Seminar at Sea
The classroom is the ship: how cruise lines train advisors on board.
Start Selling CruisesA seminar at sea is a training sailing for travel advisors: a short cruise where the line, or an industry group, runs presentations and ship tours on board while you experience the product as a guest would.
What Happens on a Seminar at Sea
Product sessions
Presentations on the line’s ships, itineraries, new programs and how to sell them.
Ship tours
Guided walk-throughs of cabin categories, suites, dining venues and public spaces.
Networking
Time with the line’s sales team and with other advisors.
The guest experience
Meals, shows and port calls, so you know what your clients will feel.
Who Runs Them
Cruise lines run most seminars at sea, and industry groups such as CLIA have run them too. Trade press reported, for example, that Royal Caribbean held a Seminar at Sea for advisors from Europe, the Middle East and Africa aboard Legend of the Seas in August 2026, and that Carnival Cruise Line scheduled seminars at sea for 2026 alongside ship tours, bookable through its agent site (Cruise Industry News).
Schedules, prices and eligibility are set by each organiser and change every year, so look for current dates in the agent portals of the lines you sell and through your host agency.
Is a Seminar at Sea Worth It?
- Choose sailings on lines you sell, or plan to sell, so the learning turns into bookings.
- Check whether the sessions count toward any certification you are working on; CLIA, for example, accepts some cruise-line partner training as elective credits.
- Budget your time: a few days away from clients still needs cover for urgent enquiries.
- Do not confuse these trade events with consumer “seminars on cruises”; the network’s Seminars on Cruises guide covers those for your clients.
After You Disembark
Follow up with the line’s representatives you met, send past clients a short note about what you saw, and add the ship to your list of products you can describe first-hand. If the sessions offered completion certificates, file them with your training records.
Preparing for a Seminar at Sea
Before you sail, list the client questions you most want answered about the line, and the cabin categories you sell most. Bring business cards or a digital equivalent, a way to take notes in sessions, and the identification the organiser requires for boarding. On board, split your time between the scheduled program and the guest experience: eat in the venues your clients would choose, and visit the spaces they will ask about.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find a seminar at sea?
Look in the agent portals of the cruise lines you sell, watch the trade press, and ask your host agency, which often hears about training sailings first.
Do I pay for a seminar at sea?
Terms differ by organiser. Some sailings are offered at a reduced rate to qualifying advisors; read what is included and what you pay before you register.
Sell the Line, Then Sail the Seminar
Be a Travel Agent helps you become an active seller of the lines that run training sailings.
Become a Travel Agent