Cruise360 Recap: Day Two

Here’s our look at day two of the cruise industry’s largest conference.

Our second morning was packed with what Cruise360 calls “Product & Destination Workshops.” These are 45-minute presentations from cruise lines and non-cruise suppliers related to the industry. The non-cruise elements might include tourism offices from various destinations and other packages that might be added pre- or post-cruise.

Our first workshop was another visit with Riviera River Cruises. Even though we had an informative and productive one-on-one meeting with them yesterday, it was nice to see their more detailed presentation. They have a very impressive river cruise product and we look forward to booking clients with them in the future. They were also kind enough to invite us to join them at their reserved table this evening for the CLIA Hall of Fame Industry Awards & Gala, one of our favorite events of the entire conference.

Next up was Celebrity Cruises with a focus on their Galapagos sailings. A cruise to the Galapagos Islands is infinitely different than other voyages. Smaller, more intimate, a gathering of people all bound by a fascination with exploration and ecology. With renowned Celebrity service at every turn, their Galapagos sailings prove that you can visit the most ancient and unique places on earth wrapped in modern luxury including Celebrity Flora, the new ultra-luxury all-suite, purpose-built vessel debuting this May. We’re ready to go NOW. It looks amazing. When would YOU like to visit?

General Session Two featured brunch and a fantastic keynote address from Ryan Serhant, star of Bravo’s two-time Emmy-nominated “Million Dollar Listing New York” and star and producer of his own sales show “Sell It Like Serhant.” He was incredibly inspiring and told a great story about playing the long game when it comes to sales. It took him over 10 years, but he closed a $15 million sale with someone that others might have abandoned or given up on. I hope he comes back again as he was one of the best keynote speakers in all of our nine years at this conference.

Following Ryan, several cruise line executives took the “Sales and Marketing Hot Seat” to answer a series of rapid-fire questions. Those cruise leaders included Vicki L. Freed, Senior Vice President, Sales and Trade Support & Service, Royal Caribbean International; Eva Jenner, Vice President, Sales, Holland America Line/Seabourn; Josh Leibowitz, Chief Strategy Officer, Carnival Corp and SVP, Cunard; Ken Muskat, EVP & Chief Operations Officer, MSC Cruises; Camille Olivere, Senior Vice President, North America Sales, Norwegian Cruise Line; Adolfo Perez, Senior Vice President, Sales & Trade Marketing, Carnival Cruise Line; Dondra Ritzenthaler, Senior Vice President, Sales and Trade Support & Service, Celebrity Cruises; and Randall Soy, EVP, Sales & Marketing, Regent Seven Seas Cruises. Each touched on their brands, some selling tips, and some fun “get to know you” type questions.

Following the second general session, it was back to the ballrooms for more workshops. We always love seeing Alicia Steuart with Carnival Cruise Line and she always does a great job getting us and all the other agents excited about Carnival. They’ve just launched a new initiative called WUATA (Why Use a Travel Advisor) that encourages people to book their next cruise with a travel professional instead of directly with the cruise line or online. We are grateful for Carnival’s support of travel advisors and pleased to see that they know our value and encourage you to book with us.

Our final workshop of the day was with our friend Denella Ri’chard from Holland America Line. She talked about how we can grow our premium cruise business with their ships and destinations. The presentation even featured a travel agent who made such a large commission from one Holland America booking that he bought himself a new sportscar. And to be clear – the customer didn’t pay a single cent more than doing it themselves and got his expertise and knowledge for no extra charge. So we have a new goal at PCT for sure!

One of the most popular events of the conference is the “CLIA Marketplace,” which is the industry’s trade show. There are almost 200 booths with every cruise line represented, plus dozens of other suppliers like hotels, rental car companies, tourism offices, and much more. We always enjoying visiting with each booth to find out exactly what they have to offer for our customers to help enhance their cruise and vacation packages. Some of the booths also have entertainment and refreshments. It’s a great way to meet new suppliers and catch up with old friends.

Following the trade show, we had enough time to head back to the hotel for a quick shower and change of clothes to get ready for what is possibly our favorite event of the entire convention – the CLIA Cruise Industry Hall of Fame Awards Gala. Each year, we honor several inductees into the Hall (including travel agent and agency of the year and the top honor – Hall of Fame induction). The evening is jam-packed with award presentations and great entertainment directly from the cruise ships.

Tonight, we inducted Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, the first female President & CEO of a major cruise line (Celebrity Cruises) into the CLIA Hall of Fame with a lifetime achievement award. We also honored the individual travel agent and agency of the year. In-between awards, we were also treated to some amazing entertainment directly from the cruise ships we proudly sell.

Up first was Celebrity Cruises with a performance from the American Ballet Theatre. This is a new partnership for Celebrity and only fitting for the night we inducted their President & CEO. We enjoyed about 20 minutes of top-notch ballet from a troupe of very talented dancers. These amazing performers will be seen on several celebrity ships beginning later this year. We were also told that at the holidays they would feature dances from The Nutcracker, a seasonal tradition.

Royal Caribbean International was next with the high-energy WE WILL ROCK YOU, with this cast coming to us directly from Anthem of the Seas. Long before there was “Bohemian Rhapsody,” WE WILL ROCK YOU took the music of queen and rocked the West End and the United States as a Broadway musical. Now you can see it on select Royal Caribbean cruises.

Norwegian Cruise Line closed out the night with their most popular show – THE CHOIR OF MAN. Direct from Australia, this was another display of incredible vocals from nine very powerful singers. It is easy to see why this show continues to be the highest rated entertainment for the cruise line.

Tomorrow is a day almost completely focused on interacting with the cruise lines. We’ll have lots of updates to share about many of these great vacation options. We’ll also have our third and final general session, plus a reception thrown for us by the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau. Time for bed now though, as we start again bright and early with breakfast with one of the major cruise companies. More on that tomorrow.

Good night from the Florida coast.