Carmen Shirkey, a Glen Allen, Va., travel agent with Expedia CruiseShipCenters, has achieved Commodore status in Princess Cruises' Academy training program, certifying her as an expert cruise professional.

"We at Princess are very proud of Carmen's dedication, as she put in extra effort to offer clients exceptional knowledge regarding our cruise vacation product as well as our worldwide destinations," said Jan Swartz, senior vice president of customer service and sales at Princess. "Travel agents who reach this top level in our Academy program have completed hours of course work to become a cruising expert."

Princess Academy is a comprehensive online training program available to travel agents in the U.S. and Canada.

To become a Commodore, travel agents must fulfill 25 required and elective classes, representing approximately 15 hours of course work covering worldwide destinations, onboard programs, and customer-service skills.

As they complete courses, agents receive their "stripes" through four levels: First Officer, Staff Captain, Captain and finally Commodore.