Event Schedule

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

8:30-10:30 Supplier Education Sessions

• ARC VTC Program
• Carnival Cruise Lines   
• Niche Cruise Marketing Alliance
• Passport Online, Inc.

10:30-1:30 Ship Inspections

• Holland America Line
• Noordam
• Westerdam

11:30-1 CLIA Training

• BETTER LISTENING SKILLS FOR BETTER BUSINESS
  Ever found yourself listening to a client and suddenly realize you have no idea what they've just said? Or read something and, at the end, discovered that you recall nothing? Don't think it's just you. It's happening to everyone. In this essential seminar you'll find out what behaviors you must avoid to protect your ability to concentrate and you'll learn dozens of proven, practical strategies to reinforce your ability to recall, pay attention and really listen.
  Presented by Bernie Blomquist and Tom Cogan
  90-minute versions of select CLIA courses and provide
  10 credits toward ACC and MCC Certification requirements.
• Supplier Education Sessions
  ARC VTC
  Carnival Cruise Lines
  Niche Cruise Marketing Alliance
  Passport Online, Inc.
  

2:00-3:30 General Session

• Critical Issues Panel 1: Cruise chiefs take agent questions

  In this session, those at the helm of the cruise lines you sell answer the toughest questions they'll ever face: Your questions. Join Travel Weekly editor in chief Arnie Weissmann and Vice President of Corporate Relations for All About Travel, Kathy Sudeikis, herself a hard working travel agent, as they moderate a lively session that will bring what's really on your mind directly into the C-suite.

  Adam Goldstein - CEO, Royal Caribbean International   
  Kevin Sheehan - CEO, Norwegian Cruise Line
  Rick Sasso - President and CEO, MSC Cruises (North America)
  Larry Pimentel - CEO, Azamara Club Cruises
  Maurice Zarmati - President, Costa Cruise Line (North America)
  Mark Conroy - President, Regent Seven Seas Cruises: President 
  Moderated by: Arnie Weissmann and Kathy Sudeikis

3:45-5:45 Exhibit Hall

• The exhibit hall promises to be the biggest and best showcase of products and services touching every corner of the Cruise and Vacation marketplace. Travel agent attendees will be able to explore hundreds of solutions and services on exhibit throughout both halls.

5-5:45 Welcome Reception

• Host city of Fort Lauderdale welcomes attendees and exhibitors to their city for this debut Travel Weekly event with cocktails and appetizers on the tradeshow floor.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

8:15-9:15 - Concurrent Sessions

Home Based Agent Show and Conference

• Joe Ewart, CEO, Cruise Channel Marketing Group Inc.  
  Guerilla Cruise Sales
  A true out-of-the-box thinking session on no or low cost approaches to generating incremental cruise sales using concepts employed successfully by other industries and disciplines.
• Social Media Success Stories
  Home-based travel professionals share their best Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, FlickR and blogging sales stories. Brainstorm with other attendees about how to use these tools to market your business and yourself.

CruiseWorld 2010

• Mark Pestronk
  Negotiating Cruise Group and Cruise Charter Contracts with Your Clients
• Cindy Bertram, Principal, Positive Impact Communicators, LLC
  Multigenerational Cruising -
  The concept of multigenerational travel has evolved-it is no longer merely parents traveling with their children. Family reunions, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins -- cruise lines and tour operators are anxious to accommodate your clients. Cindy covers what is involved in multigenereational travel and cruising: The special needs, how to tap into this growing area, and the many options cruise lines now offer.
• Supplier Education Session:
  Selling Packaged Vacations for Profit with the Globus Family of Brands

9:30-10:30 Concurrent Sessions

Home Based Travel Agent Show and Conference

• Stuart Cohen, President & Coach, Exclamation Points Inc.  
  20 Ways to Build your Home Based Business, 20 Ways to Sink your Home
  Based Business
  Stuart Cohen has worked with travel agencies of all sizes and shapes during his 21+ years in the business and can promise you this: Although we're all selling the same ship, the same resort, and the same city, each of us has the opportunity to achieve greatly or to fail miserably. He cuts through the fat and describes the top twenty critical strategic activities that will determine your fate. This workshop will have an immediate impact on your business.
• Panel Discussion:
  Don't Work Home ALONE: Strategies for Staying Connected
  Home Agents share insights into working from home but not feeling alone or making decisions alone.
  

CruiseWorld2010

• River Cruising State of the Market - Moderated by Marc Mancini
  Panelists include:
  Guy Young, President, Uniworld River Cruises, Inc.
  Rudi Schreiner, President, AMA Waterways
  J Patrick Clark, Managing Director, Avalon Waterways
  Michele Saegesser, Vice President North America/South Pacific Sales,
  Viking River Cruises
• Cindy Bertram, Principal, Positive Impact Communicators, LLC
  Become a Miracle Worker: Successful Problem Solving
  Although travel professionals work to insure everything on their side is accurate for their clients, there are those "problem situations" that surface. It could be something that occurs in the booking stage itself, such as documentation errors, or a problem during their clients' trip.
  Cindy shares steps in successful problem-solving using various tactics to turn a negative situation into a win-win, be it with clients or suppliers. Learning and using those "miracle worker" tactics is also a powerful way to build long term client loyalty in a very competitive buying market.
• Supplier Education Session: details to come

10:45-12:15 General Session

• Critical Issue Panel II
  Agent leaders discuss the future of the travel agent
  There are about half as many brick-and-mortar travel agencies today as there were 10 years ago, and even if many agents are flying under the radar of agency-counters, there is still less travel being sold by agents today than in the year 2000. Where will things go from here? Where is the evolution likely to take travel agents as a profession in the future?

  Steve Tracas - President & CEO, Vacation.com
  Priscilla Alexander - President, ProTravel International
  Makis Xenatos - Vice President, Cruise & Tour, Liberty Travel
  Audrey Hendley - Vice President - Marketing & Strategic Partnerships
  American Express Consumer Travel Network, USA, American Express
  Nicole Mazza - Executive Vice President, Travelsavers

  Moderated by Joanie Ogg and Mary Pat Sullivan

12:30-1:45 Lunch - Sponsored by Sandals

2:00-3:15 General Session

• Critical Issues Panel III
  Tour operators make their case
   
  There are cruise-only agents, but if there are tour-only agents, we don't hear anything about them. Tours are a very diversified product group, and unlike cruise lines, tour operators don't have an organization dedicated to marketing to and training travel agents. Here's an opportunity to hear about tours and changes within that sector directly from the CEOs of some of the largest tour operators in the world. Travel Weekly editor in chief Arnie Weissmann and travel agent and CEO of ProTravel International Priscilla Alexander will be joined by an agent audience in probing the future of tours and how they envision their relationships with travel agents.

  Scott Nisbet - Senior Vice President & COO, Globus Family
  Steve Gorga -President & CEO, Travel Impressions
  Jack E. Richards - President & CEO, Pleasant Holidays
  Michele Kish - President, Gogo Worldwide Vacations
  Mike Going - President, Funjet Vacations
  Paul Wiseman - President, Trafalgar Tours
  Moderated by Arnie Weissmann and Priscilla Alexander

3:45-5:45 Exhibit Hall

• The exhibit hall promises to be the biggest and best showcase of products and services touching every corner of the Cruise and Vacation marketplace. Travel agent attendees will be able to explore hundreds of solutions and services on exhibit throughout both halls.

Friday, April 16, 2010

8:00-9:00 Concurrent Sessions

Home Based Agent Show and Conference

• Business Solutions For The Home Based Agency
  Business solution providers discuss the options available to home-based agents to simplify, streamline or step-up their current business model. 
  Debbie Maier, President, Mailpound
  Greg Kott, President and CEO, Passport Online Inc.
  Chris Flores, ARC VTC Program Manager
  Lee Rosen, President, LeisurePops

  Agent Moderators:
  Laura Frazier, Bliss Honeymoons and Destination Weddings
  Jennifer Kruse, Home-Based Agent, Journeys Travel
• Understanding and selling the LGBT market
  Tom Roth, CEO, Community Marketing

  Gays and lesbians take more trips and spend more money per trip than most consumers. You can't afford to ignore this market! But communicating and marketing to this community has some very specific do's and don'ts.  Tom Roth, CEO of Community Marketing, has helped dozen of large travel companies plan campaigns directed to the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) marketplace. Learn how to reach this group effectively!

CruiseWorld 2010

• Stuart Cohen, President & Coach, Exclamation Points Inc. 
  Group Disaster Avoidance! Essential Advanced Training for Group Producers
  Now that you have the group, what next? This comprehensive coaching session picks
  up after the deal is done. Group travel should be highly profitable for you but when
  opportunities are missed or things go wrong, stress rises and profits fall. Join Stuart for
  an illuminating session that will eliminate disaster and maximize success!
• Marketing niche or specialty cruises:
  Larry Dessler, CTC, Niche Cruise Marketing Alliance
• Supplier Education Session: to be determined

9:15-10:45 General Session

• Critical Issues Panel IV
  Different Models For Home Based Agents, Which is Right For You?

  There are several models for home agents operating today, from outright card mills to tightly run marketing organizations. Even among the most reputable, there are several different options for home agents to get support. Which one is right for you? The leaders of several reputable agency groups are here to explain their approach and take hard questions from the audience.

             
              Jackie Friedman - President & General Manager, Nexion
              Michelle Fee - Co-Founder & CEO, Cruise Planners
              Brad Tolkin - Co-Chairman & CEO, World Travel Holdings
              Brad Anderson - Co-President, America's Vacation Center
              Michael Drever  - President, Expedia Cruise Ship Centers

              Moderated by Joanie Ogg and Jeff Drew

11:00-12:30 Exhibit Hall

• The exhibit hall promises to be the biggest and best showcase of products and services touching every corner of the Cruise and Vacation marketplace. Travel agent attendees will be able to explore hundreds of solutions and services on exhibit throughout both halls.

12:30-1:30 Lunch

2-3:30 General Session

• Critical Issues Panel V
  Cruise Line Execs on How to Maximize Sales and Marketing Support

  Every cruise line has programs to support agents, from coop advertising to helping create marketing plans. Are you getting the most out of your cruise supplier relationships? On this panel, we've gathered cruise line sales and marketing executives who can tell you what to expect from their line - and what they expect in return.

  Vicki Freed - RCCL: Senior Vice President Sales & Trade Support & Services
  Andy Stuart - NCL: Executive Vice President
  Dondra Ritzenthaler - Celebrity Cruises: Senior Vice President Sales
  Edie Bornstein - Azamara Club Cruises: Vice President Sales & Marketing
  Joni Rein - Carnival Cruise Lines: Vice President, Worldwide Sales
  Paul Allen -- Holland America Line, Vice President, Sales

  Moderated by: Mary Pat Sullivan and Brad Tolkin

3:45-5:30 General Session

Closing Panel Discussions

• Going for the BIG money
  Are you a home-based agent with ambition to earn a six-figure income? Are you a cruise seller who wants to take over half-a-ship or more? Then these panels are for you.
• For home agents: How I earn $100,000 (or more) as a home based agent
  All the panelists in this session have earned an annual income of over $100,000 as a home based agent. If you'd like to the same, this is a must-attend session!
• For cruise agents: To Take Over a Ship
  All the agents in this panel have jumped in with both feet and succeeded in big ways in the group cruise world. How did they do it? Did they fill it? Find out the lessons learned from agents who set out to build gigantic-sized groups for cruises.
  

5:30  Attendee Prize Giveaway  & Close

Saturday, April 17, 2010

8:00-11:00 CLIA Training

• WHO ARE YOU? AN EXPLORATION OF YOUR ABILITIES, SKILLS AND STRENGTHS
  Almost everyone has heard the old, wise saying "Know Thyself." But is this relevant to our modern world? Absolutely. Knowing your strengths, overcoming your weaknesses and applying the lessons you learn from self-discovery are essential to just not personal fulfillment but also your business success. In this unique seminar, we'll take you through a series of exercises that will assess your professional skills and provide insights on how to excel in all that you do.
•             provides 15 credits toward CLIA's ACC, MCC, ECC and ECCS Certification requirements.

9:30-12:30 p.m. Supplier Educational Sessions

• ARC VTC
• Carnival Cruise Lines
• Niche Marketing Cruise Alliance
• Passport Online, Inc.

12-2 Ship Inspections

• Royal Caribbean International: Oasis of the Seas
  Celebrity: Century
  Princess: Star Princess

Sunday, April 18, 2010

10-2 Ship Inspections & Post Conference Cruise

• Inspection: Celebrity Solstice
• Post Conference Cruise Options:
  Royal Caribbean International Liberty of the Seas, 7-night Western Caribbean RT from Miami departing 4/18 and returning 4/25.
  
  Celebrity Century departing 4/17
  Celebrity Solstice departing 4/18
  Celebrity Century departing 4/22