Celebrity Cruises offers Home Based Travel Agent Tools

Celebrity Cruises is offering educational opportunities and tools geared toward home based travel agents in improving their bottom line.

The Celebrity Special Travel Agent Training Academy is a package of education and training resources, tools, programs, and agent incentives. The program's first initiative is a series of half-day seminars with interactive, the opportunity to win prizes, the chance to network with other travel agents, and a surprise indulgence in the Celebrity Treatment brand experience.

Participants can earn 10 Cruise Line Industry Association credits by attending the seminar.Fifteen seminars are scheduled through August for Dallas; Providence, R.I.; Virginia Beach, Va.; Vancouver, British Columbia; Walnut Creek, California; Newark, N.J.; Bethesda, Md.; Toronto; Cleveland; Denver; St. Louis; Phoenix; King of Prussia, Pa.; Tampa, Fla.; and Fort Lauderdale. Travel agents interested in participating should visit http://www.cruisingpower.com/ for more information, or contact their Celebrity Cruises sales manager.

The Celebrity Special Agent Academy is the next phase in the Celebrity Special Agent education and sales incentive program that kicked off in February. Through the promotion's online education component, participating travel agents can earn up to six CLIA credits. Additionally, each Celebrity Alaska, Europe or Expeditions booking made during the contest period becomes an entry toward winning one of several prizes being offered. All travel agents are eligible to participate. More details are available online at www.cruisingpower.com/booktowin.

Celebrity also has launched a new onboard booking program called Celebrity Passages. It is open to U.S. citizens and enables guests who wish to book a future cruise the option to prepay a small portion ($100 per person) without choosing an actual ship and sail date, and gain an onboard credit benefit on their future cruise. Travel partners will be notified when one of their customers purchases a Celebrity Passage via fax confirmation, and a postcard completed by the guest noting their top three future cruise preferences. Travel agents can then follow up with their customers to encourage them to book the new reservation and apply the Celebrity Passages account value. The onboard credit benefit is based on the purchase price of the new cruise, and varies between $50 and $300, with the greatest benefit being given to those guests who buy higher priced staterooms. This enables travel agents to sell up to gain higher commissions.Celebrity Passages has no expiration date, is non-refundable, and can be applied to any Celebrity cruise fare. Guests may purchase up to three Celebrity Passages while onboard.

Celebrity is also introducing Celebrity Encore, a new system of notifying travel agents when one of their customers receives a future cruise certificate. The line's website for travel agents, http://www.cruisingpower.com/, will now indicate any outstanding future cruise certificates issued. Located on the site's "Insight" page, this information will serve as a sales lead for agents to contact their clients and encourage them to cruise again. The display will include guests' names, ship, sail date and certificate amounts. For more information, call 800-437-3111 or visit http://www.celebritycruises.com/.