Royal Caribbean has decided not to go the same route as market leader Carnival Cruises as far as cutting agents’ commissions is concerned – at least not for 2012.

The company’s UK management told a well-known travel magazine that Carnival’s decision has sent more business their way, but they were not prepared to discuss actual figures.

Royal Caribbean has not completely ruled out changing their commission levels in future, but for now cruise agents apparently have nothing to fear.

The company’s UK Managing Director, Dominic Paul, said it would take time to properly assess the full impact that Carnival’s commission cuts will have on the cruise industry.

He added: “We adopted a wait and see approach and said we would assess how our business was affected and that we would do what was right for our business…. we are seeing increased support for Royal Caribbean brands.”

Paul went on to say that it was still way too early to say how the market would react to Carnival’s decision to cut agents’ commission by half. Royal Caribbean tries to always be upfront and honest with their business associates and, therefore, the company is not saying that changes will never be made.

He continued “But it is up to them and the business environment as to whether we make any changes in the future.”

How the uncertainty regarding agents’ commission will affect the ordinary cruise lover remains to be seen. If all cruise lines eventually follow Carnival’s lead we might see many smaller agents close their doors, which is sure to have a negative effect on service levels.