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Travel Weekly Cover Stars 2019 is running in association with headline sponsor Norwegian Cruise Line, travel partners American Airlines and British Airways and hotel partner Gold Medal.


Bethany Brandwood, Laura Garner, Ellie and Katrina Watt


ELLIE’S TIPS


TIP 1


TIP 2


TIP 3


Upgrade customers to premium economy on the airline and a balcony cabin on the ship.


Find out about shore excursions – there are lots of options and you can add more commission.


The Bahamas is lovely, and warm and sunny all year round. Even in late November when we went.


went swimming with pigs, which was lovely. There are about 12 pigs and you can feed them apples. I was nervous at first, but it was really worth it and I got great pictures for Facebook. It was the highlight – bizarre, but memorable.


Q. How was the flight? A. We flew with British Airways in economy on the way there and premium economy on the way back. I would 100%, recommend an upgrade as you get bigger seats and more room.


Q. What shore excursions did you do? A. We visited Grand Bahama Island, Nassau and Great Stirrup Cay, Norwegian Cruise Line’s private island. In Grand Bahama, we took a guided tour to see animals in a nature reserve, and took a trip in Nassau to learn about local culture. In Great Stirrup Cay, we had a private cabana, and it was very chilled as it’s all on NCL’s all-inclusive basis. We


Q. What have you done since you’ve been back? A. Our agency gets a lot of business from Facebook, so I posted about the trip on there as we have lots of cruise customers. Not many people would think about taking a four-night cruise to the Bahamas, but I would recommend it, especially for first-time cruisers or hen parties. I was also invited to the Travel Weekly Globe Travel Awards in January, and shared a table with the other Cover Stars – it was great to meet up again. I also got to wear a ball gown and had a selfie with Peter Andre.


Ellie on…her career and Hays Travel I always liked travelling when I was growing up, and I studied travel and tourism at sixth form. I’m on a two-year apprenticeship


with Hays Travel, finishing in August – it’s my first job in travel and means I go to head office in Sunderland for training. My only other fam trip experience


was last April, on a DFDS ferry from Newcastle to Amsterdam. Our agency is in Cockerton, on the


edge of Darlington, and we have eight members of staff. We have a lot of older customers


who don’t use the internet. But we also have younger customers, such as couples and hen parties, so we book multi-centre trips and skiing – there is a lot of variety. We sell a lot of cruises, including


Norwegian, so it was great to see Norwegian Sky. It’s great to have had first-hand experience of the cruise and know what to recommend.


in association with


14 March 2019travelweekly.co.uk35


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