CruiseOne and Cruises Inc. are taking their 2009 National Conference seriously by rolling out the theme ”Mission: Success” and launching a unique e-mail campaign to agents, revealing the event’s agenda, industry attendees and activities. The campaign also includes an offer for prospective agents who join the CruiseOne family by July 13, 2009. The conference begins with the sailing from Baltimore of the Carnival Pride October 4, 2009
Several hundred CruiseOne franchise owners and Cruises Inc. independent agents will attend what is expected to be the largest-ever of the companies’ joint annual national conferences. Both companies launched a new e-mail series describing what is to come during the 2009 event. Both companies are part of World Travel Holdings (WTH).
“Our National Conference is an industry-leading event each year, bringing together all corners of the cruise industry together for a week of seminars and social events,” said Dwain Wall, senior vice president and General Manager of CruiseOne and Cruises Inc. “Each year, we focus on building a program that arms our agents with tools to stand out from the competition. This year, we are more committed than ever to sharing strategies that will put money directly back into agents’ pockets when they return home.”
The event’s featured presenter will be Jeff Gaines a professional trainer and facilitator, who will lead sessions on Emotional Intelligence, Intrinsic Motivation, Comfort Zone Stretching and coach agents using his proprietary tool, The Human Blueprint. Gaines’ participation is symbolic of a shift in the companies’ approach to National Conference, creating an agenda that is focused less on specific products or technologies and more heavily on using individual agent assessment to break through barriers, the company said.
Gaines’ sessions will be complemented by a variety of interactive discussions and industry-specific breakouts, including Selling Niche Travel, Selling Land, Peer Marketing, Insuring the Sale and more.
Agents will have access to top cruise line executives throughout the week. Gerry Cahill, Carnival Cruise Line president and CEO, Lynn Torrent, Carnival’s senior vice president of Sales and Guest Services and Edie Bornstein, Carnival’s vice president of Business Development & Strategic Partnerships, will welcome agents with an exclusive meet and greet. In addition, five other Carnival executives will be onboard to share their expertise with agents.
The Conference theme will be carried forward by Royal Caribbean's Vicki Freed and Dondra Ritzenthaler of Celebrity and Azamara Cruises. Both will discuss their thoughts on how travel agents can be most successful in today's marketplace. Additionally, agents will interact with Norwegian Cruise Line’s Vice President of Sales, Camille Olivere, who will share "Epic" news, and Cindy Botelho, Manager of National Accounts for Princess.
In addition, the Conference will feature executives from Amadeus Waterways, Azamara, Celebrity, Costa, Crystal, Cunard, Disney, Globus, Holland America, Oceania, MSC, Norwegian, Princess, Regent, Royal Caribbean, Sandals, Silversea, Travel Guard, Uniworld and Viking River.
The Conference will also offer a line-up of shore excursions. This includes a day at Disney World, with a behind-the-scenes tour and discussions with a top Disney executive. Activities also include a day at Nassau’s Blue Lagoon Island, sponsored by Azamara, Celebrity and Royal Caribbean.
“We are still months away from “Mission: Success” with even more announcements to come, but have already seen skyrocketing early registration numbers,” said Wall. “This shows that even expert agents are hungrier than ever for continuing education and sales support. We are confident that by attending this valuable event, agents at every level will get what they need to stand out and be successful in 2010.”
CruiseOne, with 552 independently owned cruise travel franchise locations, and Cruises Inc., with more than 500 agents nationwide. The companies are part of World Travel Holdings (WTH).