It feels great to be acknowledged for doing a good job and this month we’re doing just that by revealing the names of all the shortlisted nominees in our Cruise Stars Awards 2019 (see page 9). These awards recognise those individuals who are outstanding in their field – whether that’s sales, marketing, PR or management, across both cruise line operators and travel agencies specialising in cruise holidays.

Their achievements will be celebrated in style at our lunchtime event in November, where we will hear how their drive, ambition and skills have helped boost the status and enhance the reputation of the business where they work. Hopefully, their accomplishments will inspire others in the industry to strive for excellence.

Elsewhere in this issue, our special report rounds up a multitude of exciting destinations that are definitely best explored on a cruise (page 28); from Cape Town to Casablanca and Alaska to Australia we discover a plethora of places to sail to and pass on top selling tips for agents.

There are more tips to be had in our Spotlight on regular column (page 13), which this month sees Fred Olsen’s Rachael Jackson run through the ways in which PR can help agents raise the profile of their agencies by harnessing client testimonials, participating in industry educationals and measuring the value of their communication campaigns.

We also like to keep a watchful eye on trends within the industry and in this issue we round up the latest developments in on-board guest speakers. Adventure experts such as Sir Chris Bonington have been invited to talk about their exploits, while cultural mavens including the Louvre’s director of Decorative Arts will be holding forth on the artistic treasures of the Adriatic.

We hope you find lots of informative and useful information inside this issue – see you again next month.