Sue Bradley

The Pampered Cruiser,

a Direct Travel company


Nancy Yale

Direct Travel Fairfield

Joe Galli

Camelback Odyssey Travel,

a Direct Travel company


Shawna Copeland

Hands on Travel,

an affiliate of Direct Travel

Jesse Taylor

Taylor Elite Travel,

an affiliate of Direct Travel

Five of Direct Travel’s U.S. Advisors Make

Virtuoso’s 2024 Cruise Icon List


Highlighting Direct Travel’s Extensive Resources for

High End Cruise Sellers



Tuesday, May 14, 2024 New York -- Direct Travel is delighted to announce that five of its U.S. travel advisors have been named to the prestigious Virtuoso Cruise Icons list this year.


"We believe this success is the result of high-end cruise sellers leveraging the resources they can find at Direct Travel. Great travel advisors need a variety of tools to create different types of experiences that match their clients' travel wishes. Our motivation is to provide travel advisors with the best means so they can deliver at their highest level." said Stephen Smith, senior vice-president of leisure strategy & marketing at Direct Travel.

 

Virtuoso is the leading global network specializing in luxury and experiential travel which annually honors a select group of advisors whose sales performance excels within the industry. This year there are just 137 advisors across eight countries worldwide named Virtuoso Cruise Icons. Direct Travel is proud to host five in the U.S. and six in Canada.

 

Those U.S.-based Direct Travel advisors honored on Virtuoso's Cruise Icon list this year include Jesse Taylor of Fort Lauderdale-based Taylor Elite Travel; Nancy Yale of Fairfield, Connecticut-based Cruise and World Travel; Joe Galli with Cambelback Odyssey Travel in Phoenix, Arizona; Shawna Copeland from Hands On Travel in San Jose, California; and Sue Bradley of The Pampered Traveler in Stamford, Connecticut.


As icons, this select group will have access to various events as well as exclusive benefits for their clients on over 500 sailings on 13 cruise lines, including a dedicated onboard host and a choice of additional benefits ranging in value form US$500 per couple to several thousand dollars, depending on the sailing.

 

Nancy Yale at Direct Travel Fairfield opened her own agency 30 years ago when she had three young children and her agency joined Direct Travel in 2019. “I have been selling cruises for over 30 years and watched the industry develop in size and interesting destinations from Antarctica to Indonesia. Being on the leisure team of Direct Travel has enhanced my ability to offer clients extra amenities and perks on many different cruise products. Their support has been helpful to the success of my business with many cruise lines and vendors. Being part of Direct Travel has been a pleasure,” she said.


Jesse Taylor runs Taylor Elite Travel, an affiliate of Direct Travel and has been selling premium and luxury leisure travel for over a decade. He specializes in river cruises, ocean cruises, expedition cruises, barge cruises, land tours, and building customized trips for single travelers up to large groups. He said, "I am honored to be included among this group of the top 1% of Virtuoso advisors for the 4th time as Virtuoso Cruise Icon. The support from the Direct Travel team certainly helps."


Joe Galli at Camelback Travel is focused on luxury cruise lines with a special passion for river cruising. He works with platinum partner lines Crystal Cruises, Seabourn, Regent Seven Seas, Oceania, and has a particular focus on luxury yachts and river cruising.


Shawna Copeland hails from Hands on Travel, an affiliate of Direct Travel in San Jose, CA and says, “Travel is who I am. My passion for travel started when I backpacked throughout Europe after my college graduation. I am well versed in all ocean cruises and river cruises. They both offer something completely unique and different.”


Sue Bradley from The Pampered Cruiser based in Stamford Connecticut, says “her mission is to help others accomplish the dream experiences on their travel-related bucket lists and often this includes a small ship or river cruise. On a small ship, the focus is more on the destination than the ship itself, she said.


Stephen Smith concluded, “These advisors are consummate professionals who understand the value of working with our strategic cruise partners while going the extra mile to exceed client expectations.” 

 

The awards will be presented at the annual Virtuoso Travel Week in Las Vegas in August this year.

 

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Direct Travel is a leading provider of corporate travel management services. The company has been providing travel management since 2011, working with clients to develop highly customized travel programs. By leveraging both the expertise of its people and innovative solutions, Direct Travel enables clients to derive the greatest value from their travel program in terms of superior service, progressive technologies and significant cost savings. Direct Travel has offices in over 80 locations across North America and the UK. For more information, visit www.dt.com.

For further information, please contact:

Victoria Larson

victoria@vklarsoncommunications.com

www.vklarsoncommunications.com