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Christina Astill

Travel & cruise specialist, cruise & travel specialist.

Personal Background

Why gocruise & travel with.

I have been involved with the travel industry for over 30 years and have visited over 100 countries...travel is my passion and I love to share my knowledge and expertise to put together holidays that dreams are made of.

In 2017 I had the great honour of launching a river cruise ship the MS Emily Bronte and am proud to be her Godmother.

Wildlife photography is another interest of mine and I often arrange trips for enthusiast from the Plains of the Maasai Mara to the cruising the islands of the Scottish Hebrides!

Next on my wish list is...

The more I travel the longer the list gets!! Next year I am already booked to return to Kenya.... in these crazy times I really wanted to have something to look forward to. My son lives in Brisbane Australia so I am sure I will be flying off to see him as soon as I can. 2021 will almost certainly involve a river cruise

Why choose to book with me?

I promise you honesty. I am passionate about finding your perfect holiday and will use my knowledge and experience to find you exactly what you want. I know how important holidays are and want to make sure they exceed your expectations. Happy clients are what I want ... I know if you have an amazing time you will be back for more!!

All holidays are ABTA & ATOL bonded for your financial security and piece of mind

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Book with Confidence. Bonded by the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) and by the Civil Aviation Authority's Air Travel Organisers Licensing (ATOL) scheme, you can look forward to your next adventure with the peace of mind that your money is financially protected in the event of unforeseen circumstances. Check our ABTA membership

For your financial protection and to reassure you of our operating standard we are full members of CLIA (Cruise Lines International Association), ABTA (The Association of British Travel Agents) and act as agents for ATOL holders. Please be aware that GoCruise & Travel are acting solely as your booking agent, subject to which all bookings are accepted.

Any travel or destination is copyright of its respective owners. Fred. Olsen Travel trading as GoCruise & Travel are not responsible for 3rd party content. Destination and travel advice is subject to change and inaccuracies.

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Travel agent godmothers name Riviera Travel’s new river vessels

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Two agents who won the chance to be ship godmothers have christened Riviera Travel’s newest ships in Amsterdam.

Christina Astill from Go-Cruise and Tracey Scales from Travel Counsellors launched the Emily Bronte and Thomas Hardy at a ceremony on February 24.

Each agent announced the name of the ship and released the ceremonial bottle of champagne to smash against the vessel’s side.

The competition was only open to agents to say thank you for ongoing support, said marketing director for Riviera, Ben Hitchcock.

Hitchcock said: “The trade is a really important channel for us and we have been busy increasing the strength of our sales team to support them.

“Our plan next year is to get as many travel agents on board our ships as possible and this all starts with our agent godmothers.

“We didn’t want to have a celebrity as a godmother as this has been done before, we wanted to give back to our trade supporters and say thank you.”

During the christening ceremony Christina recited the naming speech in English while Tracey spoke in German.

Scales had already booked to sail on her ship, the Thomas Hardy, in December for a Christmas markets cruise before winning the godmother prize.

She said: “Riviera is such a great product I wanted to get on board but being named godmother is a real once in a lifetime opportunity.

“I was honoured to be asked to be a godmother and have loved the whole atmosphere of the ceremony and all the agents and supplier partners who attended.”

Christina said she was relieved the bottle smashed and said her cruise sales of Riviera were definitely due to see a boost after the trip.

“I’ve sold Riviera river cruise from its beginning when it first sold to the trade and my customers love it but I can see this increasing just from me visiting the hip.

“It is such a privileged to be named godmother of a new Rivera cruise ship, I still can’t believe it.”

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Franchise Information

• BFA Membership Status Full
• UK Years Established 16 years
• Current UK Coverage 20%
• Franchisee Support Staff 40
• Total Startup Cost £10,000
• Home-based business location Yes
• Business to consumer services Yes
• Franchisee operates individually Yes

Cruise Consultancy Franchise

Run your own cruise & travel consultancy franchise from home and reap the benefits of this growing industry as your own boss  .

GoCruise & Travel is one of the UK's premier travel agents .   With already over 60 franchisees they are expanding across the UK. 

As a franchisee you will be selling cruises and land holidays from the world’s mainstream operators as well as niche operators in the luxury and river sectors, 

You can work part-time or full-time, this business fits around your lifestyle. Whether you have family commitments and looking for something to keep you busy or, this is a full time business that you want to give your all, they are there to support you. GoCruise & Travel offer all the tools and business development support needed for you to grow your business to success.

Why choose a Cruise Consultancy Franchise?

GoCruise & Travel operate within a 'territorial' basis, meaning that you are buying into a UK territory. This is typically within your home region, however many franchisees operate in towns and cities outside their local area.

Giving franchisees a territory area avoids having multiple franchisees in the same area with the same brand, trying to attract the same clients. At GoCruise & Travel you can sell all types of holidays to your clients. Due to the volume of what they sell, it allows them the opportunity to have amazing cruise and land operator commercial rates. This is very important as it allows greater financial earning opportunity for you.

What do your receive as a Cruise Consultant? 

• Unlimited earnings… they pay outstanding commission rates…
• Partnership with a nationally recognised brand, Fred. Olsen Travel
• Full Members of the British Franchise Association
• ABTA & ATOL Bonded to give full financial protect to your clients
• Your own website
• Fantastic quote system to bring your clients quotes to life
• All your admin is taken care of, so you concentrate on the marketing and selling
• Marketing support from Eshots, studio design work to magazine distribution
• A marketing territory that you own
• Fantastic commercial terms to enable you to earn more money
• Weekly training sessions along with conferences and educationals
• A mentor and business development support to help grow your business to success

Support & Training:

With GoCruise & Travel it’s not just the support you get when joining their business, it’s the ongoing support that makes the difference. When setting up your franchise they offer franchisees a three week training course.

Content includes learning all aspect of the travel industry along with sales and marketing skills to operational processes. They continue the support with a mentor that will help you get your business off the ground quickly. It doesn’t stop there… they continue to offer ongoing weekly trainings to all franchisees to increase knowledge on different products to help you sell to your clients. 

You will never feel alone. You will receive all the support you need to operate a successful business. With their dedicated head office team, GoCruise & Travel offer support and guidance, giving you all the ideas in promoting your business via online and offline platforms.

The Investment:

For an investment of just £10,000 , the GoCruise & Travel Franchise offers you an exciting and fun-filled business opportunity with a potentially high financial return .

As soon as you join them, you become part of the GoCruise & Travel family, with all the help and support that comes with it!

Find out more about GoCruise & Travel and running your own Cruise Consultancy Franchise. Click below now!

What our franchisees say.

It was the best career move I ever made .I am my own boss and chose my own hours but have the security of the Go Cruise team behind me ... and best of all keep the majority of the commission earned on all holidays booked !. I never feel alone as there is always practical help available from Head Office & fellow franchisees. Christina Astill

The business model suited my long-term ambitions, and having your own postcodes where you can market yourself was a real selling point. I could see gaps in the market, so we took the big decision to relocate to Cornwall from Hertfordshire. Graham Bishop

I enjoy the no pressure approach from the partners back in HQ, which enables me to mix the opportunity to own and run a cruise focused travel agency, alongside my own desire to travel regularly and see our cruise partners ships first hand. Barry Allaway

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Riviera Travel christens two river cruise ships

Last week Riviera Travel christened its two new five-star river cruise ships for 2017, the MS Thomas Hardy and the MS Emily Bront?, at a ceremony in the Netherlands.

Christina Astill from Go-Cruise and Tracey Scales from Travel Counsellors officially christened the ships in their roles as the two godmothers, following an exclusive competition for travel agents in the UK and Ireland to be given the esteemed titles.

Christina and Tracey were flown out to the christening ceremony in Amsterdam to carry out the time-honoured tradition of smashing Champagne bottles against the ships? hulls, before enjoying a three-course meal and entertainment on board one of the ships alongside the line's management team and other VIPS.

Both ships accommodate up to 169 passengers with 44 in-house trained staff.

For more information see agents.rivieratravel.co.uk/ships/

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Riviera travel hosts second trade engagement meeting.

Riviera Travel has held its second trade engagement committee meeting.

The committee, formed in 2023, convenes twice a year, in-person, for travel agents to share their feedback and ideas on how Riviera can better serve their needs.

During the meeting, which took place earlier this month at the Four Seasons Hotel, London, attendees were given updates on agent trading performance, product news across river cruising and touring, as well as progress the business has made since the first meeting in September 2023.

The committee includes:

• Stuart Milan, Vicky Billing – Riviera Travel
• Zoe Franklin – Travel Club Elite
• Tricia Handley-Hughes – Inteletravel
•  Toni Evans – Art of Travel
•  Steve Cox – Premier Travel
•  Sharon Ingle – Fred Olsen Travel
•  Julie Crumpton – Silver Travel Advisor
• Jennifer Lynch – Arrange my Escape
•  Di Victory – Designer Travel
•  Christina Astill – Go Cruise
•  Kirsty Sproat – Hays Travel
•  Nicki Henbury Travel
•  Catriona Parsons – Hays Travel

Stuart Milan, trading director at Riviera Travel, said: “It was great to hear from agents first-hand how we can better support their work. These meetings are invaluable, providing a vital link to our trade partners and truly putting agents at the heart of everything we do.” 

Tricia Handley-Hughes, UK & Ireland managing director at InteleTravel, said: “The trade engagement committee is a great opportunity for collaboration between Riviera and the trade. Knowledge sharing and understanding trends and key objectives helps deliver effective and relevant activity for InteleTravel and the trade. For us, this is the true spirit of partnership and we applaud Riviera for the initiative.”

Riviera strengthened its trade team earlier this year with the appointments of Chris McCloskey as key account manager for Scotland and Ireland, and Lloyd Morris as key account manager for the UK and Ireland.

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• BFA Membership Status Full
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• Current UK Coverage 20%
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• Total Startup Cost £10,000
• Home-based business location Yes
• Business to consumer services Yes
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GoCruise & Travel Franchisee Mike Davies had no experience but a passion for travel

GoCruise & Travel has offered me a great way to build a business with excellent support in the hugely enjoyable environment of cruising and holidays.

The brand of GoCruise & Travel opens doors into cruise lines that continually amazes me, and being part of the Fred Olsen group provides huge financial reassurance to customers. I always feel good and confident when talking to my clients about holidays.

On top of running my own business, this has turned out to be a wonderful opportunity to visit or cruise on beautiful ships - and right now, so many people are bursting to get back onto the water and cruise.

I feel part of a wider family, always great to meet up and enjoy events together - and it’s fun!

Find out more about the GoCruise & Travel Franchise and how to become a Travel Consultant in your local community. Click below now!

Gary and Marie's GoCruise & Travel Franchise has gone from strength to strength

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An amazing opportunity to get into the travel sector with a well established brand, very supportive Head Office team plus the global power of the Fred Olsen family behind us. Barry Allaway

It was the best career move I ever made .I am my own boss and chose my own hours but have the security of the Go Cruise team behind me ... and best of all keep the majority of the commission earned on all holidays booked !. I never feel alone as there is always practical help available from Head Office & fellow franchisees. Christina Astill

The business model suited my long-term ambitions, and having your own postcodes where you can market yourself was a real selling point. I could see gaps in the market, so we took the big decision to relocate to Cornwall from Hertfordshire. Graham Bishop

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• Latest News , Riviera Travel , Travel Agents
• September 28, 2023

Riviera Travel Welcomes Trade Engagement Committee

Riviera Travel has held its first trade engagement committee meeting, which was hosted by Phil Hullah (CEO), Stuart Milan (Channel Director) and Tom Morgan (Head of Trade).

The committee was formed with the goal to “help grow the river and touring market with agents”, and support Riviera’s aim to be the “most trade-friendly travel brand in the industry.”

Members were selected following an open application process on social media, with meetings scheduled every quarter.

Ten agents attended the inaugural get-together and discussed the river cruising and escorted tour specialist’s recent trade initiatives, their future plans for agents and how they can enhance their trade business.

The group met at the London Renaissance Hotel and comprises:

• Phil Hullah, Stuart Milan, Tom Morgan – Riviera Travel
• Zoe Franklin – Travel Club Elite
• Tricia Hughes – Inteletravel
• Toni Evans – Art of Travel
• Steve Cox – Premier Travel
• Sharon Ingle – Fred Olsen Travel
• Julie Crumpton – Silver Travel Advisor
• Jennifer Lynch – Arrange my Escape
• Di Victory – Designer Travel
• Christina Astill – Go Cruise
• Kirsty Sproat – Hays Travel

Click here for more exciting updates from Riviera Travel on Travel Pursuit UK.

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Riviera Travel holds first trade engagement committee meeting

Riviera Travel recently held its first trade engagement committee meeting at the London Renaissance Hotel.

The event was hosted by the operator’s CEO Phil Hullah, channel director Stuart Milan and head of trade Tom Morgan.

Ten agents attended the inaugural get-together and discussed the river cruising and escorted tour specialist’s recent trade initiatives, future plans for agents and how they can enhance their trade business.

Members were selected following an open application process on social media, with meetings scheduled every quarter.

The committee was formed with the goal to help grow the river and touring market with agents and support Riviera Travel’s aim to be the most trade-friendly travel brand in the industry.

The group consists of:

* Phil Hullah, Stuart Milan, Tom Morgan – Riviera Travel * Zoe Franklin – Travel Club Elite * Tricia Hughes – Inteletravel * Toni Evans – Art of Travel * Steve Cox – Premier Travel * Sharon Ingle – Fred Olsen Travel * Julie Crumpton – Silver Travel Advisor * Jennifer Lynch – Arrange my Escape * Di Victory – Designer Travel * Christina Astill – Go Cruise * Kirsty Sproat – Hays Travel

Riviera Travel to ‘create action plan’

Morgan said: “Many thanks to the agents for such an engaging first meeting. It was very helpful to discuss what activities we’ve delivered with the trade, what we’re working on, their thoughts on Riviera and future opportunities.

“We had some great suggestions as to how we can partner even more closely alongside agents, including how they sell river cruises. This is absolutely key because we always want agents to feel comfortable and informed.

“We will use all the findings from the meeting to create an action plan, so we ensure we act on everything we discussed.”

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