Electronic Brochures

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Just about 24 months ago, cruise lines began to eliminate printed cruise documents. Today, Carnival announced that they will eliminate brochures in favor of electronic cruise brochures. Once the current supply is depleted, they will make the transition to e-brochures. This is expected to be early May.

I do understand the reasoning here. I have stopped ordering brochures in bulk in my effort to be environmentally friendly. Brochures have become less important to consumers as more and more do their vacation planning online.  Unfortunatley, traditional brochures need to be printed every year since they become quickly outdated as itineraries change and new ships enter their fleets. I request cruise line brochures as needed for my clients, and they are shipped in just a couple of days. This works well for me. If all agents would do the same, we would be more environmentally friendly while still maintaining brochures when needed for individual clients who may not be internet savy. As an agent, I am quite comfortable working on line, but I do feel that some clients may want to touch something tangible. Like the newspaper, for example, I read news on line, but I still like receive it daily, and especially on Sunday when I may treat myself to the New York Times.

As an alternative to the printed brochure, Carnival is launching an e-Brochure portal that will allow agents to send personalized e-Brochures to clients. This will be very similar to the Client Cruise sheets that we use here at Cruise Planners/mainlinecruises.com. For anyone reading this blog, a slight adjustment will be needed. For all others, I suggest a faster internet connection and or an updated computer. Some of our clients could read a brochure quicker than their computer can download!