CCRA exhibited once again at the Cruise3Sixty conference hosted by CLIA March 6th - 9th.  Cruise3Sixty is the premier event for CLIA, which has over 16,000 travel agency members.  At this fourth annual trade show, CCRA presented tips on booking pre and post cruise hotel stays.  We were excited to tell agents about CCRA's expanded inventory of hotel partners in 2008, with more properties in port cities worldwide.  

 

Agency owner Jackie Peterson of JC Peterson Consulting Travel, was one of the many agents who visited CCRA at the show and shared her booking success story. “My first experience with CCRAtravel.com was booking a pre-cruise stay for a client in Barcelona. This client was very savvy, and had searched for his own rate already, so being able to deliver a Net Rate that was lower than what he found was great! I’ve been hooked on the CCRA Portal ever since," said Jackie.  "I always find CCRA Net Rates to be lower than Expedia and Hotels.com, and I love that my Net Rate commission checks arrive right on time. Thanks CCRA!”

 

The dynamic Cruise3Sixty trade show, with technology and destination training, and networking opportunities drew over 2,200 travel professionals, including 1,500 travel agents.  Ten cruise lines showcased amenities and features of their new vessels. Dan Hanrahan, CLIA’s marketing committee chairman and the president and CEO of Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Cruises announced that by 2012, the CLIA fleet will expand by 36 ships. The nearly $22 billion investment represents a potential increase in agent commissions of $300 million.  CCRA aims to also increase hotel bookings in tandem with the growing cruise sales.