The cruise line known for its premium experience and outstanding service, sometimes referred to as “Celebrity’s Star Treatment,” is offering travel agents the opportunity to earn some stars of their own. The line is launching its new “Celebrity Five-Star Academy,” an online training program that certifies travel agents to become experts in selling Celebrity’s cruise vacations, tomorrow.
The multi-tiered program will launch in stages, each named with the number of stars earned by successfully completing it. The first, or “One-Star,” level will kick off tomorrow’s launch. Agents who participate will learn about and be tested on an overview of Celebrity Cruises’ history, fleet, guests, destinations and services. Travel agents who complete the training and score over 80% on its tests will earn the designation of being a “Celebrity One-Star Agent.”
“The launch of the Celebrity Five-Star Academy marks our sincere commitment to collaborating with our travel agent partners to increase their knowledge and ultimately grow their business,” said Dondra Ritzenthaler, Senior Vice President of Sales, Celebrity Cruises. “This program will give our travel agent partners the opportunity to gain a high level of insight and expertise about all things Celebrity as well as to develop an understanding of how to convey to their clients the satisfaction of experiencing Celebrity’s Star Treatment onboard our ships.”
The second and third levels, launching in October and November, respectively, will cover more detailed aspects of the Celebrity Cruises brand, including dining, accommodations, Celebrity’s Star Treatment, spa services, and destinations’ specific ports of call. Levels four and five will follow, consisting of training on all the tools Celebrity offers travel agents in the areas of business development and selling Celebrity’s cruise vacations.
As travel agent partners successfully complete each of the first four levels – by scoring over 80% on the tests at the end of each tier – they will have the opportunity to print a certificate noting their designation as a Celebrity One-Star, Two-Star, Three-Star, or Four-Star Agent. Those travel agents who go on to complete the fifth level will be designated a “Celebrity Five-Star Agent.” Their travel agency will earn status as a “Celebrity Five-Star Agency,” and will be featured in Celebrity’s online travel agent locator tool. “Five-Star Agents” will receive vouchers for various tools that they can use to help to increase their business, including a “Five-Star Agent” logo for use in their marketing materials. “Five-Star Agents” will also be eligible to win cruises, co-op funds and training opportunities for themselves and/or their agency.
To sign up and participate, travel agents should visit www.celebrity5staracademy.com or speak to their Celebrity Cruises sales representative.
