How to Become a Cruise Travel Agent

To become a cruise travel agent, join a host agency so cruise lines can pay you commission, complete the free agent training the major cruise lines offer, and choose a kind of cruising to specialize in. No license or certification is legally required to sell cruises, though a few states require sellers of travel to register, and CLIA's certifications are a respected optional step.

Cruises are one of the most common ways into the work, because so much of the market already runs through advisors. The steps below cover how to start, what the cruise industry's own training involves, and how to stand out in a niche that many new advisors pick first.

Why cruises suit a new travel advisor

Cruise lines depend on travel advisors more than most suppliers do. The American Society of Travel Advisors fact sheet reports that advisors sell 70% of cruise bookings. That reliance is why cruise lines invest heavily in agent training, agent support and commission on most of the fare.

A cruise is also a simpler first product than a multi-country trip. Transport, lodging, most meals and entertainment come in one booking from one supplier, so a new advisor can learn the product properly and quote with confidence. Our guide to commission rates by supplier shows how cruise pay compares with tours and hotels.

The catch is that cruises are crowded. Many advisors sell them, and the cruise lines' own websites sell them too. A cruise advisor earns their place by knowing which ship, cabin and itinerary suit a particular traveler, something a booking engine cannot judge.

The steps to become a cruise travel agent

The path has a clear order, because each step makes the next one possible. A new advisor cannot be paid without an agency number, and cannot sell well without product training. The sequence below is the one most new cruise advisors follow.

Most of those steps cost little or nothing. The host agency and any state registration are the main expenses, and the training itself is free from the cruise lines. Our main guide on how to become a travel agent covers the business setup around these steps in more detail.

Licensing and registration

There is no federal license to sell cruises. A handful of states, including California, Florida, Hawaii and Washington, have seller of travel rules that apply to anyone selling travel to residents. Our guide on whether travel agents need a license explains what those rules involve and where to check them.

Why a host agency comes first

Cruise lines pay commission to an agency, identified by a number such as an IATA or CLIA code, not to an individual. A host agency lends its numbers and its preferred cruise partnerships to the advisors it hosts, so a new advisor can book and be paid from the first sailing.

Host agencies differ a great deal on cruises. Some specialize in them and hold higher commission levels with the major lines, while others focus on tours or luxury hotels. Asking a host which cruise lines it is preferred with is one of the most useful questions to put before signing.

CLIA and cruise certification explained

The Cruise Lines International Association, known as CLIA, is the cruise industry's trade body. It describes itself as the world's largest cruise industry trade association, and its members include most of the major ocean and river cruise lines as well as travel agencies and individual agents.

For advisors, CLIA offers two things. The first is Individual Agent Membership, which identifies an advisor as an active seller of cruises. It is usually obtained through an agency or host that is itself a CLIA member, and some hosts set their own requirements before sponsoring an advisor.

The second is a ladder of cruise certifications. According to Host Agency Reviews' guide to travel agent certification, these include the Certified Cruise Counsellor, Accredited Cruise Counsellor, Master Cruise Counsellor and Elite Cruise Counsellor, and each one requires active Individual Agent Membership.

The certifications build on one another through training credits, live events and, at the higher levels, personal sailings and ship inspections. A ship inspection is a guided tour of a ship in port, which lets an advisor see the cabins and public spaces they will be recommending.

Do you need CLIA certification?

No. Certification is not required by law or by the cruise lines to sell cruises. It is a professional credential that shows a client, a host or a cruise line that an advisor has trained beyond the basics. Many advisors start selling first and work toward a certification once they know cruising is the niche they want.

Choosing a cruise niche you can own

"Cruises" on its own is too broad to stand out. Plenty of advisors sell cruises without ever calling themselves cruise specialists. Here at the Travel Advisor Academy, fewer than one in ten of the students who booked a cruise over the past two years described cruising as their specialty, which leaves room for the advisor who does.

The narrower the niche, the easier it is to find the right travelers. Cruising divides into several distinct markets, each with its own clients and its own knowledge to master.

• First-time cruisers. People who need help choosing a line, a ship and a cabin, and who value reassurance more than price.
• River cruises. Smaller ships on rivers in Europe and elsewhere, usually suited to older travelers who want culture and an unhurried pace.
• Expedition cruises. Small ships to places such as Alaska, Antarctica or the Galápagos, where the itinerary matters more than the ship.
• Family cruises. Lines and ships built around children, including Disney Cruise Line, which our guide on how to become a Disney travel agent covers in detail.
• Group cruises. Reunions, clubs and wedding parties sailing together, which our guide to group travel basics walks through.

The general method for testing a niche applies to cruises too. Our guide to choosing a travel niche sets out three tests in order, namely whether you can credibly claim it, whether enough people book it, and whether you can find those people.

What a cruise travel agent's work looks like

Day to day, the work is matching people to ships. A cruise advisor asks how a client likes to spend a day, how much quiet they want, and who is traveling, then narrows hundreds of sailings to two or three that fit.

After the booking comes the follow-through. That means tracking deposit and final payment dates, offering travel insurance, arranging flights and hotels before the sailing, and staying reachable if a port changes or a flight is delayed. The O*NET profile for travel agents lists much of this, from planning itineraries to collecting payment.

Commission on cruises is paid after the client sails, so a cruise booked a year ahead pays a year later. That timing shapes a cruise advisor's first year more than the commission rate does, and it is why many charge a planning fee for complex sailings.

Where the course goes further on cruises

Unit 4 of the Fundamentals Course, Suppliers, Consortia and Preferred Partners, covers working with cruise lines, ranking which supplier relationships to build first and what preferred partner status is worth. Unit 3 covers commission rates by supplier type and when each pays.

The Fast Track Course adds Unit 7, Choosing and Owning a Niche, and Unit 9, Groups, Luxury and High-Value Travel, which covers group departures and tour conductor credits. Those two units go furthest for an advisor who wants cruising to be the whole business rather than one product among many.