Norwegian Cruise Line took to the online air waves on Tuesday, August 25 launching the line’s first hour-long NCL U Radio show. The show attracted more than 700 travel partners listening in live while Andy Stuart, Norwegian’s executive vice president of global sales and passenger services, along with Pride of America’s Hotel Director Cary Turecamo and Cruise Director Doug Dunnell spoke about the aspects and benefits of Norwegian’s Hawai’i cruises. The radio show will broadcast the first and third Tuesday of each month at 4 p.m. EST through December 15, 2009.

Travel partners interested in joining the next radio show or listening to past shows on demand can head to www.ncluniversity.com. NCL U Radio’s programming will feature a variety of Norwegian’s executives covering a broad range of selling tips and techniques along with author and expert interviews adding insight on varying business topics, culminating with a question and answer session. A number of interactive elements are interwoven throughout the broadcast giving listeners a chance to win prizes. In addition, NCL U will offer monthly online quizzes testing listener knowledge of the information presented in the broadcasts where NCL U points will be awarded.

“NCL U Radio provides a unique and entertaining way for our travel partners to gain insider knowledge about Norwegian Cruise Line, gives them selling ideas they can immediately put into action, and provides them with the opportunity to interact with us,” said Andy Stuart, Norwegian’s executive vice president, global sales and passenger services. “The NCL U webinars we launched earlier in the year were in such high demand that we wanted to give our travel partners a more frequent opportunity to engage with us and give them the information they need in order to more effectively grow their own businesses.”

The next radio show titled “Selling Suites and Villas” will take place on Tuesday, September 1 at 4 p.m. EST and will feature Stuart and Camille Olivere, vice president, sales; along with special guest Pamela Danziger, author of “Let Them Eat Cake – Marketing Luxury to the Masses as well as the Classes.”

NCL U Radio’s full line-up of programming scheduled though December 15, 2009 includes:

· September 15 – “Using Social Media to Grow Your Business” with Stuart and Olivere, along with social media and sales networking expert Bob Burg, author of “Endless Referrals” and “The Go Giver;”’
· October 6 – “Norwegian Epic – The Next Generation of Freestyle Cruising” with Stuart and Olivere;
· October 20 – “Innovating for Your Future” with Stuart, Olivere and special guest Joe Pine, author of “The Experience Economy – Work is Theatre & Every Business a Stage;”
· November 3 – “Partnership 2.0 – The Year in Review” with Stuart, Olivere, Crane Gladding, Norwegian’s senior vice president, revenue management and passenger services; and Vivian Ewart, Norwegian’s vice president, passenger services;
· November 17 – “How to Grow Your Client Base with Freestyle Cruising” with Stuart, Olivere and sales training expert Andrea Sittig-Rolf;
· December 1 – “Grow Your Business with Groups” with Stuart, Olivere and Ewart;
· December 15 – “Making Waves in 2010” with Stuart and Olivere.