MEET THE TEAM

Name:  Scott Anderson

Position:  General Manager 

Scott has travelled extensively around the world and knows more than most how enjoyable cruising can be having been involved with the cruise industry since he was 19 years old. Back then he worked at sea as a cruise ship photographer and duty free shop manager, visiting the Caribbean, the Mediterranean, the Far East, Scandinavia and South America.

"A cruise offers such good value for money as so much is included in the fare, and this is especially true on the 6-star luxury brands. Above all, our clients appreciate the extra touches we provide."

Scott has also cruised the Mexican Riviera, Canada and New England and, after a period of work in America, joined Airmiles and ran its Cruise Club, after which he worked for a number of years as Cruise Marketing Manager for a cruise specialist travel agent.

Scott has first-hand knowledge of Cunard, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Silversea, Amawaterways, Viking River Cruises, SeaDream Yacht Club, Oceania Cruises, Crystal Cruises, Hebridean Island Cruises, Anatolian Sky, Swan Hellenic, Yachts of Seabourn, Celebrity Cruises, Hapag Lloyd Cruises, Star Clippers, Go Barging, Azamara Club Cruises and more.

Cruise stats

Years’ experience in cruise: 21

Favourite cruise line: This is a tough one – for a small ship experience I would say SeaDream Yacht Club, followed by Silversea. For a larger vessel, Crystal Cruises

Favourite cruise ship: Crystal Symphony – I like the variety of public rooms, onboard activities and amazing service

Favourite voyage: Singapore to Dubai on Crystal Cruises
First cruise taken: Working onboard, my first cruise was on MV The Azur, in February 1989, to the Caribbean

Last cruise taken: Travelling from Singapore to Dubai aboard Crystal Symphony April 2010. Prior to that was Seabourn Odyssey from Venice in June 2009

Dream cruise: A round-the-world cruise with plenty of days spent in each port of call – 6-star luxury of course!

Favourite perk of cruising: It’s hard to choose a favourite – but I think I would have to go with the exceptionally fine cuisine and wine

Unmissable excursion: Angel Falls in Venezuela

Favourite enrichment programme: As a keen photographer it would have to be the photography lectures

Favourite cruise activity: People watching and eating!

Funniest moment at sea: Being asked by a passenger if they will get wet when snorkelling...

Personal stats

Favourite food: Asian cuisine mostly

Favourite book: Anything by Clive Custler!

Favourite musician/band: I like all sorts from chart music and ’80s bands, to a bit of classical and Broadway!

Favourite movie: No real favourite but a good sci-fi flick or disaster movie

Hobbies: Photography

Top tip: If you suffer from sea sickness, book a mid-ship cabin, as this area of the ship experiences the least amount of rocking.

Name:  Janet Welsh

Position:  Senior Cruise Specialist

Janet has more than 18 years travel experience. Her cruise experience is wide and varied from Alaskan adventures to the sublime services onboard the luxury 6-star ships. She has experience of Crystal Cruises, SeaDream Yacht Club, Oceania Cruises, Celebrity Cruises and Cunard, and has also enjoyed a number of river cruises including along the Nile.

An avid traveller, Janet has excellent cruise and destination knowledge and the experience to tailormake an itinerary to any world destination.

Janet has first-hand knowledge of Cunard, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Crystal Cruises, Yachts of Seabourn, Silversea, Oceania Cruises, Sonesta Nile Cruises, APT River Cruises, Amawaterways, Celebrity Cruises, SeaDream Yacht Club, Hapag Lloyd Cruises, Hebridean Island Cruises, Go Barging & Azamara Club Cruises and more.

Cruise stats

Years’ experience in cruise: 20+

Favourite cruise line: SeaDream

Favourite cruise ship: SeaDream II

Favourite voyage: Alaska & Australia

First cruise taken: Sailing with P&O in 0May 2002 aboard Aurora for a 12-night Western Medieterranean cruise

Last cruise taken: Aboard Seabourn Pride in November 2009 for four nights sailing from Barcelona to Nice Dream cruise A private charter with family and friends, superb food and an itinerary that includes personalised, exciting excursions at each port, with perfect weather.

Favourite perk of cruising: Not having to navigate – ask my husband! Unmissable excursion: anything that allows you to experience the less touristy areas – e.g. cycling through the villages and paddy fields in Bali

Favourite enrichment programme: Wine tasting!

Favourite cruise activity: The opportunity to sleep under the stars on SeaDream

Funniest moment at sea: Getting lost on Santorini and worrying we’d miss the tender back to the boat. After literally two minutes, we rounded a headland, and there was the ship – you really couldn’t miss it! And we had an hour to spare!

Personal stats

Favourite food: Asian – best meal ever in Nobu's Restaurant on Crystal Serenity

Favourite book: The Rats by James Herbert – terrifying

Favourite musician/band: Paul McCartney

Favourite movie: West Side Story
Hobbies: Travelling, reading, nights out with friends, walking, cycling, theatre

Top tip: A stateroom at the back of the ship gives the most wonderful panoramic views over the ocean

Name:  Tony Stephenson

Position:  Regional Manager

Tony has ten years’ experience in the luxury cruise market and really savours adding the personal touch to his clients’ itineraries.

Travel is his hobby and he has cruised many times as well as touring around the globe extensively on assignments and vacations.

“I love the larger-ship choice of amenities and my favourites are Crystal Cruises, Cunard and Celebrity Cruises. A huge growth sector in our industry is the first class luxury river cruises – mainly in Europe and Egypt.”

Tony has first-hand knowledge of Cunard, Celebrity Cruises, Crystal Cruises, Silversea, Holland America Line, Regent Seven Seas Cruises and more.

Cruise stats

Years experience in cruise: Ten years

Favourite cruise line: Crystal Cruises

Favourite cruise ship: Crystal Serenity

Favourite voyage:  Sailing from NYC through New England to Quebec in Canada

First cruise taken: Sailing from Canberra, Australia in 1981 with P&O

Last cruise taken: Aboard Celebrity Cruises’ Equinox to the Holy Land and Egypt in 2009

Dream cruise: Travelling with Crystal Cruises to the Far East.

Favourite perk of cruising: Gourmet dining and meeting lovely people.

Unmissable excursion:  Exploring the Jerusalem and Bethlehem with knowledgeable guides

Favourite enrichment programme: Lectures by speakers who know Hollywood stars

Favourite cruise activity: Dancing and cocktails.

Funniest moment at sea: Too many!

Personal stats

Favourite food: Fillet Mignon

Favourite book: Michael Palin's travel books

Favourite musician/band: Elvis Presley and the Shadows

Favourite movie:  True Grit 
Hobbies:  Travel, cricket, football and current affairs

Top tip: On boarding, immediately check out your dining arrangements and don’t be afraid to request a change if necessary to bag the best table.

Name:  Cathy Chesman

Position:  Luxury Cruise Specialist

Cathy has been involved in the cruise industry for more than six years and has travelled with SeaDream Yacht Club, Crystal Cruises, Regent Seven Seas Cruises and Silversea, and has viewed Oceania ships, the Queen Mary 2 and more. She has a passion for travel and enjoys tailor-making itineraries for her clients.

Cathy has first-hand knowledge of SeaDream Yacht Club, Crystal Cruises, Silversea &  Regent Seven Seas Cruises and more.

 

Cruise stats

Years experience in cruise:  7 years

Favourite cruise line:  SeaDream Yacht Club and Crystal Cruises

Favourite cruise ship:  Regent Voyager for the fact that the lowest grade of accommodation on the ship is a balcony suite. They are all-inclusive including selected shore excursions too

Favourite voyage:  Nice to Nice onboard SeaDream II, which took in the Monaco Grand Prix and Cannes Film Festival.

First cruise taken: NCL Dawn on a roundtrip from New York in December 2003

Last cruise taken: Crystal Serenity sailing from Malaga to Tenerife in October 2009

Dream cruise: I would love to do an expedition voyage in the polar regions and use a zodiac boat to go ashore and see all the wildlife.

Favourite perk of cruising: I think one of the things that never loses it's novelty is waking up in the morning and peeking out your curtains to see your new surroundings and what the port of call that day has in store. The fact that everyday you're somewhere new is so exciting, the only downside of waking up in the morning means that you have one less day of your holiday left.

Favourite enrichment programme: The expedition and naturalist staff onboard the Prince Albert II are so fascinating. The knowledge they have is immense and their love for the destinations they visit and wildlife they study really shines through when talking to them.

Favourite cruise activity: When sailing with SeaDream Yacht Club I do like to keep active and make full use of all the water sport toys that are available off the platform at the aft of the ship – jet skis, kayaking and diving are available. They sometimes even get the banana boat out. If these facilities aren't available I really love a long soak in the jacuzzi on the pool deck with a nice glass of bubbly or a good book. In the evenings, I enjoy going to see the after dinner shows – the more sequins the better. Crystal Cruises are good for this.

Funniest moment at sea: Perhaps not one of the funniest moments at sea, but one of the most memorable was when the evening entertainment in the Show Lounge onboard Silver Sea Cloud dedicated a song to me.

Personal stats

Favourite food:  Italian

Favourite book: Biographies

Favourite musician/band: I love both new and old music.

Favourite movie:  My favourite movie has to be Phantom of the Opera.

Hobbies:  I like to keep fit by running, playing squash and going to circuit training when I can. I have partaken in a few fun and competition runs – one being the Nice semi-marathon along La Promenade des Anglais. I would love to run in the New York marathon one day.

Top tip: Book any alternative dining restaurant as soon as you can, especially during days at sea, as these always get booked up very quickly. Also a little tip for the ladies – if you want to have your hair done, get a facial, manicure or pedicure, on the days at sea in particular (which tend to be the formal nights), make your appointments in good time. Some shipping lines let you book these prior to your departure online, if that facility is not available, do it upon embarkation if you can.

Name:  Jacqui Ridler

Position:  Luxury Cruise Specialist

Having begun her career in the cruise industry in 1981, Jacqui is one of our most experienced cruise specialists, having literally lost count of the number of cruises she's taken. Living up to her motto that “nothing is too much trouble”, she is one of the UK’s few Ambassador members of the Association of Cruise Experts (ACE), has won awards for her customer service for the last three years and was runner up in the national Cruise Agent of the Year Awards. She also specialises in assisting customers with special dietary requirements and, as a Coeliac herself, speaks from first-hand experience.

Jacqui has first-hand knowledge of: Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Cunard Cruise, Azamara Club Cruises, Celebrity Cruises, Royal Caribbean International, Oceania Cruises and more.

 

Cruise stats

Years experience in cruise: 30 years

Favourite cruise line: If I have to pick one it would be Regent Seven Seas Cruises. Its ships are all-suite and all-inclusive, so your flights, excursions, transfers, tips, drinks and meals are all included in the price.

Favourite cruise ship: Cunard's Queen Elizabeth has the heritage of past Cunard ships. I love the art deco features and her contemporary elegance. The theatre is fabulous but the most memorable feature is a beautiful picture of the original Queen Elizabeth's bow in the atrium, which itself spans two and a half decks and was designed by the Queen's nephew, David Linley. The picture was executed using marquetry inlay in nine different types of wood veneers.

Favourite voyage: Sailing away from Stromboli, an island off the north coast of Sicily, aboard Azamara Journey. I remember dining in the Aqualina restaurant watching spectacular fountains of molten rock erupt from the lava-filled crater as the sun set in the distance.

First cruise taken: Working aboard MV La Palma in 1981.

Last cruise taken: Vision of the Seas Holy Land cruise with Royal Caribbean International.

Dream cruise: To circumnavigate Australia.

Favourite perk of cruising: Seeing the world on beautiful ships with amazing service, fabulous cuisine, a broad choice of activities and top-class entertainment.

Favourite enrichment programme: I enjoy the dance classes and the chance to try out my newly learnt dance steps with a live band that evening.

Favourite cruise activity: Sometimes it's a difficult decision as to which activity to participate in but I do enjoy the quizzes.

Funniest moment at sea: My most embarrassing moment – but funny to everyone else – was when I was hosting the captain's cocktail party. I caught my heel in the hem of my strapless sequin dress and pulled it down with only my hands to cover my embarrassment. Needless to say I went back to my stateroom to sew straps on it pronto.

Personal stats

Favourite food: Good quality steaks and lobster

Favourite book: Anything by Dan Brown, James Patterson or Agatha Christie

Favourite musician/band: Big Band, Soul Musicals or anything by Liza Minnelli

Favourite movie: Pretty Woman. I love the part when Julia Roberts was shopping on Rodeo drive. She went back to the store that wouldn't serve her because of the way she looked. It demonstrates that everyone should be given the best service at all times.

Top tip: There is often a slight delay in getting your luggage to your stateroom when you embark, so pack some swimwear in your hand luggage so you can start enjoying a cocktail around the pool as soon as you board. It's also not always best to explore the ports of call on your own; if you pre-book an escorted excursion you will make the most of your time in port and get an experienced guide who will be full of interesting information.