Cruise Planners Top Producing Agents Celebrate Success with a Bucket-List Trip of Their Own to Peru
The top-producing franchise owners of Cruise Planners®, an American Express Travel Representative, traveled with Cruise Planners co-owners Michelle Fee and Vicky Garcia to Peru and the ruins of Machu Picchu. The exclusive trip, hosted annually in a bucket-list destination around the world, rewards Cruise Planners top-producing agents for their past years’ success as they travel alongside Cruise Planners executives and industry partners, which this year included Globus Family of Brands, Royal Caribbean International, Regent Seven Seas Cruises and Travel Impressions.
“Our Cruise Planners agents are travel matchmakers, sending clients around the world on unforgettable trips, and with our annual Top Producers Trip, we’re able reward our agents as we travel with them to these destinations,” said Michelle Fee, CEO and Founder of Cruise Planners, an American Express Travel Representative. “We always emphasize agents need to get out there and see the world so they can sell the world and this annual Top Producers Trip is one of the best ways to experience a new destination and what’s available from our travel partners.”
The Peru Supertour, organized by Globus Family of Brands, brought attendees to Lima, Cusco, the Sacred Valley and of course, iconic Machu Picchu. Peru has long been a land of legend and Cruise Planners agents were able to immerse in the vibrant culture, attending a Mother Earth Ceremony, visiting multiple villages and enjoying a Peruvian Paso Horse Show.
“Traveling with the Cruise Planners Top Producers was such a magical experience as we hiked to the Inca Bridge, explored Machu Picchu and enjoyed other parts of Peru’s culture,” said Kristen Steele, Director, Key Partners for Globus Family of Brands. “I feel so fortunate to have such great partners and develop deeper friendships with the Cruise Planners family through culturally immerse travel.”
Nearly 8,000 feet above sea level high up in the Andes mountains, Machu Picchu is an Incan civilization that flourished in the 15th century and remained undiscovered by outsiders until 1911. Cruise Planners agents had the opportunity to visit the site two days in a row, spending the evening at a nearby luxury hotel nestled into the Andes.
“Machu Picchu is breathtaking–and not just because the elevation quite literally takes your breath away!” said Fee. “Every element of the trip was planned so perfectly by Globus and it’s so evident their team designs each itinerary with the utmost precision. Our Peru Supertour let us really dive into the Peruvian culture and just enjoy the moment knowing that everything was planned with our best interests in mind.”
The opportunity to visit Machu Picchu and experience a Globus tour gives Cruise Planners travel agents first-hand insight that they are now sharing with their clients. Other travel partners on the trip included Shawn Tubman, Vice President, Strategic Accounts at Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Joanne Schimelman, Vice President, Sales & National Accounts at Royal Caribbean International and Sam Combs, Vice President, Agency Sales at Travel Impressions.
The annual Top Producer Trips – which in the past have included Australia, India and the Galapagos Islands –consistently generate new sales for the agents in attendance, with agents noting they see a peak in client interest in these destinations and they are also able to provide a higher level of expertise on the products.
