Assistant store manager Rachel Liversidge, who has spent 24 years with Tui and now works at its store in The Moor, Sheffield, has sold an average of 75 cruises a year.
Asked how she manages to book so many cruises, Liversidge put her success down to identifying customers who favour city breaks, completing training programmes and taking time to read through cruise line offers.
“I’ve seen a big change in cruising over the years,” Liversidge tells TTG. “Cruising used to be for one type of customer, but now there’s a cruise for everybody – they’re more affordable.”
Liversidge reckons she has sold around 1,800 cruise bookings during her career.
“I want to get more than 2,000,” she insists. “My boss Luke [Ashmore] said he’ll take me out for a drink when I book my 2,000th. He’s been at the store nearly as long as I have.”
Liversidge made her first cruise booking while working for Lunn Poly more than 20 years ago. “P&O Cruises had this promotion on, and my husband Jonathan worked at John Lewis,” she recalls.
“He worked with a woman called Rose, and I asked him to see if she fancied cruising with P&O Cruises. It just went from there.
"I ended up booking 20 cabins for Rose and her friends, as well as some other people. I went on the cruise on Oceania as well because I had booked so many cabins."
Despite being a top cruise seller, Liversidge reveals she has only been on “five or six” sailings herself with the likes of Celebrity Cruises, P&O Cruises, Marella Cruises and Royal Caribbean International.
“I always think cruising is an easy sell because ships offer five-star entertainment and really nice food,” she adds.
