Agent clinches her first Virgin Voyages sale (to her mum and dad) after Travel Gossip New to Cruise Bootcamp

By Linsey McNeill
19/09/2023
Home » Agent clinches her first Virgin Voyages sale (to her mum and dad) after Travel Gossip New to Cruise Bootcamp

A travel agent managed to persuade her parents to book a Virgin Voyages cruise after attending a training session during Travel Gossip’s New to Cruise Bootcamp.

Jenny Price said her mum and dad had taken several Marella cruises and had always refused to consider cruising with any other company

But after Jenny took part in Virgin’s online training session, she was able to persuade her parents that the line offered lots of dining options, a casual atmosphere and good choice of destinations.

Crucially, she also thought it offered great value for money, so she booked them a six-night English Sights and European Delights cruise on Resilient Lady from Portsmouth next September.

“Mum and dad have been cruising with Marella for years and I could not get them to try anything else, but after listening to what Jenny [Lyons, Virgin Voyages Sales Manager] had to say during the Bootcamp, I realised it would suit them.

“They like Marella because it’s quite casual and they always worried that other cruise lines would be too formal, but I saw during the training that Virgin is quite relaxed too, very chic, very contemporary, it looks beautiful, and with all the dining outlets it’s great value.”

Jenny, of The Personal Travel Agents, said all Travel Gossip’s New to Cruise Bootcamp training sessions were ‘brilliant’, including US river cruiseline American Queen, which she said ‘blew her mind’.

“I’ve been an agent for 12 years but I hadn’t even heard of them, now I want to find out more,” she said.

“I’ve never really broached cruising before so the Bootcamp was marvellous for me, particularly to hear about the value cruising offers, I’m so glad I attended.”

Several agents described the training sessions as ’empowering’ and ‘confidence boosters’. Kerri Pinch from Dawn & Sanderson said attending the Bootcamp would help with future bookings. “Although I book cruises often like Marella and P&O, I’m not confident when it comes to booking them especially the more luxury ones like Silversea, but listening to the presentations made me understand them a lot different, especially when it came to listening to the expedition cruises, which was really interesting to learn how much is included for the price.”

And Nichol from One Travel Club said: “I absolutely loved the cruise bootcamp. I’ve not had any sales yet but I am much more confident and I feel I can better qualify my customers from their requests. Even just answering questions will be so much easier with the knowledge I’ve gained! 

 “I really have found the cruise bootcamp very useful. There were things that really did stand out to me and will help me in the future with doing cruise bookings.”

You’ll find links to all the Bootcamp training sessions here, plus Travel Gossip’s useful Cruise Directory to help you find the perfect cruise, as well as articles to help you improve your sales techniques.

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