Become a Home-Based Travel Agent
Educational Programs

An Interview With
Larry Dessler CTC
Executive Director
Niche Cruise Marketing Alliance
By Tom Ogg

During the General Session of Cruise-a-Thon in Vancouver recently, Larry Dessler, the Executive Director of the Niche Cruise Marketing Association did a presentation. While I have known Larry for years and seen him present a number of times, his presentation at CAT was very compelling. It seemed to hit me right where I was sitting. I have been on hundreds of cruises and enjoyed everyone. However, I am ready for a change and the niche cruise products represented by the NCMA seem to be perfect for my cruising tastes at this time. So, I decided to take the NCMA training and become a Certified Niche Cruise Specialist. What I discovered in the process is well worth sharing.

The Niche Cruise product is very appealing. Small ships and riverboats and barges penetrating every corner of the world offer excellent commissions and very favorable group policies. Better than that is the fact that the niche cruises are more of an adventure than a vacation. They cruise areas of Earth that no large cruise line can touch and they are perfect for my generation that has more money than time left here on Earth. Best of all, they compliment an agent’s array of product that they can offer their clients.

It seems pretty simple to me. If you sell cruises, you should also be expert in the niche cruise market. I mean, not everyone wants that 7-day Eastern Caribbean cruise and many want and can afford a more intimate small ship / riverboat / barge cruise focused on unique and hard-to-reach destinations throughout the world. My suggestion is for you to immediately visit www.NicheCruise.com and sign up for the Certified Niche Cruise Specialist program.

And, the answer is NO! NCMA has not paid me a dime for this endorsement. As readers of Home Based Travel Agent NEWS know, my endorsement is not for sale. It must be earned and NCMA has certainly earned it.

I asked Larry for an interview and he agreed. Following is more information about NCMA.

Larry, how long has NCMA been in business?

NCMA was created in 1998 by a group of small cruise lines who felt that their message was not being heard over the noise made by the mainstream cruise industry. They felt that by working together they might be able to make more noise and be noticed by the travel agent distribution system that they wanted to reach.

I am curious, how many NCMA designees are there?

There are two designation levels. The first is the Niche Cruise Specialist, it is like a BA, and there are over 3,000 agents who have earned that designation.

The Certified Niche Cruise Specialist designation, our Masters degree, is more restricted and requires more training currently has almost 250 agents. This program is new and is available through our on-line program and through select extended live training programs.

Is there a fee to enroll in the Certified Niche Cruise Specialist program?

There is a nominal cost of $25 to take the online program and this covers the costs of program development and overhead. This is more than covered by the $700 in bonus commission certificates that each graduate will receive with their diploma.

How much time should an enrollee allocate to finish the program?:

The program was designed to take approximately 20-hours to complete all the modules.

What benefits do designees enjoy once they have passed the exam?

Besides the bonus commission certificates and the diploma. All graduates are listed on our web site travel agent finder database with a highlighted bold listing. They will also receive regular inside information on new products and special promotions to give them a leg up on the competition. Our members will also be using this list for special agent fam invitations and coop opportunities.

Are there any continuing designation requirements once awarded?

We asked Certified Niche Cruise Specialists to take one training program with our NCMA via Webinar or though our member lines every year. Or, agents can participate in a group promotion with one of our member lines.

Are there any additional niche cruise lines that you are talking with to join NCMA that you can share?

We are seeing a strong growth in this market segment and have been speaking with a number of groups about joining our alliance. They include additional Yacht, Exploration, Barge and Luxury products, but nothing I can announce now.

Are their Certified Niche Cruise Specialist seminars for those that do not want to take the on-line program?

Yes, We have just introduced an extended program which we unveiled in Costa Mesa and recently at Cruise-A-Thon in Vancouver. Agents can check our web site for future listings or contact me about upcoming opportunities.

Are there any cruise seminars or fam rates for Certified Niche Cruise Specialists?

Absolutely and we will be seeing more of these as our base of Certified Niche Cruise Specialists grows.

Is there anything else you would like to add for the readers of this interview?

In this very competitive world of travel distribution, it is our belief that agents must focus to be successful. We also believe that by focusing on these unique specialty products agents can set themselves apart from their competition and benefit from the higher level of commissions that they represent.