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Which type of cruise do agents feel earns them the higher commission rates? And are agents going on more fam trips – and seeing the rewards?
TTG’s latest research asks more than 100 agents how they approach selling cruise, what’s helping the conversions and why they are choosing certain routes to market. If you’re upping your focus on ocean, expedition or river cruise, wondering how your peers are securing those bookings or considering whether more training really does mean more sales, our TTG Insights panel reveals what’s exciting them and challenging them when it comes to selling in this ever-expanding market.
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Word-of-mouth | Inspiring repeat bookings from customers (78%) | Social media |
According to more than half the agents we surveyed, cruise bookings are a year-round trend, with no particular time of year seeing a surge in enquiries. One in five (23%) were still observing a higher level of interest during wave, but for many, there is "no set pattern anymore". One agent said: "There is a peak of bookings after the first payday in the New Year, but otherwise it’s pretty much all year, even December."
When asked if they had seen cruise booking patterns change throughout their experience, one in 10 agents told us that they were getting requests more often for last-minute or late bookings, despite clients feeling disappointed by a lack of availability, Meanwhile, deals and offers were seen as a factor in driving enquiries and conversions by a handful of our panel.
River cruise is judged by more than half of agents to attract higher commission rates than other types of cruise (Credit: IStock/RossHelen)
Our agents have spoken – and nearly half view river or expedition cruise sales as offering a higher rate of commission than ocean sales – where 55% are convinced commission rates are lower compared to other cruise types. It’s worth noting that one-fifth of agents were unsure about the comparison when it came to expedition cruise, owing to experience, but expedition cruise is compared favourably for commission rates compared to other types of travel (such as touring, ski holidays or beach breaks) by 41% of agents.
Probing more deeply, agents were split around whether cruise commission rates had got lower or remained largely unchanged (though only a handful said they had seen any rises), but there was common agreement that discounting from lines has made it harder to secure higher commission payments, along with increased competition in the sector.
Ship visits are invaluable to visualise what you are selling, according to our agent panel (Credit: AE Expeditions)
The top methods agents have been using to stay knowledgeable throughout 2024 and 2025 about the ever-changing cruise industry are online training (86%) and in-person training (76%) from cruise line partners, followed by fam trips or ship visits (74%).
Those agents that are not taking advantage of fam trip or ship visit invites are missing out, according to our panel. Seven in 10 of our agent respondents report being very certain that these trips have helped them increase sales over the past two years, higher than attending cruise-related conferences or even in-person training with their cruise line partners, while more than three-quarters gave fam trips or ship visits a “10 out of 10” for their usefulness.
Despite this, a fifth of agents report having seen no invites (either for themselves or their store or teams) for a fam trip or ship visit this year so far, and a quarter have not yet attended one this year. The average number of invites across our panel was three, with a quarter reporting that they had received more invites than in 2024 (though 30% said they had received fewer invites), while 20% of respondents revealed they had attended more fam trips in 2025 than they did last year (again, 30% said they had been on fewer).
Of those that have been on at least one trip or visit this year, 61% have felt this experience has helped convert sales, while 27% are optimistic that they will see sales after a fam, even if they’ve not yet made one. Many agents opted to tell us how “invaluable” these opportunities were – both from a point of view of increasing sales, and of course confidence, with agents noting that seeing a ship offers a true window into the experience their clients will receive. Despite this, a third of agents revealed that in general, cruise lines did not monitor bookings made after a fam trip or ship visit, while a further 36% were unsure whether this practice occurred.
Cruise booking systems top the list of challenging areas for agents to keep up to speed on. This is perhaps telling when you consider that aside from an agent’s own experience or knowledge of a cruise line, ease of booking was named the top consideration for their choice of supplier (47% of respondents), followed by choice of ship or itinerary (41%) and an effective trade portal (26%).
We value the expertise and insight from our travel agents, and we want to hear more from you in return for payment for your time. TTG's Insights Panel is now open to join - register now to get paid for sharing your honest, anonymous views in tailored surveys throughout the year.
