Ensemble top performers experienced the Explora 1 cruise ship, Direct Travel unveiled enhanced tech capabilities, and Virtuoso tipped its top cruise lines at the network’s annual Travel Week in Las Vegas in this week’s round-up.
Ensemble
Ensemble recently celebrated its top performers with an all-inclusive weeklong sailing from Denmark to Iceland aboard Explora 1, the first ship to sail as part of the launch of Explora Journeys.
As the first in the industry to experience the new luxury cruise brand, the inaugural Ensemble Beyond event included 30 of Ensemble’s exceptional members comprised of owners and managers along with a group of nine top advisors – the first time the consortium expanded the group to recognize individual members. A group of 25 Ensemble partners also joined the trip to commemorate the accomplishments of the stellar group.
In partnership with Explora, the journey began in Copenhagen with port stops in the UK and Iceland. As part of the experience, guests had a chance to explore the Orkney Islands off the coast of Scotland, a World Heritage Site, and Reykjavik, Iceland where they hiked the lava fields, explored the Blue Lagoon, and enjoyed an excursion to see whales and puffins.
While aboard, Ensemble members were feted with several dinners hosted by preferred partners as well as the option to partake in destination and offshore excursions. There were also opportunities to hear from Explora Luminaries including a wildlife ambassador, climate scientist, art historian, anthropologist/geologist, and creative digital and AI artist.
“Explora Journeys delivered an outstanding first impression,” said Ross Spalding, President of Crown Cruise Vacations Crown Cruise Vacations. “A beautiful ship, amazing culinary experiences, but most importantly ‘hosts’ that were just thrilled to provide exceptional service to all their guests. I could not believe what a masterful job the entire team did putting on this maiden voyage. This type of journey is just what so many travelers are looking for and we look forward to continuing and growing the partnership with them.”
“Explora l is a stunning ship from the unique design, modern hotel vibe to relaxed luxury atmosphere,” said Doug Rollheiser, owner of Roblin Travel and Cruise in Chillwack, BC. “What stood out the most for me was the hosts onboard and how remarkable the service was for their first-ever sailing and the dining was some of the best cuisine I’ve ever experienced on a cruise.”
Beyond is part of Ensemble’s series of rebranded events. This included the recent Ensemble Summit for owners and managers held at the Stein Erickson Lodge with Ensemble Horizons for the entire consortium coming up next from Nov. 2-6 at Paris Las Vegas.
Direct Travel
Direct Travel has announced a technology partnership with FareNexus as it looks to expand on the implementation of Direct Lift, powered by nexusWind, a centralized booking solution provider.
“The nexusWind platform exceeds all our requirements that we outlined for our leisure agent booking suite,” stated Gerard Bellino, EVP Leisure for Direct Travel. “We needed a platform that had flexibility due to the changes occurring in air travel and nexusWind provides us with that flexibility.”
Direct Lift is a comprehensive solution that accommodates both NDC and GDS content with airline commission (nexusCMT) on one screen so that travel advisors can be assured that they are getting the best deals for their customers. The intuitive interface allows any advisor who is not trained in the GDS to book travel for their customers.
“Our partnership with FareNexus has positioned us to continue to enhance our productivity tools for our front-line travel advisors and clients,” added Darryl Hoover, chief technology officer at Direct Travel. “Their extensive knowledge of the travel ecosystem means we can be both innovative and efficient as we develop enterprise solutions collaboratively.”
Virtuoso
As part of its annual Virtuoso Travel Week, the luxury travel network named its top cruise partners for the year. The are:
• Best Ocean Cruise Line – Silversea
• Best River Cruise Line – Uniworld Boutique River Cruises
• Best Expedition Cruise Line – Quark Expeditions
Winners were selected from a pool of global award submissions by a review panel of elected Virtuoso Committee members from across the network, which includes 22,000 elite travel advisors in over 50 countries.