Princess Cruises has signed a LeisureShopper agreement with Covia, developers and marketers of the Apollo computer reservation system, that will enable travel agents to book cruise vacations with CRS integration starting in the third quarter of 1993.
According to a statement from Princess, Covia and Princess will co-develop the cruise processing portion of LeisureShopper with input from the travel agent community.
Rick James, Princess’ Sr. Vice President of Sales, said that the system will give agents seven-days-a-week real-time access to Princess availability, inventory and pricing. Agents will be able to book cruises, check availability and fares, request dining, purchase pre- and post-cruise packages, and will have instant confirmation of cabin numbers, itineraries and fares.
According to Paul Blackey, Covia Sr. Vice President of Business Operations, cruise processing will include availability search based on a variety of parameters, including destination, ship, date, and point of departure. Blackey said that agents will be able to shop for and book cruises without ever picking up the phone.
