For people who love to travel, starting a travel agency specializing in cruises can be very exciting. Earning a living by talking about your cruise experiences and helping direct less experienced cruisers to the right vacation can be very rewarding. Many people are also attracted to the travel discounts you can receive by becoming a member of the International Airline Travel Agency Network (IATAN). Membership is available after earning $5,000 in commissions during the previous 12 month period.

It takes a little while to build your business. Great customer service and knowledge of the business are key ingredients to a successful career. Cruise lines tend to specialize to certain types of people. Some appeal to older crowds, others have many activities for children, while look for more active cruisers by providing more daytime activities on the ship or nighttime entertainment choices. One of the best ways to gain a lot of customers quickly is to sell a group trip. Join local groups, religious organizations, college alumni programs, etc.

Cruise lines typically pay commissions of 12% – 15% of the base fare. This excludes charges for port taxes and government fees. Additional money can be made by selling travel insurances where commissions are much higher, selling tours while your clients are on land and booking airfare and transportation to the airport or port. If your clients take travel insurance, they will be covered in case of delays, lost luggage or sickness, which will reduce your chances of having an unhappy customer.

As with any upstart business, you need to control expenses. A cruise travel agency can be operated right out of your home with the majority of work done through the telephone or internet. Cruise tickets can be sent by messengers to your clients. One of your more important and higher expenses will be the Errors and Omission Insurance Policy. This will protect you from mistakes during the booking process or from errors in printed materials or advertising.

If you have never been on an adventure holiday before, then you may be wondering exactly what it is that you need to pack. Obviously it will all depend entirely upon which type of adventure travel you are partaking in, but there are some general items that you should never forget no matter what you are doing.

Preparing For Adventure Travel Holidays

The first thing that you should do before anything else, is write down a list of what you need to take. This is something that you should do no matter what type of holiday you are going on as it helps you to remember everything.

Hygiene related products should be a top priority. So things such as sunscreen, bug repellent, shampoo and toothpaste are all products you should take with you. Also don’t forget that if it is going to be sunny on your holiday, you are likely going to need sunglasses to protect your eyes.

Clothes wise you need to use a bit of common sense. If it is going to be sunny then you will need cool clothes. If you are going somewhere cold then it would be better to wear various layers which you can remove if you become too hot. It is always a good idea to contact your adventure tour operator just to make sure that you pack the right clothing for your holiday. They will also be able to tell you what equipment you will need and any particular customs that you have to follow whilst you are in the country you are visiting.

Your camera should be packed as that way you will be able to capture plenty of images to help you remember the holiday. Whether you use a digital camera or an ordinary camera, it is an essential item should be taken on all holidays as otherwise you cannot truly remember every detail. Cameras help you to capture everything and the pictures last forever if they are looked after. Remember though that if you take an ordinary camera, you will need to ensure that there is enough film to capture plenty of pictures. Digital cameras can be better to take with you as you do not have to carry anything else around with you and you know straight away whether the pictures are ok or not.

Overall it is always a good idea to chat to your adventure tour operator to see which types of equipment you should pack. However, packing the items mentioned above is a great first step and they will help you to have as good a holiday as possible.