CLIA's CruisExcellence 2016

 CLIA’s CruisExcellence

February 27, 2016

As a distinguished Travel Professional in the travel industry, part of my profession requires that you continually maintain your knowledge and expertise in the field. Since I have my first certification with CLIA as an ACC (Accredited Cruise Counselor), I am currently obtaining the next level of certification, the MCC (Master Cruise Counselor). 

CLIA's professional certification levels are tiered progressively and require the passing of core curriculum training in addition to cruise line product training, ship inspections and actual cruising experience. Achievement of each ascending level of certification is a reflection of the greater commitment on the part of the certified agent to acquire a greater depth of knowledge and expertise which only serves to further their personal and professional growth. 

One of the core curriculum's that I was required to do was to attend CruisExcellence. Even though you have two other options (attending Cruise360 or doing 3 Case studies), the most feasible one for me was attending CruisExcellence. For those of you who are not familiar with this, CLIA’s CruisExcellence is a regional training program featuring an action packed day filled with live, instructor-led training, virtual ship inspections and informative workshops led by CLIA Executive Partners. 

Sheraton Buena Vista Resort

      

  

   

Since CruisExcellence started at 7AM on Saturday, JC and I decided that we would stay the night before at the Sheraton Buena Vista Resorts so we could be there on time (CruisExcellence was being held at Walt Disney Swan Resort and only 1 ½ hours away from Tampa). We got off to a late start and arrived at the Resort at 9:30pm. The resort was very charming, decorative, and the staff were incredibly friendly, always going out of their way to assist you. The hotel room was stunning and we had a great view of the pool area from our balcony. Since most of the restaurants at the hotel were closing and with only a few hours to spare so that we would get some needed rest, we decided to go have a relaxing dinner at the Ale House, which is right across the street from the Resort.

The Ale House 

   

The Ale House had some terrific food and drinks for a reasonable price. What was really interesting is being able to sample different beers with our meal. Kind of like the “wine and chocolate” tasting we did onboard the NCL Escape this past December. Everything seemed to fall into place when we ordered our appetizer and main meal, the Asian infusion, with pot stickers and teriyaki grilled chicken as a complement to the samplers of beer. We had our different tastes of food that went with the different sampler beers, however, the two beers we both could agree on was the Sierra Nevada Seasonal and Leinenkugel’s Seasonal beer that seemed to go perfectly with our meal. The Blue Moon Seasonal was a Peach flavored beer that did not compliment the meal and the Samuel Adams was a little harsh.

CruisExcellence

  

The next morning, we drove about 15 minutes to the Walt Disney Swan Resort where CruisExcellence training was being held. Upon arriving, there was parking for a charge of $18 for the day but free for guests staying at the resort. CLIA was nice enough to reimburse us for the parking. 

  

Besides coffee keeping us charged up for the classes and the virtual ship inspections, the training was extremely informative, fast paced, and sometimes tended to be information overload! We did, however, get a break for lunch and ended the event ended at around 5pm. Plenty of time for the journey home.

  

Overall: A definite must for those going for their certification and a fast, inexpensive way of doing so. As mentioned previously, you could write 3 cases studies and/or attend the Cruise360 event in Vancouver, Canada. However, attending Cruise360 which lasts for a week tends to be highly expensive. Yet again, both are great training events and are jam packed with stuff to do to achieve your certification, but, to keep it cost effective, CruisExcellence is the best way to do it.

Please feel free to comment as I would love to hear from you.

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