Norwegian Cruise Line began its first ever executive webinar series on Tuesday, Jan. 6 with approximately 1,000 travel agents participating. NCL’s President and CEO Kevin Sheehan hosted the first event, titled “Travel Agents are #1 with NCL,” in the series of eight which are designed to celebrate NCL’s Freestyle Resolution Sales Event.

A pre-webinar survey to the more than 1,500 travel partners who expressed interest in the event showed that 92 percent of NCL’s agents saw an improvement in the last six months in the way NCL does business through the more than 75 new initiatives launched via Partnership 2.0 since it began in late 2007. During the webinar, Sheehan spoke about the future growth and success of NCL, the results of Partnership 2.0 and Freestyle 2.0, and the launch of F3 in 2010. Prior to the conclusion of the session, several NCL executives were on hand to answer specific questions from travel partners.

The Freestyle Resolution webinar series continues every Monday through February starting at 3 p.m. EST:

Ø Andy Stuart, executive vice president of global sales and passenger services, who will conduct a webinar on “Cool Tools, Trends and Tips for Travel Partners,” on Jan. 12;

Ø “Everything You Wanted to Know About Partnership 2.0 But Were Afraid to Ask” with Crane Gladding, senior vice president, revenue management and passenger services, and Vivian Ewart, vice president, passenger services, on Jan. 19;

Ø “What’s Next With Freestyle Resolution and NCLU?” with Scott Rogers, senior vice president, marketing, and Amy Hiles-Maynard, vice president, marketing, on Jan. 26;

Ø “Certification & NCLU Seminars at Sea” with Terri Burke, vice president, industry relations, and Clark Reber, director, industry relations, on Feb. 2;

Ø “Creating Sales in Tough Times” with Bob Becker, senior vice president, consumer research, on Feb. 9;

Ø “Freestyle 2.0 – the Never-Ending Enhancements” with Dennis Nau, senior vice president, hotel operations, and Klaus Lugmaier, vice president, shipboard operations, on Feb. 16;

Ø “Freestyle Resolution Wrap Up, Recap and What’s Next” with Kevin Sheehan, on Feb. 23.

Following each webinar, participants will be entered into a drawing for a complimentary NCL seven-day cruise for two. Each week’s winning travel partner will be listed on NCL’s travel partner site, www.bookncl.com, and NCLU, www.ncluniversity.com.

Travel partners who are not currently NCLU students and who wish to participate in future webinars can do so by registering at www.ncluniversity.com.

The Freestyle Resolution Sales Event is another facet of NCL’s Partnership 2.0, a company-wide initiative to further strengthen its relationship with travel partners. Travel partners who make a reservation from now through Feb. 1 on any NCL sailing can offer their clients up to a $500 on-board credit. The amount of the on-board credit varies depending on the length of cruise and category of stateroom booked. For example, on sailings of six days or longer, the on-board credit ranges from $50 for an inside stateroom; up to $150 for a balcony and $500 for a suite or villa. For three to five day sailings, the on-board credit ranges from $30 for an inside stateroom up to $150 for a suite or villa.

During the promotion, travel partners can find more information and numerous marketing tools to help promote the Freestyle Resolution Sales Event at www.bookncl.com. Here, travel partners can download flyers and banner ads, forward customizable emails and play the Freestyle Resolution photo game for their chance to win one of five seven-day cruises for two. Travel partners registered as NCLU students will receive emails, bulletins and widget updates on the promotion.