Cruise Planners’ Hosts First Exclusive Elite Summit of 2023 on the Avalon Envision in Europe for Top Producers

CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. – April 6, 2022 – On the heels of an incredibly busy and successful wave season, Cruise Planners proudly hosted their bi-annual Elite Summit for top producers on Avalon Waterways’ Envision in Europe. The event had over 85 attendees from all over the U.S. Advisors, Cruise Planners executives and supplier partners gathered on the Danube to network, learn and revel in the fruits of their labor.

Cruise Planners CEO and Founder Michelle Fee, Chief Operations Officer Theresa Scalzitti and Chief Strategy Officer Scott Koepf hosted the six-day event.

“This year has been electric when we think of the incredible work our advisors have done in handling the awesome rebound and demand for travel,” said Michelle Fee, CEO and Founder of Cruise Planners. “Celebrating our top producers is always special and we love to recognize their success and point to an even better future!”

The Elite Summit featured supplier partner one-on-one meetings and exclusive Cruise Planners receptions, dinner events, entertainment and more. Industry partners in attendance included:

•  Avalon Waterways – Pam Hoffe, President
• Globus Family of Brands—Camille Olivere, Chief Sales Officer
• Globus Family of Brands—Kristen Steele, Manager, Key Partners
• Globus Family of Brands—Amy Reid, Business Development Manager
• Globus Family of Brands—Susan Gaines, Business Development Manager
• Allianz – Jeff Schafer, Regional Sales Director
• Carnival Cruise Line – Janet Wygert, Vice President, Strategic Partnerships
• Celebrity Cruises – Carl Crews, Sales Manager
• Celestyal Cruises—Jonathan Grutzner, Vice President, Business Development
• Europe Express—Mark Yacker, Vice President, Sales and Partnerships
• Holland America—Tara Schreiner, Director, National Accounts
• MSC Cruises—Koreen McNutt, Senior Vice President & Commercial Sales Officer
• Norwegian Cruise Line – Andrea Loyola, Business Development Director
• Oceania Cruises – Jade Gurule, Strategic Account Manager
• Ponant—Yenedi Perez, Director, Business Development, Southeast
• Regent Seven Seas Cruises – Lisette Thurman, Strategic Accounts Director
• Royal Caribbean Cruises – Mary Lynch, Director of Sales, Southeast
• Royal Caribbean Cruises — Galen Matthews, Director of Sales, Midwest
• Silversea – Jason Douglas-Harris, Senior Director, Strategic Accounts
• Virgin Voyages—Kristy Giragosian, Director, National Accounts
• Disney Destinations – John Leake, Business Development Manager

The Elite summit is known for creating a positive environment where top producers can listen in to executive presentations, have one-on-one meetings with suppliers while also being able to network and learn more about the destinations they visit. Excursions included learning about Slovakian Wine Traditions, bike riding through the Pilis Mountains region, and exploring the underground caves of Budapest.

Cruise Planners hosts two Elite Summits each year, with the second one slated for May 14-21 onboard Seabourn sailing through Israel and Turkey. Past Summit locations include South Africa, Macchu Picchu, New Zealand, India and Cancun.

Cruise Planners was founded in 1994 and is the nation’s largest home-based travel agent franchise network. As a leader in the travel franchise industry, Cruise Planners positions a nation-wide network of 2,500 franchise owners for success by providing innovative marketing programs, proprietary and cutting-edge booking and technology tools, as well as professional development and travel agent training with the industry’s top executives. The company continues to be an industry leader and was named the No.1 travel franchise by Entrepreneur magazine for 18 consecutive years and awarded by Franchise Business Review as “Best-In-Category” for 3 years and ranked #18 on Travel Weekly’s 2022 Power List.

Franchise Business Review also ranked Cruise Planners #3 OVERALL on their list of Top 200 Franchises of 2022. Cruise Planners was recently featured in Entrepreneur as one of the top 30 franchise innovators in technology, has been consistently named as one of the Top Women-Owned Businesses by the South Florida Business Journal, is on the Inc. 5000 list as one of the fastest-growing private companies in America, and was recognized as one of the Top Workplaces by the Sun Sentinel.

Visit our website, www.cruiseplanners.com, for more information or to view the complete list of awards and honors. For those interested in becoming a franchise owner, please visit https://www.cruiseplannersfranchise.com/.