Regent Seven Seas Cruises has developed an agent training programme designed to “empower the trade and separate us from other lines”.

In an interview with Travel Weekly, international managing director Caroline Smith (pictured) said the line has “taken it to another level in terms of investment” with the creation of the Regent Elevate programme, which has now been rolled out in the UK following its launch in the US last year.

The line has designed the ‘RSSC University’ with courses for agents to complete ranging from an introduction to the brand to more-detailed product news, all of which aim to make it as easy as possible for agents to sell Regent sailings, Smith said.

Core courses have been designed to give the trade a basic understanding of Regent; elective courses feature more in-depth information on add-ons such as land programmes; and graduate courses provide details on typical Regent customers and culinary offerings.

After the completion of the first course, agents will be awarded ‘associate’ status, followed by ‘bachelor’ for the second course and ‘master’ for the third.

To celebrate the launch of RSSC University, agents can earn £300 by becoming a master graduate and making a new booing within 100 days of completion of the course.

Smith, who took up her position in December 2022, said: “In my career, I’ve not seen any other training programme as in-depth as this, with our extensive cheat sheets, webinars and toolkits, providing agents with everything they could possibly need.

“The programme has taken up to two years to complete and now it’s reaching a crescendo.”

Paul Beale, vice-president of UK sales, added: “This marks another milestone in Regent’s commitment to providing more training, support and incentives to our valued travel partners as we aim to help grow their luxury cruise business.”