| Classic International ramps it up

Classic International Cruises’
first business development
manager will focus on
building agents’ support.
IN PREPARATION FOR ITS LONGEST-EVER SEASON IN
Australia next summer, Classic International
Cruises (CIC) has recruited Pauline Walker,
former head and founder of Hospitality Plus,
to help bolster support for locally based
vessels Athena and Funchal.
The line’s Australia-based managing
director Grant Hunter said Walker would
concentrate on the key market of Western
Australia where CIC has home-ported a ship
each summer since 2004.
“Our 2011-12 summer season for Athena
in Perth and Adelaide will be our longest
deployment ever in Australia by 35 days, and
our ever-popular Funchal will be based in the
Far East, so Pauline will help promote our
unique, classic-styled product amongst travel
agents, especially as we only take bookings
from agents,” Hunter said.
Perth-based Walker has 25 years
experience running Hospitality Plus, which
represents major national travel wholesalers
in Western Australia.
Her appointment follows the recent
resignation of CIC’s sales and marketing
manager, Ann Hope, who worked for CIC for
seven years.
Discussing her new role, Walker said she
was looking forward to sharing her
enthusiasm for the two ships.
“In an age where so many
cruise lines are trying to build
bigger and fancier ships,
there’s something very special
about real, traditional liners
like Athena and Funchal”
“In an age where so many cruise lines are
trying to build bigger and fancier ships,
there’s something very special about real,
traditional liners like Athena and Funchal,”
Walker said.
“You’re not surrounded by thousands of
people, and there’s an intimacy and relaxed
ambience that you don’t get on superliners,
so that’s the appeal I will be selling to travel
agents,” she added.
The 550-pax
Athena will offer
15 cruises to and
from Perth and
Adelaide from
Nov 2011, and
the 465-pax
Funchal will offer
nine cruises from
Singapore and
Hong Kong from
Jan 2012.