____________________________________________________________________________________________ Ultra-luxury travel
What challenges have you faced while establishing and running a luxury cruise company , and how have you overcome them ? Since launching Panache Cruises , the world has had to face a few global challenges which have in turn affected the travel and cruise industries . Firstly , the effects of the pandemic were significant . After being mothballed for many months , ships had to be brought back to life . With a finite number of shipyards across the world , this was a complex and time-consuming process . New ship builds were delayed , and this meant that older vessels had to be retained for longer .
The war in Ukraine has also had a dramatic effect on the cruise industry . Several cruise ports ( such as St Petersburg in Russia ) have been completely removed from cruise itineraries . This has presented opportunities too for new itineraries in the Baltic and High Arctic regions . That ’ s the great thing about the cruise industry though - cruise lines can simply relocate vessels away from regions as required .
The trick to overcoming adversity is to focus on ‘ future needs ’ whilst building in robust elements of contingency . The cruise sector continues to grow at pace , despite the setbacks , and we look forward to forging ahead with our ten-year plan to become the world ’ s largest retailer of luxury cruises .
What did winning the John Hays Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2021 mean to you ? The Award was a very proud moment for me . I was a personal friend of John Hays and he was someone I had a great deal of respect for . He was a great entrepreneur and businessman himself and therefore it was a great honour to be the first recipient of this award .
What is the best piece of business advice you ’ ve received ? I was incredibly lucky to work closely with a truly inspirational man called John
Bloodworth ; who used to be CEO at MyTravel and also Thomas Cook PLC . As my chief mentor , I learnt a huge amount from John over the years .
John was genuine , honest , and direct . Furthermore , he really cared for the people he worked with . If he gave someone his word , they could count on it . I have never met anyone with his integrity , his honesty , or his compassion .
Those core values are that drive me forward today and they reflect everything that we do at Panache Cruises . Put simply , if we say that we ’ re going to do something , we do it . When it comes to customer service , nothing is too much trouble .
What do you thinks hold back business ( ie : lack of training / investment etc )? No two businesses face an identical set of challenges . However , I passionately believe that far too many businesses follow a ‘ me too ’ strategy . They accept that there is a recognised way of doing things and they stick to it . The ‘ if it ain ’ t broke , don ’ t fix it ’ mentality stifles creativity . Every industry has a disruptor , someone who does things differently , and cruising is no exception . Panache Cruises has unparalleled experience and knowledge , but that doesn ’ t mean they do everything the way it ’ s always been done - quite the opposite . If we can see a better way of doing something , then we embrace it .
We don ’ t just ‘ book cruises ’, we craft each cruise holiday as if it were our own trip and we leave no stone unturned in creating the ultimate cruise experience . We know that our customers want a completely personal service , so that ’ s what we deliver .
They know that people want unrivalled financial security , so with our ATOL approved Trust Account , we give them just that . Customer money is 100 percent safe with us . We also know that people want a powerful loyalty programme with unrivalled benefits so that ’ s what they have designed in Founders .
Our Cruise Connoisseurs provide a single point of contact throughout the customer
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