Paul Rhodes is the manager of the office and the ultimate cruising specialist. 

Paul has been in the cruise industry for over 15 years including working on board cruise ships for 3 ½ years; his time was spent on QE2, Vistafjord, Sagafjord and Celebrity Zenith. Since leaving the ships Paul has been on more than 40 cruises and, including his time on board the ships, visited 400+ ports of call - wow.  His particular favourites to date include Sea Dream and Royal Caribbean's Voyager family ships – but for completely different reasons. SeaDream for her luxury and intimacy with just 55 cabins and by complete contrast Royal Caribbean’s Voyager family ships. 
These ships are some of the largest cruise ships afloat and include innovative features such as the "first ever" ice skating rink at sea and a rock climbing wall, 200ft above sea level. But with regard to destinations visited the clear favourite is The Galapagos - home to a unique eco-system which offers some of the most spectacular wildlife found anywhere in the world.

A top tip from Paul would be … “If it’s a cruise with limited shore excursions, book them all, even it you’re not 100% sure. Go to the shore presentations and if you change your mind you generally have the option to cancel without penalty up to 24 hours prior.”

Cathy Ellis started working in travel in 1999 and became a cruising specialist in 2001. 

Cathy has been on 6 or 7 cruises so far (that’s complimented by also doing in excess of an additional 10 ships visits) and has a long wish-list for the future! In particular she hopes one day to be fortunate enough to go on a round-the-world itinerary - that’s around 100 days on a cruise! 

Cathy mentions that a number of clients worry cruising could be “too dressy” - that may have been the case 10 years ago but times have changed. In reality a 7 night cruise only includes on average two “formal” nights, and two “semi-formal” - semi being jacket without a tie. In fact SeaDream, the ultimate in luxury cruising even has a “no jacket required” policy. Princess Cruises and NCL also follow a similar theme with a general policy of evening “resort casual” with “optional” formal nights. On formal nights another top tip would be “If required, make sure you book your hair/beauty salon appointments very early, otherwise you might be disappointed”.

Kerry Dearing has been a cruise specialist since 2005.

Of the cruising she has experienced to date she particularly enjoyed her short cruise on P & O’s Oriana to Rotterdam and Bruges.  However in the future her sights are set on travelling much further afield and her dream cruise would be on the luxury cruise line Silversea from Singapore via the Great Barrier Reef to Sydney.

Kerry is 25 years old and makes particular mention “It’s a popular misconception that cruising in general is suited only to the more mature market. There are many cruise lines in particular Royal Caribbean Cruises which are ideally suited to the 20’s-30’s market” In addition Kerry makes a recommendation “If you’re looking to cruise for the first time it’s not necessarily wise to do a “taster” 2 or 3 night cruise as these are often not representative of the experiences you’ll enjoy on a longer cruise itinerary.