On Location: “The best of both worlds”: TDC Campus’ Sales Academy at Sea sets sail with Princess

All aboard! 

TDC Campus’ 2025 Sales Academy at Sea set sail on Sunday (Nov. 30) from Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida aboard the Sun Princess, Princess Cruises’ first new-generation, Sphere-class vessel that debuted last year.

The week-long professional development voyage—running through December 7—brings together nearly 120 participants, including 80 travel advisors (equally split between English and French speakers), a mix of land and cruise suppliers, business trainers, and the TDC team.

The event is open to Transat Distribution Canada’s (TDC’s) network – this being Marlin Travel, TravelPlus, Affiliates, Transat Travel and agent@home in English Canada, and Voyages Transat, Club Voyages, Voyages en Liberte, agent@externe in Quebec.

“It’s an intense learning event – a one-stop shop for quality training and product immersion,” said Sandra Wesson, director of product and industry relations at TDC, speaking to PAX last night at the event’s welcome cocktail (which featured a lively matchmaking game) in the ship’s Cascade Bar on Deck 17.

This year’s Sales Academy at Sea, which PAX was invited to cover exclusively, is a “live version” of TDC Campus, a custom-built online learning and training platform that offers endless hours of professional education.

The platform is loaded with content for all experience levels, from beginners to advanced professionals, and it allows advisors within the TDC network to obtain professional certifications.

Putting lessons to practice

This year’s Sales Academy at Sea differs slightly from last year’s TDC Cruise Academy, which unfolded aboard Virgin Voyages’ Valiant Lady.

With trainings led by Corey Atkinson and Katie Giddings of The Experience Advisors, the week will tackle three objectives: adopting a proactive mindset, strengthening interpersonal effectiveness, and developing strong communication and business-building skills.

Each morning will begin with a one-hour sales training session, followed by three to five partner presentations throughout the day.

In the afternoon, the sales trainers, partners, and agents come together for a one-hour workshop to apply the techniques covered—using the products introduced during the day.

“It puts everything into practice,” Wesson said.

In other words, this isn’t just theory — it’s hands-on learning designed to help advisors captain every sales conversation with skill and confidence.

Why Princess?

Choosing the Sun Princess wasn’t a shot in the dark either. It was strategic.

“We’ve had a great partnership with Princess over the years and we’re seeing a sales increase,” Wesson said. “The premium and luxury cruise market is also growing.”  

The 4,300-guest Sun Princess is the cruise line’s largest ship, and it’s packed with new features, including multi-story dining rooms, a dedicated suite category with its own restaurant and lounge, a panoramic Piazza atrium space, and a glass-enclosed geodesic dome, which covers an indoor-outdoor space that is also part pool deck, part entertainment venue.

It also has new restaurants, like Love by Britto, an artistic dining experience created by artist Romero Britto and culinary expert Rudi Sodamin, located on Deck 17.

It’s timely, introducing agents to the new Sphere Class, as the new Star Princess, a sister ship, made its debut in October.

Whenever TDC runs an Academy at Sea, it tries to get as many travel pros on board as possible, Wesson explained.

“Once you see a ship, you can sell it,” she said.

Attendees will also experience popular ports of calls, from Eleuthera in the Bahamas, where Princess Cays (a private beach resort destination) is located, to San Juan, Puerto Rico and then finally St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.

But the academy isn’t just about selling cruises.

“There are so many great ways to build the perfect vacation these days and TDC is so fortunate to be partnered with the very best in the business,” Wesson said. “Our travel professionals will take time to learn what makes each partner special and bring the right clients to all of them.”

“Investing in this week makes their job easier and their clients happy and coming back for more.”

Who’s on board? A crew of experts

It’s also a packed ship of bold-faced names from the travel industry.

The week’s special guests include Sabrina Greca of 5 Continents; Marco Gagnon of Air Canada Vacations; Alexandre Bergeron of AmaWaterways; Dimitri Andre of Bedsonline; Tyler Mattioli of Club Med; Caroline Poulson of Emerald; Rares Dumitru of Goway; Sandra Mallette of Groupe Voyages Quebec; Marguerite Karpinski of Holland America & Seabourn; Patrick Brousseau of Manulife; Valerie Lavigne of Norwegina Cruise Line; Shirley Lew of Oceania; Erica Barbour of Ponant Explorations & Paul Gauguin; Yenedi Perez and Kat Vezina Princess; Eric St. Pierre of Royal Caribbean International; Mary Lynn Villenueve of Scenic; Josee Rouleau of Tours Chanteclerc; Justin Clarey and Daniel Page and Transat; Nathalie Bombardier or TravelBrands; Austin Fraser of TTC Tour Brands; Barry Johnston of Viking; Shane Dineen of WestJet Vacations; Claude Girard of Crystal Cruises; and Jennifer Zammit of Rocky Mountaineer.

The all-star lineup gives advisors access to some of the industry’s best, creating meaningful opportunities for business development and relationship building.

During the week, advisors will participate in “dine arounds” with reps and participate in one-on-one strategy meetings.

“Some [attendees] might have their offices in remote areas of the country and don’t always get to see their reps,” Wesson noted. “By coming aboard, they get to meet with preferred partners face to face, get product updates and go home with a rolodex full of contacts,”

Big push for luxury

TDC Campus’ Sales Academy at Sea is also designed to directly address market trends.

“There’s a big push for luxury right now,” Wesson said, noting that cruise, in particular, is seeing significant gains.

And when it comes to cruise sales, the forecast is favourable — with a few shifts.

“We’re really pleased with the growth,” Wesson said. “It’s a bit of a shift in trends this year with all that’s going on in the U.S. We’re seeing less south, but more Europe. And river is always phenomenal for us.”

While the setting of TDC Campus’ Sales Academy at Sea may be luxurious, Wesson is clear: this isn’t a vacation.

“This is work,” she said. “But you couldn’t pick a better place to do it. Travel professionals will not only get valuable training, but also experience the ship and what life as a passenger is like.”

“It’s the best of both worlds.”

Stay tuned as PAX brings you more exclusive coverage from TDC Campus’ Sales Academy at Sea.

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