travel agents to obtain the product knowledge they need in order to sell the perfect cruise vacation to their clients. The cruise lines are launching many new ships more and more each year. It is up to us as travel agents to maintain proper etiquette and professionalism for Ship Tours, and FAMS, so that we can continue to see these new and exciting ships.