Cruise Planners Gears Up for Its Annual Convention

Oct 15 2012

Tags: planners, american, express, travel, advisors

Cruise Planners – American Express Travel, claiming to be the largest home-based travel agent franchise network in the cruise industry, is preparing for its annual convention, which is themed “Cruisitude Revolution.”

Nearly 500 travel advisors will attend this year’s sold-out convention, taking place November 28-December 1, 2012 at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida. Following the land portion of the event, participating Cruise Planners travel advisors will board Celebrity Reflection for its inaugural sailing from the Port of Miami December 1-3, 2012.

“Cruisitude is a word we created several years ago that describes a positive feeling or attitude toward travel and cruising,” said Cruise Planners CEO and co-founder Michelle Fee. “The word has really taken on a life of its own, and creating a Cruisitude Revolution just made sense as the next step in our efforts to stand out in the industry.”

This year’s convention will cover all the “hot” topics in travel, from industry trends to 2013 forecasts. It will showcase new technologies, products, and partnerships and will also highlight networking and social media throughout the three-day event. More than 65 of the industry’s leading vendors are also participating in the event,

This year’s lineup includes keynote speaker Vicki Freed, senior vice president at Royal Caribbean International, and motivational speaker Frank De Raffle as the guest speaker. An executive panel discussion, moderated by Fee, will include Camille Olivere (Norwegian Cruise Line), Vicki Freed (Royal Caribbean), Dondra Ritzenthaler (Celebrity Cruises), Rob Coleman (Holland America Line), Joni Rein (Carnival Corporation) and Brian O’Connor (Princess Cruises /Cunard Line).