Helpful Info for Agents!...

My Story

GREAT NEWS!... Great Rates Travel Service is now eligible to book at the lowest prices, and receive the
highest available commissions, through our new affiliation with Nexion, a branch of The Travel Leader's
Group!  Travel Leader's Group is responsible for 1/3 of all the travel agent sales in this country!  Great
Rates Travel pays Nexion a fee of only 10% of the commission to receive these top commission rates, lowest
travel rates, and so many valuable services and special booking tools too!  This entitles our agents to earn
about 50% higher commissions than most other independent agents receive!  CLICK HERE for more
details on booking with Nexion!  
 

• CLICK ON THIS LINK to see the commission rates available when booking travel through Nexion® (http://www.
  nexion.com/commissions/commissions.html ).

• CLICK HERE To Get a better understanding of the services and tools that Nexion® offers.

• View a demonstration of Webview®, the agent portal, by visiting their website: www.nexion.com.  Click on the
  RESOURCES tab, move down to videos and click on the link, "Why Be Hosted with Nexion"®, along with the
  WebView® Agent Portal Demonstration Video.

KARISMA/EL DORADO RESORT VACATIONS AND WEDDING PLANNING (CLICK HERE FOR INFO ON KARISMA!)
(CANCUN/PLAYA AREA)... Great Rates Travel has recently become a member of Karisma's GIVC (Gourmet Inclusive
Vacation Club), which means we will be listed as one of their preferred agents on their website and they will send us
leads/referrals received through their site from people who are interested in booking travel or weddings at one of their resorts.
Plus after booking three rooms with Karisma, we will be able to offer all wedding parties added value with their bookings (like free
room upgrades or spa services)!  With the GIVC membership, we will also be receiving professional banners and other
great supplies for use at bridal and trade shows.  Weddings are a lucrative field, but the planning is time-consuming...
Luckily, Karisma's professional wedding planners will take care of all the  planning for our bridal party clients!...All we have to do
is tell potential wedding couples about Karisma Resorts and their amazing 3-night "Bride's Dress Rehearsal"
package for only $399 total (normally over $1200/room), and the resort sells itself!  (The El Dorado and Karisma Resorts
are amazing and 99% of the wedding couples attending this Dress Rehearsal go on to book their weddings there!...See the
Agent FAM link above for free 3-4 Night FAM opportunities at Karisma Resorts!)

SHIP COMINGS AND GOINGS...
The ROYAL CARIBBEAN Navigator of the Seas is NOW sailing YEAR ROUND from Galveston, offering some great
itineraries!...She's a very luxurious ship and has a Promenade Shopping area so big they have elaborate parades through it at
night, plus starting in the Spring of 2014, she will be upgraded to include some amazing new features: "Virtual Balcony" view
Inside staterooms, oceanview rooms with floor-to-ceiling windows, a beautiful new oversized movie screen on deck,
and a Flow Rider Surf Simulator!

(CLICK HERE for info on the New Carnival Breeze!)

NORWEGIAN CRUISE LINE began sailing from the NEW Port of Houston TX (not Galveston) starting October 2014!  ...CLICK
HERE TO START THE NCL ONLINE BOOKING ENGINE TRAINING!  And Learn more about NCL when you register at www.
ncluniversity.com!

PRINCESS Cruise LIne and NCL are now sailing from the New HOUSTON Port! ...Time to start pushing Princess!  Note
that we are registered to sell Princess under an alternate phone number: 210-410-2580 (instead of the 210-496-0004 we use for
Carnival and other cruise lines).  ALSO REMEMBER THAT EACH AGENT COMPLETING PRINCESS' EXTENSIVE ONLINE
TRAINING PROGRAM AND PASSING THE FINAL COMMODORE EXAM RECEIVES ONE FREE CRUISE FOR TWO PEOPLE ON
YOUR CHOICE OF SELECT 7-15 NIGHT PRINCESS CRUISES, AS WELL AS COMMODORE AMENITIES ON ALL FUTURE
SAILINGS, Which includes discount pricing, complementary mini-bar restocked daily, free internet and laundry service! (Free
cruise is subject to having sold at least four Princess staterooms.)

The new CARNIVAL SUNSHINE is now sailing from New Orleans for 7-day Caribbean cruises!...The new Sunshine features
Carnival's FunShip 2.0 Renovations, including the Blue Iguana Cantina (outdoors), Blue Iguana Tequilla Bar, Guy's Burger Joint (outdoors), Alchemy
Bar, EA Sports Bar, Library Bar, RedFrog Rum Bar, Hasbro Game Show, and Punchliner Comedy Club by George Lopez.  She will also feature
Carnival's largest Serenity Adult-Only area to date (with 2-story waterfall, palm trees, sun loungers and hammocks), and a huge Youth Program
Zone!...  CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE NEW SUNSHINE VIDEO (And Others)!

New Carnival FunShip 2.0 Upgrades have or are being added to All Carnival Ships as they are each renovated!...

• 5-D Movie Theater with wind, water, motion seats and 3D glasses...See, smell and feel it!

• Hasbro "The Game Show" theater where guests can participate in live game shows based on popular board games.

• Liquid Night Club ...a lively South Beach Disco experience

• Red Frog Rum Bar and Blue Iguana Tequilla Bars

• Blue Iguana Cantina

• Guy's Burger Joint

• EA Sports Bar

• Alchemy Bar

• Fahrenheit 555 Steakhouse

• Cucina del Capitano Italian Restaurant

• Piano Bar 88

• SportSquare and Waterworks

• Cherry on Top

• Redundant and Back Up Power and Emergency systems

NEW...CARNIVAL HAS REVAMPED IT'S WEDDING PACKAGES!...CLICK HERE to read more about their shipboard
and destination wedding packages, priced from only $1355 for onboard weddings or $1395 for Island packages!

SAMPLE ACTIVITY SCHEDULES FOR CARNIVAL'S Camp Carnival / Circle “C” / Club O2 Programs
(you can copy and paste these links to email them to your customers!)...
Sample Camp Carnival Activities: 2-5 years
Sample Camp Carnival Activities: 6-8 years
Sample Camp Carnival Activities: 9-11 yrs
Sample Circle "C" Activities (ages 12-14)
Sample Club O2 Activities (ages 15-17)

CLICK HERE FOR A LIST OF HELPFUL GRTS WEBSITE PAGES TO VIEW OR TO SEND LINKS TO INTERESTED
CLIENTS...Including great information on Cruise Ships and lines. We also have a page with Carnival Wedding Packages and
prices, which you can also refer clients to.  It can be accessed from our Cruise Specials Page, or directly at: www.greatratestravelservice.
com/Carnival_Weddings.html

For Customers who would like more info on their ports of call and may be interested in booking shore excursions on their own, See:
http://eportreviews.com/

GREAT PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS/CUSTOMIZABLE FLYERS AVAILABLE FROM CARNIVAL:
BIZ BUILDER Easy-to-use Business building site which helps you to customize your own Fun Flyers, Group Flyers, and ads.
eBROCHURES to send customers for more information
Carnival Gifts & Services...Agents OR Customers can order personal gifts and room decorations for passengers.
FunDesigns Tshirts...Customers can customize their own tshirts for their groups...They have a great online tutorial too!

CLICK HERE FOR SAMPLES OF THE DIFFERENT CRUISE LINE'S DAILY ACTIVITY SCHEDULES, DECK PLANS, ETC.!
...You may want to copy one of these links and send it to one of your first-time cruisers who may want more info on what type of
activities will be offered!  This link also has the different ship's dining information, deck plans, etc.

CLICK HERE to see a sample School Reunion Webpage done for a previous group, that I would be happy to customize free
for YOUR reunion group too!  (They just select the cruise, amenities, and provide any photos and text that they would like
added!)

FYI: GRTS has the following alternate website addresses/alias:
www.greatratestravelservice.com
www.greatratestravel.com (I will set up email on this account soon, so we can all start using: name@greatratestravel.com, which is shorter!)
www.greatratetravelservice.com
www.greatratescruise.com
www.greatcruiserates.com
www.greatratestravelplan.com*  (to market business travel plans as an employee benefit!)
www.greatvacationplan.com* (*all but the last two addresses link to our main website address, www.greatratestravelservice.com)
www.ezcruise.com

IMPORTANT WEBSITE CHANGES - NEW AND PENDING!...
I am in the process of adding "Buy Now" and "Make Payments on Existing Cruise" buttons/links to each agent's
personal webpage, so that you can refer your customers to your own webpage to buy or make deposits on a cruise... and their
payment request will then be emailed directly to you, their agent, so you can make the reservation or payment to the cruise line
right away.  (Be sure to delete any card numbers from your Inbox as soon as you have recorded them, for security).  This should
make it easy for customers to make additional cruise payments directly to you (rather than having to PHONE you to do so), but it
is very important that you check your bulk/junk/spam mail folder regularly, in case any customer payment requests get delivered
there by mistake.  

***Also adding agent credentials/certifications to all agents' webpages...I Need each agent to send a list of courses and
certifications completed.***

I have also added a new page to enter your group cruise bookings... CLICK HERE if you would like a group you create to
be displayed on our "Cruise Specials" webpage.

New customer requests received by email from our website's "Request a Quote" tab will be forwarded to qualified
agents on a rotating basis.  Please respond to all customer questions or requests within 48 hours max, or let Debby
know asap  if you are not available to take new leads.  Also, if your personal webpage has already been set up to receive
quote requests directly (all agent webpages are being updated), these requests will come to you from: webhosting-
userform@greatrat