In the five weeks since Spirit arrived into her new home of Sydney Harbour, Carnival Cruise Lines has stepped up its commitment to the local market by rolling out a dedicated sales team and a suite of interactive tools to help travel agents grow their Carnival Cruise Lines business.

The new sales team
With over 70 years of cruise and travel industry experience between them, the eight-person sales team will come into force on 1 December.  They will put their considerable expertise to use helping travel agent partners build their Carnival Cruise Lines business, and specifically share knowledge about Carnival Spirit, the newest and largest ship to home port in Australia year-round.

The newly formed team will report into Jennifer Vandekreeke, Director Carnival Cruise Lines, and be supported by a new ‘one-stop-shop’ website and hotline, and onboard educational programs that enable agents to experience the ship first hand.

The new one-stop shop website and hot line
Live today, Carnival Cruise Lines’ new Australian trade website, allows agents to make and manage their Carnival Cruise Lines bookings in POLAR Online, whilst at the same time ensuring business with the world’s largest cruise line is easy and fun – just like a Carnival Cruise Lines cruise.

The site was designed to bring onboard the very best of the US trade portal yet has been specifically adapted for the Australian market, including  access to sales and marketing tools such as customisable flyers, newspaper co-op templates, logos, itinerary maps, images, top deals and travel agent rates.

Under the same roof, agents can access Carnival Passport, which includes “how to” e-learning tutorials and training resources, policies and procedures and FAQs.

Agents can also call Carnival Cruise Lines’ new dedicated hot line to make and manage bookings, as well as share post cruise feedback. The dedicated hot line can be reached by calling 13 31 94.

During the transition period, agents can still access Carnival Cruise Lines through POLAR Online via MYCCS.com.au and by calling the Complete Cruise Solution travel agent phone number. Ongoing, Travel The World will continue to represent Carnival Cruise Lines’ international itineraries in Australia.

The new educational programs
Carnival Cruise Lines knows that experiencing the ship first-hand makes it easier to sell cruise holidays, which is why it is introducing two exciting new onboard educational programs.

Unique to Carnival Cruise Lines, Seminars@Sea is designed specifically to help travel agents polish off their skill in selling “fun” by hopping on a Carnival Spirit cruise with other agents and a BDM host. Available onboard a three, eight or nine-day cruise at reduced rates, Seminars@Sea gives agents the opportunity to experience the excitement of a Carnival Cruise Lines cruise and mix and mingle at a special agent-only cocktail hour.  Seminars include in-depth sessions on how to sell Spirit holidays to those who are new to cruising, electronic tool training and tips on how to build group business.  Agents can visit GoCCL.com.au for details.
  
Agents can also experience Carnival Spirit by taking part in the new Travel Agent Walkaround program which includes a delicious lunch and tours of the ship when she is in port in Sydney, Melbourne, Tasmania and New Zealand.  Agents just need to visit the new website, GoCCL.com.au for dates and to sign up.

Jennifer Vandekreeke noted that these new initiatives are a direct result of the great working relationship with the trade community.  “Over the last two years, the Carnival Cruise Lines business in this market has thrived largely because of the dedication and support of the Travel Agent community so it makes perfect sense to take our relationship up a notch with the roll out of our very own sales team.

“With the added benefit of a dedicated website, hot line and educational programs, we hope agents find selling a Carnival cruise holiday just as fun and exciting as a holiday with Carnival itself.”