blog post

Here in sunny Fort Lauderdale, it's always a great day for cruising! The Cruise Planners / American Express annual convention kicked off this morning with CEO Michelle Fee and company executives recognizing all of the amazing work our agents have done this year in an extremely challenging business environment. Though sales were down and revenue was generally flat in '09 compared to '08, cabin count was up, and that is a testament to the dedication, tenacity and intelligence Cruise Planners agents have displayed over the past year.

To better assist the fantastic Cruise Planners agents, Home Office has been working hard to develop new technologies to stay on-top of the industry. From H.O.O.P.S, our new onboard lead generation system to VoIP for all webinars and a new, fully-integrated version of CP Central, Cruise Planners is introducing top-level technologies to agents to help them do what they do best: SELL, SELL, SELL!!!

The most exciting announcement of the day came when Michelle Fee and company executives unveiled the new Cruise Planners University! The new CPU is live online starting today! It's a completely unique, industry-leading training program offering Cruise Planners core business content; a partnership with CLIA; anchor partners including Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and Azamara; and courses taught by internal and external business experts.

Other highlights include:
- courses in an on-demand video format
- personal MyCPU page for all agents
- online library featuring Michelle Fee's reading list
- student union with a fun, interactive atmosphere
- educational games
- calendars, address books and more!

And the entire program can be accessed from anywhere via BlackBerry or iPhone.

BUT WAIT...there's more! The new Certified Cruise Planners Expert (CCPE) program will feature a non-replicable accreditation recognized by cruise lines and CLIA. This accreditation is set to become the highest in the industry....and the one that consumers seek when looking for an agent to book their next cruise vacation.

Cruise Planners is incredibly excited to launch all of these exciting programs in the year to come. And as the company moves forward in these challenging times, Home Office is urging all agents to embrace the fact that we can't do business the same way as in the past. We need to jump right in, do and dare, and wave to those onshore!

- Ashley N.