The association has pulled together various resources to assist agents lacking experience selling cruise including short videos and how-to guides across 12 core topics, including destinations and ports, what to do onboard, and promotion and pricing.

Agents will also be able to consult a cruise glossary, as well as a guide laying out the the top reasons their clients may wish to consider a cruise. An optional quiz that will allow agents to digitally certify their learning will follow in due course.

"With cruise interest and demand continuing to grow apace, this is the ideal time for new agents to get onboard with the raft of information they now have at their fingertips,” said Andy Harmer, Clia UK and Ireland managing director."

Harmer continued: “We’ve made a point of adopting a more interactive, informal approach with all the new online tools, so agents can boost their knowledge using their preferred learning style, and dip in and out of their chosen topic at a pace to suit them."

Speaking at last month’s Advantage Travel Partnership cruise conference in Paris, Harmer urged agents to capitalise on the first-time cruise market.

He revealed nearly three-quarters of people who have never set foot on a cruise ship are open to the idea of going on one, which he said created huge selling potential for agents.