Cruise Lines Prep for CLIA's Cruise Night

Cruise lines are gearing up for CLIA's upcoming "World's Largest Cruise Night," a one-day travel agency initiative on October 17 that focuses consumer attention on cruising. "CLIA's 'World's Largest Cruise Night' is the perfect opportunity for travel agents to seek out new business and reinforce the value of cruising to their existing client base," said Vicki Freed, Carnival's senior vice president of sales and marketing. Carnival Cruise Lines has created a micro-site designed to help travel agents promote the sales event. In addition to the micro-site, Carnival is promoting a special two-week "October Super Sale" offering shipboard credits of up to $100 per stateroom for all bookings made between October 14 and 18. Carnival's micro-site can be accessed through its travel agent portal, [www.bookccl.com]. Carnival's sister line, Princess Cruises, is getting into the act, too. Princess is promoting its "Successful Cruise Nights" course, part of Princess Academy, which offers tips and practical advice for agents. "The event has been very successful nationwide, generating millions of dollars in sales for agents," said Jan Swartz, Princess' senior vice president of customer service and sales. "We want to remind agents who are thinking of participating that our Academy 'cruise nights' course would be a valuable tool for those who might be new to planning this type of event." Visit [www.onesourcecruises.com].