| NCL details new rewards program

NORWEGIAN Cruise Line (NCL) has released more details about its new Partners First Rewards program (CW 07 Dec 2020).

Designed to recompense travel advisors for booking with Norwegian, NCL’s Director of Sales Aus/NZ Damian Borg (pictured) said the cruise line wanted to “simplify and standardise” the way it recognises its top partners, and connect with those still ready to sell cruise.

“We put some work into formalising a more structured program to make it easier for our consultants to engage with us,” Borg said.

“The one big difference with this program when compared to other incentives we’ve put in place is we’re asking agents to register for the awards program themselves.

“The biggest challenge we have right now is we don’t know who’s opened, who’s closed, who’s on reduced hours, who’s out there, we don’t know who we’re talking to any more.

“By registering they become eligible to earn points on bookings they make and be rewarded for those points they log into the system.”

Hosting a new incentive every month, Borg added Norwegian would be recognising wholesale bookings, and would host an annual awards event each year to acknowledge top advisors.

Highlighting each state’s (and New Zealand’s) highest-volume sellers, top-selling consultants, highest growth and best marketing supporters, Borg said Norwegian would hold the first of the events early next year.

To appreciate the efforts of travel advisors last year, NCL will also host a recognition of its best supporting partners from 2020.

Borg added Norwegian was finalising its list of categories and award-winners in the next few weeks, and would hold the events toward the end of Mar.

“This isn’t necessarily around revenue, this is around engagement, how passionate they were, how supportive they were over the last 12 months,” Borg said.

“We had so many passionate partners who went out of their way to deliver a result for us,” he gushed.