Travel agent training has been taken to a new level with the re-launch of the award-winning Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Club Cruises e-learning programme Cruising for Excellence online. The new online training includes 3D environments for agents to explore and learn about the highlights of key selling points of the ships as if they are onboard themselves.

Since its inception in 2006, Cruising for Excellence online has trained over 20,000 travel agents, with half of these agents making it to the highest tier of the training programme. First developed for the UK and Ireland, for its fifth birthday, Cruising for Excellence online is celebrating with the roll out of the e-learning into 13 different languages for RCL Cruises Ltd’s travel agent partners throughout the world.

Michelle Russell, trade training manager, Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Club Cruises, explains:

“The huge investment in training is exciting for all travel agents. Our statistics show again and again that agents who stay up to date with all the Cruising for Excellence training modules sell the most cruises. This significant re-launch of the Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Club Cruises agent training brings to life key features of our ships that consumers often simply think are too good to be true. Being able to experience highlights such as Royal Caribbean International’s Allure of the Seas’ real outdoor park, or the first-class restaurants onboard Celebrity Cruises’ Solstice-class of ships means that agents can truly share their cruise ship knowledge with confidence.”

Highlights of the new Cruising for Excellence online e-learning programme include:

·      Interactive, virtual graphic ship environments that allows browsers to take a look around key onboard features such as Central Park onboard Royal Caribbean International’s Allure of the Seas and the Lawn Club onboard Celebrity Cruises’ Solstice class ships
·      3D virtual environments include ‘real’ people to create a feel for cruising
·      Fun and modern navigation that is easy to engage with
·      Visual training sessions that include quizzes and videos to keep agents motivated and engaged
·      A leader-board of top scorers completing the Cruising for Excellence online training to allow everyone to see top achievers and drive a sense of competition between agencies
·      The opportunity to become a brand ‘Captain’ – the highest achievement in the training programme – per brand so that agents can focus on being a specialist on Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises or Azamara Club Cruises rather than all three if their business focuses on one or two of the brands
·      Agents who complete all training modules become the ultimate cruise specialists and gain the “Admiral” status
·      Additional information on other training opportunities offered by Cruising for Excellence such as ship visits, face to face training and virtual classroom events

The revamped interactive Cruising for Excellence online e-learning programme follows feedback from agents including wanting to get closer to ships, to enjoy a more engaging learning experience, to ensure sessions are succinct, and to include more visual content that is directly relevant to commonly placed questions from clients.

For a preview of the online training from Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Club Cruises please visit http://live.cruisingforexcellence.co.uk/preview/.

To see the new Cruising for Excellence travel agents should visit www.cruisingpower.co.uk.