Having recognised that many of its agents were shying away from what is one of the most lucrative sectors in the entire travel industry, the award-winning company devised the specialist training programme to boost its agents’ knowledge and confidence.

Some 360 franchisees have signed up for its Cruise Mastery Programme since its launch in 2022 and company co-founder Paul Harrison says the results have “surpassed all our expectations”.

“We’ve been absolutely blown away by the increase in our cruise sales over these two years,” said Harrison. “In the past many of our agents would avoid cruise bookings because they thought they were too complicated. We knew there was money to be made that our agents just weren’t grasping and we wanted to address this.

“With our training we’ve demystified and simplified the whole cruise booking and sales process. Now our agents are actually choosing to specialise in the field and purposefully going out there to get the cruise bookings.”

The result is that some franchisees have secured single cruise bookings this year of over £135,000 while for others, such as Tracey Fordham, over 40 per cent of their sales are now cruise with a growing number of river cruise bookings.

Fordham recently secured a £89,000 cruise booking and with 40 cruises under her belt she’s now considered an expert - but like many other consultants, it wasn’t always her forte.

The majority of Not Just Travel consultants had no former experience in travel before joining The Travel Franchise – the number one choice for people new to the industry wanting to pursue their passion for travel and launch their own travel consultancy business.

Vikki Coffey is a perfect example. Not only was she completely new to working in travel, she was also a self-confessed “technophobe” when she joined The Travel Franchise around two and a half years ago. In September 2024 her business really set sail after she booked 1,700 people onto a cruise she tailormade – making more than £1 million in cruise sales.

With 56 new cruise ships on the order books between now and 2028, agents like Coffey who embrace cruising have a bright future.

According to the latest trend report from Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), more than 40 million passengers will cruise by 2027 and, with a dizzying array of cruise ships to choose from, many of these will look to agents for advice.

Many consumers find booking a cruise overwhelming. Even if they choose a particular itinerary and ship, there’s the vital detail of securing the right cabin, month of travel and flights that work seamlessly with the ship’s departure.

It’s no surprise therefore that CLIA reports that over 73% of cruise travellers say that travel advisors have a meaningful influence on their decision to cruise.

And the good news for agents is that if a consumer takes just one cruise, they are likely to take another. In fact, it’s the sector that attracts among the highest repeat booking rate standing at an incredible 82%.

Some 12% of cruise travellers set sail twice a year and 10% take three to five cruises a year (which means that if a travel consultant gets it right, their customer will be straight back to do it all again).

In addition to the high repeat booking rate, commissions are among the highest in the industry with rates up to 20% not uncommon.

“On the back of our training we’ve seen agent sales’ and earnings skyrocket,” said Harrison. “It’s a clear demonstration that our training is highly effective and our agents are reaping the rewards.”

The Travel Franchise’s Cruise Mastery Programme incorporates a mix of online and face-to-face specialist training from cruise experts and cruise operators; exclusive ships tours; access to TTF’s unique, custom-built cruise website, plus its “resoundingly successful” Seminar at Sea when agents attend a series of training seminars whilst onboard a real cruise.

“Our Cruise Division and Cruise Mastery Programme has been a game changer for hundreds of our agents. Moving forward we intend to build on this phenomenal foundation and take it to the next level. Wherever we see there’s even the slightest gap in the market, we will fill it – that’s just what we do,” said Harrison.