In what will be a bold foray into cyberspace and revolutionize the cruise meetings industry, global cruise event specialist, Landry & Kling, announced the worldwide debut of Seasite.com, the first online cruise portal dedicated solely to serving the cruise meetings market.
And the timing couldn't be better because cruising slashes 25-40% off the cost of a land-based meeting or incentive trip, helping event planners adapt to today's shrinking budgets.
Driven by sophisticated technology, super rich content and robust search capabilities for meetings-at-sea; Seasite puts incentive and meeting management companies, corporate or independent meeting planners and other group and event organizers in total "cruise" control.
The single most comprehensive source for savvy, do-it-yourself planners and novices alike, Seasite delivers all the tools, ideas and resources needed to launch a successful incentive cruise event or meeting-at-sea. There is no cost or membership fee to use Seasite.com.
"We understand that cruising for many planners is virtually uncharted territory," states Josephine Kling, Seasite's CEO.
"Seasite.com demystifies the entire process by providing easy access, depth of information and the tools and resources needed to successfully navigate the waters. Combining high-tech innovation with high-touch service, Seasite offers a winning formula for the relationship-focused meetings industry because our experienced Cruise Advisors provide the human touch."
Over the past 25 years, thousands of businesses and professional groups have discovered the advantages of cruising. The experience - once reserved just for the elite - is now an everyman's getaway, like going to a hotel. Except it costs so much less due to all-inclusive pricing.
As the cruise industry keeps growing, it's impossible to keep track of all the ships and details that are essential to planning a well-run cruise event.
Kling adds: "We've often thought there should be a 'Meeting Planner's Guide to Cruising,' and finally realized we were best qualified to create it. So, we've downloaded the Landry & Kling brain-trust and combined it with technology, allowing you to connect with the entire group cruise industry through Seasite."
Seasite.com's innovative technology opens up the untapped world of cruising for planners, connecting cruise lines and meeting professionals like never before. Cruise sourcing can now be as easy and efficient as planning hotel events.
For the first time, planners can find ship meeting facilities online and compare departure dates, itineraries and cruise brands all on one site, eliminating the need to phone multiple cruise lines or search multiple Web sites in vain.
High-tech software turns Seasite users into knowledgeable planners and educated cruise buyers with 24/7 answers, ship-sourcing tools and the first group cruise RFP online, all supported by Seasite's Cruise Advisors, who are trained by Landry & Kling.
One single RFP is sent to multiple cruise lines, generating electronic bottom-line quotes for a quick and accurate "apples to apples" comparison.
Seasite's robust search capabilities allow planners to drill down and refine searches by cruise line, ship rating, size, capacity of largest function room, cruise style (floating resort, boutique ship, sail ship, river boat), by port or day of departure, destination, cruise length and much more.
"Planners Guides" offer comprehensive ship data harvested exclusively for Seasite and never-before published - not even on cruise line Web sites - including meeting space grids, an inventory of guest rooms by category, function room capacities, outdoor function areas, group dining information, photo gallery, 360 degree tours, AV equipment, communications technology and more.
Seasite provides impartial access any day, any time, to 35 cruise brands (over 250 ships), and its meeting-friendly search criteria even allows one to search for charters of a specific size plus three other specialty searches. A simple click compares ship choices, along with maps, itineraries, ship profiles and essential meeting planning data.
The Knowledge Center is a repository of useful tools and advice designed for all levels of expertise, such as operational checklists and timelines; comparison of using a cruise verses a hotel; how to overcome obstacles and myths about business at sea; distance between airports and seaports; sample day-by-day agendas; cruise contract terminology; advantages and challenges of full ship charters; a cruise event feasibility quiz; case histories; speaker logistics; global holidays and much more.
Users will find the Great Ideas! section to be the "go to" place, with its recommended "Gems," (rare and hard to find, short cruise opportunities), the "Top 10" list featuring best ships and itineraries for groups, and "Quick Picks" serves up cruise ideas based on group size.
Other value-added elements on the site include Cruise Line "Mini-Sites", a Supplier directory, Destination information and a blog for planners to share their onboard experiences with cruise meetings and rate ship performance.
For cruise lines and other suppliers, Seasite significantly expands market reach to corporate and event planners way beyond traditional methods. Through this unprecedented global distribution channel, Seasite.com finally puts cruise sourcing on par with hotels, so group travel buyers can easily compare price/value - their main focus in today's economy.
Nine cruise lines are committed to making event planners' lives easier. They are Seasite's Founding Marketing Partners: Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Regent, Silversea, Celebrity, NCL, MSC, SeaDream and Sea Cloud.
