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Welcome to March!Every year is an exciting year within cruise – new ships, entertainment tie-in’s, new celebrity chefs, new and inspirational destinations and excursions. But this year maybe feels different as two brand new ships will be lining up in Southampton to offer brand new holiday experiences to the Great British holidaying public.

And Britannia arrives this month as the newest addition to the P&O fleet and the newest to be based from Southampton. Cruise & Maritime Voyages welcomes Magellan at a ceremony in Tillbury on March 12th. Exciting times indeed – and we are delighted that some CLIA member agents will see them during their launch celebrations, and that even more will see Britannia at the Selling Cruise Conference.

Meanwhile this month we have dedicated a long-weekend to River Cruise, when we will ask you to share river cruise ship and destination images and your love of river cruise experiences with us and the unsuspecting public so we can prove that we #lovecruise

Have a great month!

Andy HarmerCLIA UK & Ireland, Director

March 2015 | CLIA UK & Ireland Informer www.cruiseexperts.org

River Cruise Weekend 201526 - 30 March 2015

Britannia and Magellan are coming!Newest arrivals

New CLIA AAA Award Agent Achievement Awards 2015

www.cruiseexperts.org

Pete’s TrainingIs a Balcony The Only Way To Cruise?

River Cruise Masterclass7 July 2015, London

Rule Informer!

March Webinar Series Join Us Online

Online This MonthDestination Guides & Ship Visit Listings

10 Upgrades at cruiseexperts.orgHave you been online recently?

www.cruiseexperts.orgwww.cruiseexperts.org

New CLIA AAA Award

CLIA UK & Ireland Informer

Register online at www.cruiseexperts.org

We are really excited to announce that we have joined forces with those terribly nice people at Travel Weekly to launch our very own cruise award at the fantastic Agent Achievement Awards in July.

Our aim is to recognise a travel agency that has recently turned to selling cruise properly for the very first time. And recognise them at the ultimate travel awards evening of the year on July 7th in London.

COULD THAT BE YOU?

We know that some travel agencies may have completed the odd cruise booking now and then, but have you recently made a concerted effort to grow your cruise sales? Have you changed your marketing and sales strategy to start selling river or ocean cruise holidays?

Then enter for the 2015 Agent Achievement Awards and join CLIA and Travel Weekly at this prestigious evening – and you could be leaving with the CLIA New to Cruise Award.

ENTER via www.agentachievementawards.co.uk

DIRECT LINKhttp://www.agentachievementawards.co.uk/awardsnominate/nominations/3737

CLIA New To Cruise Award

STOP PRESS We have just announced that on the same day as the Agent Achievement Awards in London we will be holding our first ever River Cruise Masterclass. This daytime event will cover all things river in terms of sales and product updates. Then you can either head home with your head full of river cruising, or maybe you are one of the lucky ones who will be attending the AAA’s that night?


Britannia and Magellan are Coming!


Join us online at www.cruiseexperts.org

www.cruiseexperts.orgwww.cruiseexperts.orgCLIA UK & Ireland Informer

CLIA River Cruise Weekend Thursday 26 - Monday 30 March 2015

This month we launch the first ever River Cruise Weekend to follow in the footsteps of our successful Cruise Week (that takes place in September each year).

This is the chance for us all to shout about the incredible experiences that river cruise holidays offer – but we need your help to get the message out!

Here is how we can get the nation river cruising:

1. Why not help us by tweeting any river cruise or river cruise destinations you have visited including the location and #lovecruise

2. Why not tweet a brief line saying why you love river cruise?

3. Alternatively send us some of your river cruise photos and a selection will be placed on the CLIA Facebook page and promoted via social media with a winner selected at random at the end of CLIA River Cruise Weekend who will win an iPad mini.

4. It would also be good if you could engage with your followers and encourage them to tweet using #lovecruise, upload cruise destination/experience images and say why they love cruise – the more the merrier!

5. If you are holding any river cruise events during that long weekend then let us know and we can support via our social media activity

Remember that our main Twitter accounts are @UKCruising and @UKAndyHarmer and on Facebook we are facebook.com/CliaUkIreland – get involved!

GUIDED TOURS & RIVER CRUISES

R I V E R C R U I S E S

European River cruising



River Cruise Masterclass Open for Bookings!


Join us online at www.cruiseexperts.org

Register online at www.cruiseexperts.org

FREE EVENT

Time to get more information about the river cruise products available; how to sell rivers; and some key destination information?

Well we have the perfect event for you this summer!

Starting mid-morning and closing mid-afternoon the London event will feature some guest speakers on some of the techniques and principals behind selling more river cruise holidays – and then you will spend time with the CLIA member river cruise operators to get the necessary updates and information on their ships, destinations and products!

REGISTRATION is now open via cruiseexperts.org - Join us!

TUESDAY 7 JULY 2015LONDON


Webinar Season March 2015


Throughout March we continue our 2015 live Webinar Season featuring a number of fantastic opportunities to hear from experts on the very latest product and destination news. Register your place via cruiseexperts.org and join live in the webinar with your chance to ask questions and be involved.Here is what is coming up this month...

Wednesday 11th March - 9.30amROYAL CARIBBEAN INTERNATIONAL FOCUS ON ANTHEM OF THE SEASOn this webinar you will learn all about Royal Caribbean’s brand new Smart Ship Anthem of the Seas in advance of her maiden season from Southampton. With a particular focus on Dynamic Dining and the recently revealed Classic options Anthem of the Seas will deliver a dining experience for everyone.

Wednesday 18th March - 9.30amAVALON WATERWAYSWith an average age of just three years, the Avalon fleet of luxury European and Worldwide river cruises ships offer an exceptional level of comfort and service. Our Suite Ships are a world apart and our staterooms are the largest in Europe. Avalon ships mean luxury and space, panoramic windows and innovative design. With Avalon, so much is included in the price, starting with our door-to-door home pick-up service, flights, transfers, full board gourmet dining with regional wines and beer included with dinner, gratuities for staff on board plus excursions virtually every day.

Sign up for all webinars online at www.cruiseexperts.org

Wednesday 25th March - 9.30amAMAWATERWAYS - THE RHONE, SEINE & AFRICAN (CHOBE) RIVERS

The beautiful Zambezi Queen was specifically designed for safari river cruising on the Chobe River and offers a sophisticated design to maximize animal sightings.The webinar will also cover the French rivers of the Rhone and Seine.


Online this Month


Destination GuidesOur Cruising Destination of the Month in March are the Islands of the Mediterranean.Each month we publish a brand new destination or region of the month so that by the end of the year we will have built up an incredible portfolio of destination maps and information, port guides, video and photography – plus every month we add a downloadable Destination Guide that you can download and save to your desk-top or print.

Last month we headed to the Spain & Portugal.

Our destination Guides are in the Members Area within the Cruise Toolbox.

Ship Visits Opportunities Listing

Thank you to our CLIA cruise line members who have added details of their 2015 ship visit programmes to cruiseexperts.org for you. Seeing the ships first hand is a great way to gain knowledge and sell more, so do take advantage of ship visit opportunities and get signing up! Do continue to check back to the Ship Visit page - our member cruise lines are busy working out the best dates and ports they can offer visits in, and more are being added each week. Login to cruiseexperts.org and visit the “Events, Ship Visits & Promotions” tab for full details.

WIN! In our Cruise Line CompetitionsAt cruiseexperts.org you will find details of great promotions and trade incentives.

Just added... To celebrate the launch of their new 2016 preview brochure, Emerald Waterways will give away a free Marriott Hotel Pamper Package for two every day until 31st March 2015.

To be in with a chance of winning a Pamper Package worth a total of £125, agents simply need to make an Emerald Waterways river cruise booking for 2016 and they’ll be automatically entered into the prize draw, which includes access to the leisure facilities at Marriott properties around the UK and two free one-hour Decléor treatments.

For details of this and many more Promotions from our members, head online to cruiseexperts.org and visit the “Events, Ship Visits & Promotions” page.

THIS MONTH


10 Recent Updates to the Site


1. NEW HOMEPAGECruiseexperts.org had a little bit of a makeover. We integrated a great number of cruise pages aimed towards yet-to-cruise customers - and we encourage you to direct your customers here if they are needing some inspiration.

2. EVENTS, SHIP VISITS & PROMOTIONSOur new centralised Events, Promotions & Ship Visit listings, are added to the site di-rectly by our cruise line and Executive Partner members - looking for the latest offers

and campaigns to promote, and also trade focused incentives? - just log in!

3. UPDATED CRUISE LINE & PARTNER PROFILESOur member landing pages all had a refresh and now contain some added content, with contact details of the Sales Teams, social media feeds, more video content, and a great snapshot of the product.

4. RIVER CRUISE BULLETINThe River Cruise Bulletin is our quarterly publication written exclusively for CLIA,

bringing you the latest snapshot news from the river cruise sector. Broken down into brief news stories containing useful information & contact details of the operators.

5. MEET THE FLEETContains the details of more than 260 ocean cruise ships. The search programme allows CLIA members to look for specific information - including filtering by company, ship, size of vessel and passenger capacity.

6. BROCHURE RACKAll current cruise brochures published by CLIA members are available on our website

to download, share or print - a service unique to CLIA - created for you.

7. FACTSHEETSAccess to unique Factsheets on key cruising topics. Downloadable or accessible online, these are great reference tools for all cruise sellers.

8. WEBINAR LIBRARYAn archive of all past webinars can be found online for those who missed the live one.

We have webinars hosted by cruise lines, destinations & sales experts.

9. SALES GUIDESEach month a team of leading cruise journalists provides top tips and key facts to help boost your sales for both ocean going and river cruises. There’s also an informa-tion section on key destinations linked to the selling features.

10. DESTINATION GUIDESNewly added Destination Guides featuring an interactive map of the key cruise ports,

incredible photography, a downloadable 2-page PDF overview of each region and personal recommendations for your customers.

ALL OF THIS AVAILABLE AT CRUISEEXPERTS.ORGWe look forward to seeing you there!

River Cruise Bulletinbrought to you by Jane Archer on behalf of CLIA UK & IrelandJane Archer is the UK’s leading cruise journalist writing for trade titles including Travel Weekly and Cruise Trade News. She is also the Daily Telegraph Travel’s cruise expert.

AmAWAterWAys is Adding Another tWo vessels to its europeAn river cruise fleet in 2016. AmaViola and AmaStella will each hold 158 passengers and feature cabins with interconnecting doors to appeal to families as well as larger suites for people who like more room. AmaStella will be cruising the Danube, while AmaViola will be sailing tulip themed cruises in April and May, followed by a variety of itineraries on the Rhine and Danube, including Christmas markets sailings in November and December.contAct: 0808 256 8422; WWW.AmAWAterWAys.co.uk

New Ships

scenic tours is the lAtest river cruise compAny to fAll for the chArms of AsiA.

The Australian company is building a new vessel, the 68-passenger Scenic Spirit, to operate on the Mekong starting January 2016. The vessel will have 34 suites, each with a private balcony and separate bedroom, a pool, open-air cinema, steam room and sauna. Prices will include everything from drinks and gratuities to flights, transfers and guided trips ashore. The cruise, between Siem Reap and Ho Chi Minh City, can be packaged into a variety of wider tours taking in Hanoi, Luang Prebang in Laos and Bangkok in Thailand. contAct: 0808 102 0102WWW.scenictours.co.uk

it’s A fAmily AffAir on europe’s rivers With A-rosA this yeAr.

The German company is offering free cruises for children up to the age of 15 on all its itineraries, which means a family of two adults and two children can have two cabins for the price of one. A-Rosa’s prices also unlimited alcoholic and soft drinks, buffet and a la carte dining, one free walking tour and wifi. The firm has also dropped single supplements on several departures.Contact: +49 381 202 6000www.a-rosa.de/en

us operAtor tAuck is Wooing lone trAvellers by dropping the single supplement on All cAtegory 1 cAbins on its europeAn river cruise boAts this yeAr.

The company is also offering single travellers $1,000 off the cost of Category 4 and 5 cabins on 28 departures of 13 cruise itineraries.contAct: 0800 810 8020WWW.tAuck.co.uk

Trainingclick And leArn With rivierA trAvel. The company has launched an on-line training programme to help agents get up to speed with its river cruise product. Available at www.rivieraexpert.com, the

module covers key selling points, and fleet details, what’s included in the fare and itineraries, with a quiz at the end. Riviera operates river cruises in Europe and Asia. Two new 140-passenger vessels, Jane Austen and Charles Dickens, launching March and July respectively, join the fleet this year.contAct: 01283 733370; WWW.rivierAtrAvel.co.uk

Product Update

AvAlon WAterWAys is lAunching tWo more suite ships in 2016. Avalon Imagery II and Avalon Passion will each have two decks of Panorama Suites measuring 200 square feet and wall-to-wall glass doors than open two-thirds the width of the room to create an ‘inside’ balcony. They take the number of Suite Ships in the Avalon fleet to 12.contAct: 0800 668 1801WWW.AvAloncruises.co.uk

www.cruiseexperts.orgCLIA Training Page

Is A Balcony The Only Way To Cruise? By Peter Kollar, CLIA Australasia

Traditionalist say that a balcony is the only way to cruise. We agree! And here’s why...

1. Size counts Technically balconies are larger as cruise lines include the outdoor space in their measurements. But the perception of your stateroom feels MUCH larger than the actual stated size. The floor to ceiling glass doors accentuate the limitless view, it feels like your room spans across the ocean – much better than a window or a porthole.

2. Sun & AirBalcony staterooms tend to be lighter due to the larger glass windows, not to mention allowing passengers who love lazing under the sun to bypass busy pool decks and relax in their own way. For those that are a little apprehensive of cruising because they are worried about confining space, a balcony allows you to open those doors and allow the fresh, ocean breeze to fill your room. It’s one of the things you get to love about cruising. The breaking daylight filtering in the morning is also a great way to naturally wake up, rather than the alternative of a pitch black interior room with alarm clock buzzing. In the evenings, sit back with a glass of wine or champagne, and reflect on your explorative day. Room service on the balcony anyone?

This article continues online at cruiseexperts.org and can be found on the Members Hub page.


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