By: Yahoo Finance
(20-03-2002)

FORT WORTH, Texas, March 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Propelled by its first $1 million cruise booking day and new industry-leading technology, Travelocity.com Inc. (Nasdaq: TVLY - news) -- the most popular travel site on the Web -- reported today that cruise sales have increased more than 100 percent in the first two months of 2002. These milestones further position Travelocity.com as one of the largest sellers of cruises anywhere and the leading online cruise brand.FORT WORTH, Texas, March 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Propelled by its first $1 million cruise booking day and new industry-leading technology, Travelocity.com Inc. (Nasdaq: TVLY - news) -- the most popular travel site on the Web -- reported today that cruise sales have increased more than 100 percent in the first two months of 2002. These milestones further position Travelocity.com as one of the largest sellers of cruises anywhere and the leading online cruise brand.

In addition, industry analyst firm PhocusWright issued a Jan. 17, 2002 research briefing stating: ``A nine-month technology effort -- that features views of all public rooms on ships and a self guided tour on deck -- should keep Travelocity on top of all online travel services in terms of cruise sales.''''

Travelocity.com compared January and February sales in 2001 to sales during the same months of this year and found online bookings have grown much faster than telephone-based sales, with online sales increasing by 126 percent versus a 91 percent increase for telephone-based bookings.

``We achieved this growth and the million-dollar-day milestone because consumers find Travelocity.com has the tools and information they need to make an informed cruise buying decision,'''' said Chris McAndrews, Travelocity.com''s senior vice president for leisure travel and partner marketing. ``Our customers get itinerary recommendations through our exclusive Cruise Expert tool, take virtual tours of ships to preview public rooms and select their preferred cabin, and review in-depth, multimedia descriptions of ports of call -- all powerful features that practically let you set sail before ever boarding a cruise ship.''''

Travelocity.com''s growth and commitment to caring for the customer online or offline has strengthened the company''s partnerships with all of the major cruise lines.

``Travelocity.com continues to be one of our fastest growing producers,'''' said Dan Hanrahan, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. ``We are excited about the number of first time cruisers they are introducing to Royal Caribbean. Travelocity.com is an outstanding partner.''''

With 100 percent of its cruise products fully bookable online, as well as seamless booking functionality that allows consumers to book cruise, flight, hotel and all other travel in one transaction, Travelocity.com has led the industry in automating cruise bookings. Travelocity.com''s cruise section offers members access to a variety of cruise lines and the most comprehensive information on each ship. Whether travelers are searching by destination, length or specific cruise lines, Travelocity.com''s sophisticated booking resources -- backed by experienced leisure travel representatives whom members can call -- make planning a cruise vacation easy and fun even for the first- time cruiser. Some recent innovative cruise planning resources and tools include:

Intelli-Deck(TM) -- Technology that displays views of specific ship features from cabin photos to images of theatres, fitness areas, spas, restaurants, grand foyers, clubs and other social venues -- all by just rolling over a deck plan. Just click on an image to see the larger photo and a description of the area.
Clickable Deck Plans -- New functionality that enhances the booking process by allowing users to view the layout of a specific deck, see all available rooms, and select a specific room based on real-time availability. Once a customer selects their room type, customers can easily select their room location, as available staterooms are easily identifiable by the flashing blue arrow on the ship''s deck plan.
Cruise Expert -- Travelocity.com''s exclusive Cruise Expert functionality tailors a cruise vacation based on members'' personal preferences. Members use pull-down menus and sliding scales to indicate information about their interests and personality including: personality type, level of activity desired, estimated budget and type of social happenings onboard. Cruise Expert searches through thousands of departures to recommend the best cruise package based on their interests.
For more information about Travelocity.com cruise vacations, visit www.travelocity.com/cruises .

About Travelocity.com

Travelocity.com Inc. (Nasdaq: TVLY - news), a database-driven travel marketing and transaction company, provides Internet and wireless reservations information for more than 700 airlines, more than 55,000 hotels and more than 50 car rental companies. In addition, Travelocity.com offers more than 6,500 vacation packages, tour and cruise departures and a vast database of destination and interest information. Travelocity.com employs more than 1,000 customer service professionals, has sold more than 20 million airline tickets and has registered more than 32 million members.


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