Authentic Cruise Company was set up by luxury operator Savile Row Travel earlier this year with a focus on selling cruise companies such as Seabourn, Silversea, Quark Expeditions and Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection.
Marketing director Laura Reynolds told TTG: “We’re looking for cruise specialist agents who can come with their own clients. We can give them the products and offer them flexible working.
“We’re not looking for anybody who is currently contracted with another agency so they will be self-employed and work from home. It would suit agents who can no longer work full-time in a sales environment. They can pick and choose when they work as we can provide everything they need.”
Agents joining the Authentic Cruise Company’s new Independent Cruise Consortium will sell cruises under the company’s Atol and will also benefit from its exclusive cruise rates, marketing and sales support, training and the Horizon Club loyalty programme.
Reynolds added that commission would be split 70:30 in favour of the agents and they will also have the opportunity to earn a higher rate of commission if they hit certain targets.
“We’ve had seven or eight enquiries since we soft launched the consortium on Monday – including a few who use to work in cruise agencies,” she said.
“We’re really open minded about how many homeworkers we would like to join the consortium. We think they will have opportunity to benefit from the assets that we can give them.”
Authentic Cruise Company, which is based in Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire, currently has a team of seven staff within the larger Savile Row Travel business.
This dedicated cruise team includes Reynolds, who previously worked at Imagine Cruises, and IC relationships manager Gemma Lovell who used to run the agent loyalty programme at Royal Caribbean.
Richard Lewis, chief executive of Savile Row Travel and Authentic Cruise Company, added: “This consortium is more than just a business opportunity; it’s a community where passionate cruise specialists can come together, learn, and grow in an industry they love.”
