Making waves at our first Cruise Together mini conference

Cruise has never been more exciting. From luxury ocean voyages and intimate river sailings to expedition adventures and family holidays at sea, today's cruise market offers something for every type of traveller. It's also one of the fastest-growing and most commercially rewarding sectors of the travel industry.

That's why we recently hosted Cruise Together – our very first dedicated cruise conference for Travel Counsellors.

Designed exclusively for our business owners, the event at 8 Northumberland Avenue in London brought together over 100 Travel Counsellors and some of the biggest names in cruising for a day of inspiration, learning and collaboration. But more than that, it showcased something that's central to being a Travel Counsellor: you're never building your business alone.

The day opened with a welcome from our Director of Commercial, Alex Gavalda, who set the tone by highlighting the three themes that would run throughout the event: knowledge, opportunity and growth.

With cruise continuing to be a significant and growing part of our leisure business, delegates heard how Travel Counsellors is investing in the tools, partnerships and support needed to help business owners make the most of this thriving market.

Learning from those leading the way

One of the highlights of the morning was hearing from Travel Counsellor and Cruise Ambassador Emma Otter, who shared her own journey of building cruise confidence and developing a successful specialist business.

Her story was a reminder that expertise doesn't happen overnight. It's built through curiosity, learning and being part of a supportive community that's always willing to share knowledge.

That spirit of collaboration was evident throughout the day.

Representatives from CLIA and the European Cruise Network also shared valuable insights into the strength of today's cruise market, the exciting opportunities ahead and the importance of strong industry partnerships.

Practical ideas to grow every business

The morning continued with inspiring talks focused on turning knowledge into action.

Our marketing session explored how Travel Counsellors can attract more cruise customers through targeted campaigns, social media and customer engagement, while colleagues also demonstrated the latest technology and booking tools that are making it easier than ever to create tailored cruise holidays.

Whether delegates already considered themselves cruise specialists or were looking to build confidence, every session offered practical takeaways that could be applied immediately.

Bringing our supplier partnerships to life

A real highlight of Cruise Together was the opportunity to connect directly with some of the biggest names across luxury, premium, river, expedition and ocean cruising.

A lively supplier panel gave delegates the chance to hear different perspectives on emerging trends and customer demand, before conversations continued over lunch as Travel Counsellors built relationships with the people behind the brands.

These partnerships are one of the greatest strengths of being part of Travel Counsellors, giving our business owners direct access to expertise, support and opportunities that help them deliver exceptional customer experiences.

From inspiration to application

After a delicious lunch, our Travel Counsellors worked alongside our cruise partners to take part in interactive workshops designed around real customer scenarios, exploring everything from customer profiling to packaging cruise holidays with additional travel arrangements.

The sessions encouraged collaboration, discussion and fresh thinking, with everyone sharing ideas, asking questions and learning from one another.

By the end of the workshops, there was a real sense of momentum as attendees reflected on what they'd learned and, importantly, how they planned to put it into practice.

Looking ahead

As the day drew to a close, our franchise owners were encouraged to make a personal pledge for their next step — whether that was becoming a cruise specialist, building stronger supplier relationships, completing further training or simply having more cruise conversations with their customers.

That commitment to continuous learning is what makes the Travel Counsellors community so special.

Ready to cruise into a new career with Travel Counsellors?

If you're an experienced travel professional looking for the freedom to grow your cruise business, or someone with a genuine passion for cruise who's dreaming of turning that passion into a career, we'd love to show you what's possible.

Our Discovery Events are a great way to learn more about becoming a Travel Counsellor. You'll hear from members of our support team and existing Travel Counsellors, discover how our award-winning business model works, and find out how we help people build successful travel businesses with industry-leading technology, training and supplier partnerships.

Whether cruise is already your speciality or it's the area of travel you're most excited to explore, your journey could start here. Explore our events and secure your place today.