Louis Cruise Line to pay agents 15% commission

Long-established Greek cruise company Louis Cruise Line is to pay UK agents 15% commission on cruises sold through a 2008 brochure.

The bulk of the programme is a series of three, four and seven-day itineraries from Athens.

The line, which is running five ships this year in the Mediterranean, is also offering week-long and 10-day sailings departing from Marseilles and Genoa, as well as Christmas and New Year itineraries and a 16-day Canary Islands departure on December 5.

The company believes that its cruise-only programme is ideal for agents and home workers to package up with flights to sell on to the public.

The 44-page brochure is being distributed to agents with a letter confirming the offer of 15% commission. 

The website (www.louiscruises.com) will be developed, with additional content and online booking facilities for the trade in due course. 

Louis is in the final stages of recruiting two business development managers and a trade support team at its London office.

Cruise-only prices lead-in at £154 for a three-day Greek Island cruise. A seven-day Splendours of Greece and Turkey itinerary starts at £404.  In both cases this is per person based on two sharing a standard inside cabin and includes full board, all port taxes and a fuel surcharge.

UK manager Peter Adamou said: “We are cruise specialists, not flight experts. 

“We want to work closely with the trade, who can book our cruises in conjunction with any charter, low-cost or scheduled flight. That gives agents the flexibility to create standalone cruise holidays or to combine a Louis cruise with other holiday arrangements.

“We want to work in partnership with agents and personal contact is important to us. We have no desire to become a tour operator.”

He described the five-strong fleet as offering “classic cruising,” providing an intimate holiday experience, their smaller size enabling the ships to call at Greek islands and historic cities around the Med.

The 2008 fleet is:

*Aquamarine – capacity 1,268 – offering 3- and 4-day Greek Island and Turkey cruises out of Piraeus.

*Cristal – capacity 1,200 – offering 7-day Greek Island and Turkey itineraries out of Piraeus.

*Perla – capacity 1,095 – offering 3- and 4-day Greek Island and Turkey cruises out of Piraeus.

*Orient Queen – capacity 912 – offering 6-, 8- and 10-day itineraries out of Genoa, Marseilles and Nice to the Western and Eastern Med.                                                                                                   

*Coral – capacity 887 – offering 7- and 10-day Western Med and North African itineraries out of Genoa and Marseilles.

by Phil Davies