Australians have much to gain
from the services of Virtuoso,
an elite group of travel advisors.
LUXURY travel network Virtuoso has
appealed to Australian travellers to work with
its ‘in-the-know travel advisors’ when planning
a holiday involving a cruise.
Speaking with Cruise Weekly, Albert Herrera,
senior vice president, global product
partnerships, said: “Each trip from Australia is
a long trip, so a cruise is always combined with
something else, such as a rail adventure, a
beach resort or an extended stay in a villa.”
“The experiences we curate are truly best
handled by a knowledgeable advisor, especially
for the savvy cruiser looking for something
unique, something special.”
Herrara said the main trends in luxury
cruising were a growth in river cruising,
“particularly experiential cruises, such as the
Amazon”, extended families booking adjoining
staterooms and earlier bookings to secure
preferred suites.
The company is set to launch a new
“participative” website that connects travellers
with the most relevant local advisor.
“It will be a collaborative tool that allows
people to look through our product catalogue
and then look through our advisor catalogue to
see who matches what they want,” Herrara said.
“Because it can be as much fun to plan a trip
as to take one, people like to engage with
someone, talk about their aspirations and
work together to come up with the best
possible personalised holiday.”
Meanwhile, in a survey of Australia-based
travel advisors, Myanmar was named 2013’s
must-see destination, followed by South
America, Morocco and Bhutan.
Virtuoso’s network comprises more than
7,200 travel specialists, including 31 member
agencies in Australia and New Zealand, who
work closely with luxury lines such as
Seabourn, Silversea, Regent Seven Seas,
Crystal Cruises, Paul Gauguin Cruises and APT/
AMA Waterways.
To find an advisor, see www.virtuoso.com.au.
