More than 1,000 travel agents and franchise agency owners are onboard Carnival Vista this week for the 2016 National Conference of Cruises Inc., CruiseOne and Dream Vacations, three travel agency brands that are part of World Travel Holdings.
Before the ship sailed from Miami over the weekend, the trade attendees gathered for a fun-filled opening session. Drew Daly, the brands’ general manager of network engagement and performance, emceed the event and led a dance-off that brought the crowd to their feet. Christine Duffy, Carnival Cruise Line’s president and CEO, also welcomed the audience to Carnival's newest ship.
Giving the conference’s key note address prior to sailing was Arnold Donald, president and CEO, Carnival Corporation. He focused on the cruise industry’s growth and the importance of collaboration between cruise lines and travel professionals.
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| David Crooks (at left) from World Travel Holdings and Arnold Donald of Carnival Corporation // Photo courtesy of World Travel Holdings. Copyright by www.thelta.com |
Donald also participated in a trade question-and-answer session with conference attendees. It was emceed by David Crooks, senior vice president of product and operations, World Travel Holdings.
Since the majority of WTH’s business comes from selling cruise vacations, it’s important to host the conference annually on a ship, said Daly, as “the network of home-based travel professionals can experience first-hand the product that they are selling.”
Daly described the retailers’ attendance at the floating conference – themed “Believe” – as “a priceless investment in themselves and their business. It is such a valuable opportunity for them to network with each other, the headquarters team and our suppliers, getting re-energized and inspired for 2017."
One Year and Counting
During the first full day of the program, cruise line executives took center stage. Debbie Fiorino, senior vice president for the three trade brands, kicked off the general session with an uplifting speech summarizing the conference theme, and recognizing that the company is where it is today because of its network of agents, headquarters team and suppliers who all believe in each other and have a common goal.
It’s been a year since the announcement that the company would form a new brand, Dream Vacations, designed to assist those franchise agency owners trying to show the public they sell more than just cruises.
So last year, agencies were given the opportunity to choose whether to switch their agency branding to Dream Vacations or to stay with CruiseOne branding. Hosted agents for Cruises Inc. were not involved in that shift.
Fiorino’s overarching message to the attendees: “Each and every one of you create Dream Vacations - whether you brand yourself as Dream Vacations, CruiseOne or Cruises Inc. - it is not about the product you sell, it is about the experience you provide to your customer."
How many CruiseOne agencies have opted to switch to Dream Vacations? Fiorino told Travel Agent that about 60 percent of the CruiseOne network of franchise owners has switched to the Dream Vacations branding over the past year. In turn, 40 percent stayed with the CruiseOne focus.
Among the many conference attendees who have made the switch is Dana Salem-McCartney, who owns a franchise agency in Novelty, Ohio: "Yes, I'm Dream Vacations now as so many of my clients only thought I did cruises."
New franchise owners are, in particular, opting for the new branding, said Fiorino, but she also noted that others have selected or maintained the CruiseOne branding, saying “this is the right name for me.”
Still, cruise selling remains both a core focus of the conference and the bulk of sales for the three WTH brands. So over the weekend, conference attendees learned about product updates from individual cruise lines and participated in Carnival question-and-answer session with Duffy.
They also heard from industry sales leaders and executives during a panel discussion moderated by Crooks. Panelists, (left to right in the top photo) were: Adolfo Perez, vice president, trade sales and marketing, Carnival Cruise Line; Camille Olivere, senior vice president, sales, Norwegian Cruise Line; Ron Gulaskey, associate vice president, national & strategic accounts, Celebrity Cruises; Vicki Freed - senior vice president, sales, trade support and service, Royal Caribbean International; Charles Dunwoody, senior director, national accounts, Holland America Line and Seabourn Cruise Line; John Chernesky, vice president of North American sales, Princess Cruises; and Ken Muskat, executive vice president, sales, PR and guest services, MSC Cruises USA.
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| The atrium area of Carnival Vista boosts a cool virtual aquarium rising from the bar. // Photo copyright Susan J. Young |
The conference schedule for the coming week includes presentations from industry leaders, interactive workshops and networking activities. "I do enjoy networking with everyone and [during the past few days] I have spoken with a lot of the cruise line reps," said Salem-McCarthy.
Agents are also experiencing Carnival Vista and going ashore at ports of call to experience those destinations. Today the ship is in Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos, for example.
To follow the conference action this week aboard the Carnival Vista use the #BelieveConference hashtag. For information about Dream Vacations and CruiseOne franchise opportunities visit www.DreamVacationsFranchise.com or for hosted agent opportunities with CruisesInc., visit www.sellcruises.com.