Nov
You’ve had a good year selling cruise. The numbers are up, your clients keep coming back, and someone in the office said you should put yourself up for the CLIA awards. Then you open the nomination form and find six empty boxes, a 500-word limit and no clue what the judges actually want in them.
Those boxes and anything you attach are all the judges get, and CLIA says as much in its own FAQ. Finalists are selected from the submissions that “most effectively address the award criteria” and show the nominee’s achievements “through clear, relevant and specific examples”. Not your sales figures on their own, not how long you’ve been selling cruise, but what’s written in those six boxes. Plenty of consultants with a great year type three thin paragraphs into each one and wonder in December how on earth they didn’t make the list.
Here’s what each of the six questions is really asking for, and how to answer them before nominations close on Friday 20 November.
Updated October 2026. Cruise Consultant of the Year, Home-Based Cruise Consultant and Cruise Broker use the six-question form; this guide is for those three. Other categories get a short note further down.
What does a CLIA nomination ask for?
The form may look simple, but don’t let that fool you. Here’s what you need to know:
- For the consultant categories it asks for the nominee’s details and six open answers, each capped at 500 words.
- You can nominate yourself or a colleague.
- The nominee needs to be a current CLIA member.
There’s a 500 word limit, but the form suggests you use 300 words per answer. Use what you need to fully answer the question, without any waffle.
Tip: Three of the six answers want numbers, so pull these together before you start writing:
- Total cruise sales (TTV) for the past 12 months and the 12 months before, and the percentage change between them (Question 4). CLIA doesn’t set the dates, so use your latest 12 full months and say which months they are
- Any other figures that show how you’re tracking, such as the number of cruise bookings (also Question 4)
- New customers and repeat bookings over the past 12 months (Question 3)
- The result behind each of your biggest achievements (Question 1)
What are the six questions really asking?
Question 1: “How has the nominee demonstrated success and growth over the past 12 months? Please outline their key achievements, results and accomplishments, providing specific examples wherever possible.”
Your biggest results from the past 12 months, each with a specific example and a number against it. That might be one standout achievement with smaller wins that back it up, or a few of similar weight. For example, a client you won and what they booked, a product you pushed and how it sold, a target you set and what you ended up on. The question asks about growth too, so show how you’ve moved on since this time last year, whether that’s a bigger client base, a new specialty or more responsibility, and save the detailed sales figures for Question 4. This is the answer the judges read first, so it sets the tone for the other five.
Question 2: “How has the nominee demonstrated initiative, creativity and determination in responding to opportunities and challenges within the cruise market?”
The things you did that nobody told you to do, something you took a creative approach to, or a time where you didn’t give up, and it paid off. Make sure all three show up, whether that’s a separate example for each or one big project that covers several. It might be a client event you ran off your own bat, a niche you built when the market shifted, or a booking you chased for months and landed. What the judges want to see is that you think for yourself and act on it.
Question 3: “What strategies has the nominee used to grow and develop their cruise business over the past 12 months? Please provide examples of initiatives undertaken to increase cruise sales, attract new customers, grow repeat business or broaden their cruise product offering.”
The strategies you used over the past 12 months to grow and develop your cruise business, with an example of each. The question names four areas: more cruise sales, new customers, repeat business and a broader range of cruise products. You don’t need all four, but cover the ones you worked on. Name the strategy, tell them what you did, then show the result it produced. “I work my database” is a claim. “I grew my repeat business by sending past passengers a shortlist of new itineraries every quarter, and 38% of last year’s clients rebooked” tells the judges what you did, how you did it and what it achieved.
Question 4: “Please provide an overview of the nominee’s cruise sales performance for the past 12 months, for example, total cruise sales (TTV), the approximate percentage increase or decrease compared with the preceding 12 months, and any other key metrics that demonstrate their success. If you are not able to provide exact figures, then providing approximate figures will support the judging process.”
This is where the judges want the full picture of your cruise sales. The form asks for an overview, so the explanation behind your results matters too. Start with your total cruise sales (TTV) for the past 12 months and the percentage change on the 12 months before. Add any other metrics that show how you’re tracking, such as the number of bookings. Then put them in context, for example by explaining the market you sell into and what you were up against. If you don’t have exact figures, include approximate ones rather than leaving them out. If sales went down, say why and what you did about it. An honest dip with a plan behind it reads better than a vague “strong year”.
Question 5: “How has the nominee demonstrated a commitment to professional development and continuous learning over the past 12 months? Please provide examples and explain how these activities have benefited their performance.”
Any training or learning you’ve done in the past 12 months goes here. First, list everything you can think of, then sort it into groups, such as further study and certifications (including CLIA certification), cruise line training and ship inspections, industry events and conferences, and networking or mentoring. The question also asks how these activities benefited your performance, so prioritise the ones where you can explain that, such as a ship inspection that led to more bookings on that ship. Lead with the strongest. And because the question asks about commitment and continuous learning, show that learning has been a habit across the year rather than a single course.
Question 6: “How does the nominee engage positively with the industry and the broader cruise community?”
This is asking how you show up for cruise beyond your own clients and sales, such as speaking, mentoring, advocacy or the forums you contribute to. The question names two groups, the industry and the broader cruise community, so cover both if you can, from helping newer consultants to running a cruise night for the public. For each, say what you did and who it helped.
Tip: In any answer that asks for results, lead with your strongest number instead of building up to it. The judges shouldn’t have to search for the answer.
Entering a different category?
The other CLIA categories use different forms. Rising Star asks three questions, and finalists complete a separate submission due 8 January. The promotion categories ask four questions about one campaign and encourage attachments. Agency of the Year is nominated by the cruise lines, so an agency’s part at that stage is asking its partners to put it forward. The advice above on leading with numbers and answering every part of the question applies to all of them.
When is it due, and where do you start?
Here are the dates to work back from:
- Nominations close at 11:59pm on Friday 20 November, and the form stays editable until then
- Finalists are notified in early December
- Finalists are announced publicly in mid-January
- The awards are on Saturday 13 February 2027 at ICC Sydney
Whenever you’re reading this, start with your sales figures, because several answers depend on them and they can take a few days to pull together. Then draft the six answers and ask someone to check each one against its question. Aim to submit a day or two before the close, so a missed field or a slow upload doesn’t cost you the entry.
If you’d rather talk it through than type it
That’s what we do. One call, the six answers written in your voice, your numbers laid out the way the judges read them, and a round of edits before you submit. I edited Cruise Weekly and Travel Daily before I did this, so I know what a cruise story sounds like when it’s told well.
We’ve written nearly 100 award entries since 2021. In travel, tourism and hospitality, nine in ten of them have made finalist or better.
Details are on the Award Writing page. If you’re entering more than one program this season, How to write an award entry that wins covers the ground that applies to all of them. Let’s make that next award yours.
FAQ
When do CLIA Cruise Industry Awards nominations close?
Friday 20 November 2026, at 11:59pm. Finalists are notified in early December and announced in mid-January, and the awards are on Saturday 13 February 2027 at ICC Sydney.
How long is a CLIA Awards nomination?
Six answers of up to 500 words each for the consultant, home-based and broker categories, so up to 3,000 words. Rising Star is three answers (up to 1,500 words), and the promotion categories are four (up to 2,000 words).
Can I nominate myself for the CLIA Awards?
Yes. Self-nomination and peer nomination are both accepted for the consultant, Rising Star and promotion categories. Agency of the Year is nominated by cruise lines only.
How are CLIA Awards finalists chosen?
It depends on the category. CLIA’s FAQ says finalists are selected from the submissions that “most effectively address the award criteria”, and each category adds its own steps.
- Cruise Consultant, Home-Based Cruise Consultant and Cruise Broker: the written nomination is what gets you on the list, and finalists’ nominations go to the judging panel as submitted.
- Rising Star: your CLIA certification points and engagement are also considered, and finalists complete a separate submission due 8 January.
- Promotion categories: the campaign is judged on your four written answers plus the supporting material you upload, such as ads, social posts and flyers.
- Agency of the Year: each cruise line nominates five agencies, and agencies made finalists complete their own submission due 8 January.