Master Cruise CounselorThe MCC designation, the levels around it, and how to keep it
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CLIA Certified Cruise Counselor and ACC

The first two rungs of the ladder that leads to master cruise counselor.

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Every master cruise counselor starts lower down. The CLIA certified cruise counselor (CCC) designation is the foundation, and the Accredited Cruise Counsellor (ACC) is the step that normally comes immediately before MCC.

CLIA Certified Cruise Counselor (CCC)

CLIA calls the CCC its “essential” certification, for advisors who want to increase cruise sales while building their knowledge. For enrollments from 2022, it requires:

  • Ten mandatory courses, live or online, each with its quiz passed: Cruising 101, Cruising 201, Successful Qualifying, Power Selling 101: Skills, World Geography Eastern Hemisphere, World Geography Western Hemisphere, Delivering Great Customer Service, The Wonderful World of Ship Inspections, 20 Best Practices for Travel Agent Success, Groups 101, and Getting Prepared for Cruise Sales.
  • 30 elective credits from Cruise360, a CLIA live or virtual learning event, or industry partner training.
  • One ship inspection, five stateroom bookings and one personal cruise of two nights or more.
  • A letter of verification from your host agency.
  • Completion within 18 months of enrollment, while holding active Individual Agent Membership.

Accredited Cruise Counsellor (ACC)

CLIA’s “significant” certification is for established advisors already proficient at selling cruises. Its 2022+ requirements:

  • 40 credits of CLIA online courses and live seminars, plus one CLIA certificate program.
  • 80 elective credits from a list similar to the MCC’s, including The Travel Institute’s CTA designation.
  • Five ship inspections, on different ships.
  • Two personal cruises of at least two nights, on different lines and itineraries.
  • Twenty staterooms booked or deposited through a CLIA member agency.
  • A verification letter, and two years to finish.
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What the Early Levels Teach

The CCC course list reads like a cruise-selling foundation: how ships and lines differ, how to qualify a client, world geography for both hemispheres, customer service, ship inspections, groups and best practices. The ACC then shifts toward depth, with a certificate program in a specialism and far more inspections. By the time an advisor reaches MCC, the expectation is that the basics are second nature.

From CCC to MCC

The progression is deliberate: each level asks for more bookings (5, then 20, then 32) and more varied first-hand experience. Bookings, inspections and cruises used for one level cannot be reused for the next, so many advisors keep going steadily rather than pausing between levels. The MCC requirements are on our requirements page; for training basics before the CCC, see Cruise Agent University’s CLIA overview.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the CLIA certified cruise counselor level worth doing if I plan to reach MCC?

For most advisors, yes. CLIA requires the ACC before the MCC (outside its experiential learning route), and the CCC coursework covers the selling and geography basics the higher levels assume you already know.

Can the same cruise count for CCC and ACC?

No. CLIA’s ACC rules say a cruise used to attain a lower level cannot be used again, and the same principle applies to bookings and inspections at the higher levels.

Start Building Toward Your First CLIA Level

Be a Travel Agent helps new cruise sellers get set up to make the bookings the CCC requires.

Become a Travel Agent