MIAMI — Carnival Cruise Lines has expanded its CCL University online travel agent training program to include a new series of free webinars hosted by members of the company’s management team. Designed to provide travel agents with helpful tips for growing their business and learning more about the Carnival vacation experience, the ‘Winter Webinar’ series kicks off Jan. 20 and covers a broad range of topics, from effective sales and marketing strategies to maximizing social networking and online advertising opportunities.

Agents can access the webinars by visiting the CCL University web site at www.BookCCL.com/cclu.

The ‘Winter Webinar’ series includes:

• How to Make More Money Selling Cruises (Jan. 20, 1-2 p.m. EST). Hosted by vp of worldwide reservations sales Adolfo Perez, this one-hour webinar provides participants with a wide variety of proven, cost-effective means for expanding their     cruise sales.
• How to Make the Most Out of BookCCL.com (Jan. 27, 1-1:30 p.m.). In this half-hour webinar, host business technology manager Carlos Roldan and, guest panelist, marketing manager Walter Anasagasti detail the many  sales tools featured within Carnival’s travel agent Internet portal.
• How to Increase Your Profits by Selling Up (Feb. 9, 1-2 p.m.). Conducted by director of strategic partnerships Brian Holmberg, this webinar helps travel agents increase their Carnival sales and commission earnings by focusing on the benefits of  ‘selling up’.
• Product Update/2010 Overview (Feb. 24, 1-1:30 p.m.). In this webinar, senior vp of itineraries and revenue planning Terry Thornton provides an overview of Carnival’s upcoming 2010 deployments, including the first year-round cruise schedule from Charleston, S.C., and new seven-day Alaska cruises from Seattle.
• How to Take Advantage of Today’s Social Networking Sites (March 10, 1-1:30 p.m.). Social networking is fast becoming a popular travel marketing tool. In this webinar, Justin French, managing director of sales and marketing for Canada, discusses how agents can utilize Facebook, Twitter and other sites to connect with their clients and boost sales.
• Successful Online Advertising (March 24, 1-2 p.m.). Isis Ruiz, senior coordinator – partner support, discusses proven methods for taking advantage of the wide-ranging opportunities that exist in the growing online advertising arena.

“In today’s business climate, it’s vital that travel agents continue to enhance their sales and marketing expertise and expand their product knowledge. Our new ‘Winter Webinar’ series provides a convenient and cost-effective means for agents to learn proven marketing techniques from some of the cruise industry’s top salespeople,” said Carnival’s vice president of worldwide sales Joni Rein. The new Winter Webinar series is part of the line’s new CCL University online travel agent training program launched in September. All Winter Webinars will be available on-demand immediately following the live webinar via www.BookCCL.com/CCLU.

Successful completion of each Winter Webinar session counts toward CCL University Grad School accreditation as well as two CLIA continuing education credits.

All Winter Webinar attendees must be registered on BookCCL.com to participate.