Expedia CruiseShipCenters Cruises Past Sales Records Again

By: Expedia CruiseShipCenters International Inc | 1 Shares 128 Reads

One-Day-Sale Event Reaches $13.5 Million

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - June 27, 2008) - Expedia® CruiseShipCenters® achieved a milestone by booking a record $13.5 Million in cruises in a single day. The Company's annual Princess Cruises One-Day-Sale, which took place on June 14, surpassed last year's record breaking sale by $4.4 million, a 40% increase, making it a significant accomplishment for the nation's leading cruise specialists.

"The phenomenal growth at Expedia CruiseShipCenters is a clear indication that the cruising industry continues to grow. With 80 new ships scheduled in the next 10 years, and the increase in customer satisfaction, the forecast of the industry is robust," says Michael Drever, President and CEO of Expedia CruiseShipCenters. "The demand is at its highest in our 20 year history. With over 1900 trained Cruise Consultants and access to exclusive value priced product, our customers have the benefit of receiving outstanding customer service."

Expedia CruiseShipCenters launched the One-Day-Sale event in 2005, as a unique promotion to showcase that the world of cruising extends far beyond the Caribbean to nearly every continent, and to highlight the benefit of booking early with a fully-refundable deposit of only 100 dollars. This year's sale included worldwide departures up to Spring 2010 because Expedia CruiseShipCenters secures group inventory in advance, allowing agents across the country to take advantage of multiple benefits such as shipboard credits, group discounts and reduced deposit.

"It was a pleasure to see so many of our Princess Captain's Circle® members take advantage of the added exclusive bonus offers. These offers made it even more valuable to book on the 14th this year," says Geraldine Ree, Senior Vice President Sales and Marketing Expedia CruiseShipCenters.

For weeks prior to the event, Consultants participated in considerable training with a focus on offering their clients the best product and service possible. Accolades are due to more than 106 Centers and over 1900 Cruise Consultants who took part in the incredible feat to make it a record breaking achievement.

"An achievement like this takes an incredible amount of team effort. From the individual Cruise Consultants who took advantage of our Princess Academy training to the national marketing team who worked with us to build and promote this sale," says Jan Swartz, Senior Vice President and Customer Service for Princess Cruises and Cunard. "It is a real statement of how well Expedia CruiseShipCenters understands its customers. We would like to thank everyone at Expedia CruiseShipCenters who contributed to this fantastic growth and look forward to breaking records next year."

About Expedia CruiseShipCenters

Established in 1987, Expedia CruiseShipCenters is one of North America's leading cruise vacation specialists. The company delivers outstanding customer service and value through its network of more than 106 retail locations, a team of over 1,900 professionally-trained Cruise Consultants, and a searchable online database of more than 10,000 cruise vacations. In 2006 and 2007, the company was the winner of the Canadian Franchise Association's Award of Excellence which recognizes the top franchise system in the country.

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