Cruise Planners Ignites The Cruisitude Revolution For Annual Convention

Company will announce new products for 2013 cruise season at sold out convention

CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. - October 11, 2012 - Cruise Planners - American Express Travel, the nation's largest home-based travel agent franchise network in the cruise industry, is preparing for its annual convention, which is themed "Cruisitude™ Revolution." Complimented by the company's positive spirit and unique marketing style, Cruisitude™ Revolution redefines the travel agent model by creating innovative tools, unmatched support, and award-winning partnerships with not only cruise, but land and ancillary product partners as well.

Nearly 500 travel advisors will attend this year's sold-out convention, taking place November 28-December 1, 2012 at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida. Following the land portion of the event, participating Cruise Planners travel advisors will board Celebrity Reflection for its inaugural sailing from the Port of Miami December 1-3, 2012.

"Cruisitude^™ is a word we created several years ago that describes a positive feeling or attitude toward travel and cruising," said Cruise Planners CEO and co-founder Michelle Fee. "The word has really taken on a life of its own, and creating a Cruisitude™ Revolution just made sense as the next step in our efforts to stand out in the industry. Our unique turn-key programming and bold marketing efforts truly revolutionize our agents' businesses."

This year's convention will cover all the "hot" topics in travel, from industry trends to 2013 forecasts. It will showcase new technologies, products, and partnerships and will also highlight networking and social media throughout the three-day event. With more than 65 of the industry's leading vendors participating in the event, Cruise Planners' annual convention is shaping up to be the company's largest to date.

This year's lineup includes keynote speaker Vicki Freed, senior vice president at Royal Caribbean International, and motivational speaker Frank De Raffele as the guest speaker. An executive panel discussion, moderated by Fee, will include Camille Olivere (Norwegian Cruise Line), Vicki Freed (Royal Caribbean International), Dondra Ritzenthaler (Celebrity Cruises), Rob Coleman (Holland America Line), Joni Rein (Carnival Corporation) and Brian O'Connor (Princess Cruises / Cunard Line).

"We've been working day and night for months to make convention a standout," continued Fee. "Not only are we going to make a splash with our announcements and training sessions, we are going to do it all in typical Cruise Planners fashion. Our travel advisors are going to leave completely equipped to create a well-rounded strategy for next year."

About Cruise Planners - American Express Travel
Cruise Planners, an American Express Travel Services Representative, is the largest homebased travel agent network in the cruise industry with more than 800 franchise owners across the country that independently book cruises and associated travel. Named No.1 Cruise Tour / Travel Agency by Entrepreneur magazine for the past nine years, Cruise Planners positions franchise owners for success by providing them with innovative marketing, booking and leadgenerating tools as well as professional development and hands-on training with the industry's top executives.

Headquartered in Coral Springs, Fla., Cruise Planners has achieved top producer status with every major cruise line. Accolades include winning a record nine Magellan Awards from Travel Weekly in 2012, American Express Travel Representative Excellence Award for 7 years in a row (2004 - 2011), Agency of the Year from American Express (2010), Royal Caribbean International Home-Based Partner of the Year (2007 - 2010), Norwegian Cruise Line Home-Based Agency of the Year (2010), Southeast Region Travel Agent Partner of the Year from Celebrity Cruises (2010), Globe Award from American Express Vacations (2008 - 2010), Globus Family of Brands Premier Agency Partner (2009, 2010), Platinum Circle Member with Viking River Cruises (2009, 2010), and Regent Seven Seas Cruises Top Producer. For more information, please visit www.cruiseplanners.com.

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Holly Zawyer / Deserae del Campo
Cheryl Andrews Marketing
P: 305-444-4033 holly@cam-pr.com / deserae@cam-pr.com