In March, the London-based team scooped the UK and Ireland’s Top Ocean Cruise Agency at the TTG Top 50 Travel Agencies ceremony at its first attempt, triumphing over several more established cruise specialists. 

Head of operations and partnerships Sam Redfearn and head of sales Patrick Hill put Paramount’s success down to the agency’s focus on “unique” packages and its commitment “to always putting the customer first” during the Covid crisis, leading to a score of 4.9/5.0 on Trustpilot.

Nonetheless, the pair confess the recent silverware came as a welcome surprise. “I was quite shocked to hear our name read out,” admits Redfearn. “I don’t know about you [turning to Hill] but I can’t say I was expecting it. It was a very proud moment for all of us.” 

Hill agrees: “It was great to see our name alongside such established agencies – we did feel like underdogs.

The pair are speaking to TTG from Paramount’s office in London’s Fitzrovia, which it shares with some of the multiple travel brands belonging to parent company Moresand Group. 

Redfearn was the first to join Paramount from Iglu in November 2017 when Moresand decided to create a dedicated cruise brand. Hill joined his ex-Iglu colleague three months later, ahead of the agency’s May 2018 launch, with senior product manager Marco Macchieraldo completing the trio.

Now a team of 10, the agency is looking to the future with excitement after exceeding pre-pandemic sales levels at the end of last year. “People expect to find a team of 30 or 40, given the numbers we can produce,” says Hill. 

“We’re still a young brand, but everyone is driven – we all love travel and bringing different ideas.” 

That desire to differentiate the business has seen Paramount focus on tailor-made packages. 

Overseen by Macchieraldo, Paramount Packages leverages Moresand’s long-standing industry connections with airlines, accommodation providers and transfer suppliers, allowing the agency to compete in an ever-growing and lucrative side of cruise retail.

“There’s stiff competition among tailor-made agents, but we do a lot of packages that other companies don’t, or at least they don’t do them as well as us,” says Hill. 

As an example, he describes travelling with more than 250 Paramount customers on a pre-cruise tour of Nashville, Memphis and New Orleans in February. 

“Nobody does the full experiences around Mardi Gras; we work with tourist boards and hotels, and send staff out to join the trips – an extra touch that customers like,” he explains. 

Redfearn adds: “The cruise isn’t always the main focus of the package, it’s the experiences before and afterwards – it’s about flipping that traditional mentality.” 

This approach has brought “a younger, new-to-cruise crowd” of customers and helped push up average booking values by around 40% compared with pre-pandemic levels, the pair believe.

“Marco puts together some very exciting product, and tailor-made is the biggest side of our business,” Redfearn continues. “There’s work we can do on the tech side to start bringing in more Southampton-focused itineraries too.” 

After refining its service model to ensure clients always have a direct line to their agent, Paramount is continuing to develop its customer journey to keep clients engaged and excited throughout their experience by offering destination guides, ship reviews and industry news. The agency is also close to sealing a charity partnership focusing on sustainability.

There could yet be more news too as the ocean-focused business looks to broaden its reach and offer other cruising sectors, such as river and expedition. 

“It’s not something we’ll turn on straight away, but we do like a lot of the river and expedition product, and we are getting more enquiries, so watch this space,” says Hill. “We’re looking ahead with confidence, especially off the back of the Top 50 win, and we’re excited to see what the rest of the year holds.”