Commodore - Jonathan

My parents encouraged me to go into the travel business 45 years ago with the thought of expanding their shipping and forwarding business to incorporate their own travel agency. I started in Lewis’s and worked my way up until I became a Manager for the UK's biggest travel company taking on specialist roles in cruise and ultimately managing their dedicated cruise store.

This was followed by a career break to work on board ship as Future Cruise Sales & Loyalty Manager which was a great opportunity to learn more about cruise ship operations and life below deck. An opportunity then followed to head up a specialist cruise department for a tour operator in Ireland putting together cruise and stay packages for both direct customers and the travel trade.

When travel came to a halt in 2020, we decided to look into opening our own specialist cruise agency and after considerable research opened in June 2021 at the same time as the first cruise line recommenced sailings.

My love of cruising started at the age of 6 when I was on my first cruise with my parents and that love has never faded. I’m very proud to have my name above the door at The Cruise Room.

Favourite Cruise Line

Whilst there are things to like about many cruise lines, I have a personal soft spot for Cunard as one of my first and subsequent cruises was on the QE2. As one of the first shipping lines to start cruising 185 years ago you feel the sense of history and style when stepping onboard a Cunard Liner.

Favourite Destination

Too many options and it’s almost impossible to pick one! However we experienced 2 nights in Barbados on a Christmas cruise which gave us the opportunity to hire a car and explore the island. The combination of glorious weather and the fabulous beaches makes it one of my favourites.

Favourite Cruise Memory

One of the highlights that has always stuck with me was visiting Glacier Bay National Park in Alaska and watching the calving of the glaciers whilst the ship was completely silent.