Advantage has partnered with Virgin Voyages for Back on the Water 2022, which will be held onboard Valiant Lady over 7-9 October during a sailing from Ibiza to Barcelona.

Virgin has also invited delegates to spend the preceding week experiencing Valiant Lady’s full Mediterranean itinerary and what the ship has to offer.

The conference will focus on the return of cruise, what ocean, river and expedition cruising has to offer agents’ clients, and how best to present what the sector has to offer to different customers – including the new-to-cruise market.

Advantage said 80% of available spaces had been booked by members within 10 days of the event being launches, with final attendee numbers "expected to hit a record high".

“The relaunch of Advantage’s popular cruise conference underlines the importance of cruise for Advantage and its members, supporting its dedicated member cruise initiative through its Cruise Champions product community," said Advantage head of business development David Moon.

Jonny Peat, Advantage commercial manager – cruise, said the consortium had been overwhelmed with the "unprecedented response" from members. "More than 50% of available places were snapped up within three days of registration launching, and we’re on track to have record numbers attend one of our cruise focused conferences," he said.

"As the cruise industry continues to bounce back after the pandemic, we’re focusing on the opportunities that ocean, river and expedition holidays offer our members and their customers. This conference underpins our commitment to support the cruise sector and ensure our members lead the way in helping grow the UK cruise market.”

Reunion

There will also be separate, dedicated sessions for Advantage Managed Service members, including a business update. “We’re really looking forward to bringing our Advantage Managed Service (AMS) members together as a group for the first time since the pandemic," Moon continued.

"In addition to helping our AMS members improve their knowledge and sales in the cruise market, the conference will allow us to update them on our plans for AMS moving forward, and how we can further support the growth of their businesses through achieving operational excellence.

"The conference will also provide plenty of networking opportunities with fellow AMS members where they can benchmark and share ideas."

Shane Riley, Virgin Voyages vice-president international sales, added: "These crucial events demonstrate our commitment to our First Mate [agent] partners. We know experience sells and therefore, all attendees have been offered the chance to stay for the entire voyage and fully experience what it means to set sail the Virgin way."