Silversea says fare restructure offers 'more commissionable items than ever before' 

Silversea’s new fare structure offers more commissionable items for agents than “ever before”, according to one of its regional sales chiefs.

On September 11, the luxury line overhauled its fares and excursion programmes, with three new fare types and five excursion categories.

Speaking on a webinar for UK and Ireland agents about the changes, head of sales for the south Donatella Valzasina said: “What is great about the new fare structure is the commissionable add-ons.

“We are now giving a shore excursion credit on the All Inclusive Plus fare, we are then offering transfers to and from the airport, ship and hotel, and all of these add-ons are commissionable to you.”

She added: “This is a great positive that is coming out of the new fare structure because we do it with guests in mind, but also with our partners in mind, and we have more add-ons than ever before.”

Other examples of commissionable items for agents following the update include the City Stays programme, which was soft launched over the summer and provides two-night stays in luxury hotels in central European cities, while flights will earn agents 5% commission.

Valsazina said: “It really outweighs what we did before with the door-to-door and port-to-port fares, so I hope you [agents] will welcome and embrace the change as more commission is great for everyone.”

She emphasised that the onboard experience would not change, and that the new fares apply mostly to ocean voyages, whereas expedition deposits and inclusions will remain the same.

Valsazina said the five new land experience categories “go a step further” to allow passengers to customise their experiences, following feedback passengers did not want excursions included in every port if they had already been there multiple times.

She highlighted two categories, Custom Experiences and Overland Experiences, which are tailor-made tours or two or three-day mid-cruise inland tours, would not be included in the shore excursion credit provided in the All Inclusive Plus fare.

“This will really enable your guests to tailor-make what they want to do in any one given destination,” she added.

Valsazina also revealed there was a loyalty status match across stablemates Celebrity Cruises and Royal Caribbean in “an industry first”, which she encouraged agents to utilise.