Our Senior Cruise Business Development Manager, Duncan Croucher, reveals more about our latest Seminar at Sea cruise and the training and partnerships we have with leading cruise lines
What is the Seminar at Sea?
Our Seminars at Sea are designed to give our travel consultants firsthand experience of various cruise brands. Around 80 or so consultants enjoy a cruise with onboard training. In June we held our fifth SAS, and since previous trips involved large cruise ships, this time we partnered with Fred Olsen Cruise Lines to offer something different – a small-ship experience. It’s a unique opportunity because many people assume all cruise ships are huge and crowded. We wanted to show that smaller ships can provide access to incredible destinations that larger vessels can’t reach.
What training did consultants receive onboard the latest Seminar at Sea (SAS), and who delivered it?
Speakers included Claire Cruise, our Head of Commercial, co-founder Steve Witt, and myself. We delivered deep-dive sessions on a variety of topics including marketing, social media, growing your customer base, and understanding cruise clients.
What highlights did you experience on this trip?
We enjoyed some stunning scenery, including beautiful waterfalls and picturesque low bridges that our smaller ship could navigate under. Bergen stood out as a highlight for me—you could hire an e-bike, hop on a tram to the mountains, or even take a RIB ride. It was a great mix of relaxation and adventure.
What did consultants think of the cruise?
For franchisee Ian and his partner Richard, the Seminar at Sea was their first ever cruise. Here’s what Ian had to say below:
Did any bookings happen while onboard?
Yes, absolutely. Several travel consultants made Fred. Olsen bookings while we were sailing. Many saw immediate success after sharing their experiences with their audiences during the cruise – there was real excitement that translated into bookings.
Why is cruise such an exceptional product for consultants to sell?
Cruise is the largest and fastest-growing segment in the travel industry. Since 2007, it has seen consistent growth, with around 370 cruise ships currently operating globally. According to CLIA, demand is rising every year.
People are increasingly choosing cruises over land-based holidays for many reasons. For example, culture lovers are turning to river cruises instead of city breaks, while adventure seekers are attracted to expedition cruises to places like the Galapagos Islands.
What can consultants expect in terms of commissions?
Cruise holidays typically carry a much higher average selling price than land-based ones. Whether it’s a mainstream cruise with P&O or a luxury option like Oceania or Regent Seven Seas, customers tend to spend more. This results in better commissions for our consultants. Plus, we regularly run additional incentives and earning opportunities throughout the year, making cruise a lucrative product to focus on.
How many cruises have you personally been on, and tell us about the team that supports consultants new to cruise?
This was my 56th cruise – some for work, some for pleasure – and I always have the next one booked! Across the cruise and commercial teams, we’ve experienced a wide range of cruises ourselves. But more importantly, we bring years of expertise in selling cruise holidays and helping consultants grow their cruise businesses.
Tell us about the Cruise Division and its training programmes as consultants advance.
The Cruise Division is available free of charge to every travel consultant in our business. It provides foundational support, guidance and information. For those who want to specialise, we offer the Cruise Expert Club, which is designed to elevate consultants’ knowledge, boost their confidence, and grow their cruise business significantly within 12 months.
We cover cross-selling, up-selling, finding new clients, hosting events, organising group travel, ship visits, and FAM trips. Cruise Expert Club members also receive a personalised cruise website – an absolute game changer.
What should consultants do first when they join?
We offer a range of online training resources. Our fantastic cruise coach, Kerry, runs a New to Cruise course – one hour a week for six weeks. It’s focused on getting consultants up and running, helping them navigate cruise portals, make bookings, and find customers.
From there, Cruise Expert Club members can access the Intermediate Course, which dives deeper into cruise-specific knowledge, stats, and sales techniques. Then we have the Advanced Course, which is our flagship training. It introduces luxury and river cruise content, supported by self-study, our Cruise Academy, and hands-on help via the cruise helpline (open 8am–8pm, Monday to Friday), our cruise inbox, social media platforms, and our Circle of Excellence community (that’s a group for our top cruise sellers).
What does the cruise trade team do?
Our cruise commercial team works tirelessly to develop strong relationships with key trade suppliers. Thanks to the incredible growth and award wins by Not Just Travel / The Travel Franchise, cruise lines are eager to collaborate with us.
Who are the Key Trade Cruise Partners?
Key Trade Cruise partners include P&O, Regent, Riviera, Silversea, Princess, Celebrity, Fred Olsen, Oceania, NCL, Royal Caribbean, Virgin Voyages, Explora, Scenic, Emerald, Uniworld, Ambassador, AMA among others.
What do Key Trade Partners (KTPs) offer?
The KTP programme is incredibly successful. Our cruise commercial team secures unbeatable offers and exclusive opportunities for our consultants. This year, we’ve arranged more ship visits than ever before – testament to the team’s hard work.
What can consultants expect from a ship visit?
A ship visit typically happens on a turnaround day in a UK port – Southampton, for example. Consultants board in the morning, enjoy a guided tour, attend a classroom session, and have a lovely lunch. They get to explore the ship and gather plenty of social media content to show clients they’re invested in becoming cruise experts.
Can you reveal where the next SAS will be?
I’d love to – but I can’t! What I can say is that it’s going to be the biggest one yet. You’ll definitely want to be part of it. And remember, Cruise Expert Club members get priority access.
