Travel Agent - August 20, 2007 - (Page 8)

News Jettisoning Formality NCL Move Sparks Debate on Cruise Attire The Pros and Cons On cruises, such as Alaska itineraries, where active shore excursions rule the day, wearing jeans at dinner is more palatable. However, this may be the exception. “Experienced cruisers frown on jeans and T-shirts in the dining room in the evenings,” Pohl says. Pohl intimates that NCL’s denim decision was made to ingratiate more potential cruisers. “As From the cruise line that invented freestyle cruising comes freestyle dressing. No, not what you drizzle on your salad at dinnertime, but what you wear while garnishing your greens. Norwegian Cruise Line is going where no big cruise line has gone before: Guests can now wear their Levis to the dinner table, and keep the Brooks Brothers or Ann Taylor duds in the closet. For those who long for formality, NCL says it will keep one restaurant on each of its ships jeans-free. Who better to ask than travel agents if this nod to ultra casual is welcomed by today’s cruiser or met with obstinacy? “Most of my clients find the move from formal to resort casual refreshing,” says SueAnn Pohl, president of Huntington, CA-based Travel Center of Huntington Beach. “Their feeling seems to be, ‘I dress in suit and tie for business and don’t wish to do so on vacation.’” However, Pohl thinks that permitting jeans in the dining rooms may be a bit much. “Taking it all the way to allowing jeans in the dining room for dinner has generated some controversy,” she says. important for travel agents to know their clients and realize what type of atmosphere they are after. Klimak also believes that the trend could reach other mass-market lines. “I do feel other mid-market cruise lines may very well gravitate toward this,” she says. So where do we go from here? Dining in your bathing suit? The trend of resort casual replacing formal clothing in the evening hours seems to have willful support, but sashaying into the dining room in your favorite pair of dungarees appears less welcomed by some. “Jeans in the dining room for dinner?” queries Pohl. “Not so much.” Not to belabor the subject, but here’s another point that should be made regarding sartorial conditions on a cruise ship. I’ve observed passengers discreetly asked to change if they aren’t dressed up to dining room standard, but, more times than not, I have seen passengers undisturbed in the dining room, even when wearing less than a nice pair of khakis. It may come down to who is enforcing the rules. —David Eisen Vital Signs per diems come down, cruising is available to a broader section of the population,” she says. Meanwhile, Amanda Klimak, vice president of Largay Travel in Waterbury, CT, gives NCL kudos. “I think it is ab-solutely wonderful that NCL has been listening to their clients, and bold enough to make changes to fit [their] style,” she says, adding that it’s Hotels With New GDS Codes Many hotels have gone forward and changed their GDS codes to establish their properties as individuals, more than as a part of a group or chain. For instance, many hotel operators, such as Langham Hotels and Rocco Forte Hotels, have, up to now, used The Leading Hotels of the World’s chain code for reservations. Not anymore. Hotel groups want their own two-letter stamp. Here’s a list of some recent code changes. —David Eisen HOTEL St. Regis (Starwood) The Luxury Collection (Starwood) Conrad Hotels & Resorts (Hilton) Langham Hotels Dorchester Collection Corinthia Hotels (Wyndham) Rocco Forte Hotels (Operational Oct. 9) Turning Stone Resort & Casino NEW CHAIN CODE XR LC CN or EH LO DC WY FC WV OLD CHAIN CODE SI SI HH LW LW WW LW N/A 8 TravelAgent August 20, 2007

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Travel Agent - August 20, 2007

Contents Editor's Letter News You Can Use Agenda: Fam Trips, Calendar of Events, Deal of the Week Cover Story: Hot Cruise Ports: 2008 and Beyond Central & South America: Costa Rica’s New Resort Europe: Heathrow Upgrades Hawaii: Grand Wailea Resort Hotel and Spa Caribbean: Westin’s Plans in the D.R. Still on Track Africa: Pacific Delight Tours’ South Africa Itinerary Hotels: West Virginia Icon Gets Makeover Tech Advisor: Search Engine Optimization 101 Spa Luxury Travel Expo Update Advertisers’ Information Classified Marketplace People & Places

Travel Agent - August 20, 2007

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