AMERICAN EXPRESS named Cruise
Planners/American Express as a winner of its
Representative
Excellence award. Agency members selected for the award will be
recognized with a five-day trip to County Kerry, Ireland, as guests
of the Park Hotel Kenmare in June. Cruise Planners, based in Coral
Gables, Fla., is a franchise operation that has many home-based
members. It became affiliated with American Express last year.
THE
AWARD honors the accomplishments of members of the
American Express USRepresentative Travel Network who have achieved
superior sales results in support of preferred cruise and tour
suppliers. Cruise Planners had $85 million in sales in 2004. Of
that amount, 74%, or $62 million, consisted of sales of American
Express's preferred suppliers. Most American Express preferred
suppliers also are Cruise Planners preferred suppliers, a spokesman
for Cruise Planners said.
CRUISE
UNIVERSITY is gearing up for its Oct. 2 educational
program that will immediately follow CLIAs 360 conference in Port
Everglades, Fla. The featured expert on agency operations will be
industry veteran Marc Mancini, who has presented seminars and
workshops for many travel industry associations. Dave Stockert from
Holland America also will be on the program, teaching agents how to
find ways to sell more cruises. He is the author of " 101 Ways to
Increase Cruise Sales."
CHARLIE
DUBINSKY, president of Cruise University, said the
organization is developing new educational classes for agents who
attend Cruise University.
"We are also in talks
with vendors to add benefits to graduates of Cruise University such
as congratulation letters, bonus commission, special trips,
contests and more," he said. Details about the October event are
online at www.cruiseagentonly.com
FAM OF THE
WEEK
Cyprus/Greece
Departures: Oct. 25 and Nov. 22 from
Athens, land only
Length: Four nights
Sponsor: Sterling Vacations, Austin,
Texas
Cost:
$549 per person, double. Includes roundtrip air from Athens to
Limassol, Cyprus; hotel accommodations; some meals and
sightseeing
Trip:
Spends one night in Athens and three nights in Limassol. Also
visits Aphrodite, Apollo, Larnaka, Nicosia and Pafos,
Cyprus
Noteworthy: Companions are eligible at the
same rate
Contact: (866) 345-7755; fax: (512)
345-7722; e-mail: [email protected]