A Travel Counsellors agent has made enough commission to “buy a new kitchen” after making the third-largest trade booking in Scenic’s history.
Sarah Smith made the £83,190 booking after driving to see her clients twice on her return from a presentation of Scenic Eclipse at Travel Counsellors’ Gold Conference in Portugal.
Her clients, a couple from near Hull, will sail on a 23-day South Georgia with Taste of Argentina & Brazil cruise, visit Iguazu Falls and Rio de Janeiro and stay in a Grand Panorama Suite on the 228-capacity Eclipse in January 2020.
Smith, of Brough, East Yorkshire, says her booking could surpass £100,000 once ground arrangements in Peru and flights are added.
She would not disclose how much commission she will earn, but said it would be enough to “buy a new kitchen”.
“Seeing Eclipse on screen at the conference made me think about my clients,” she said.
“Going to see them helped”.
Joseph Grimley, Scenic UK director of trade sales, said: “It’s a fantastic booking for us. She showed great intuition.”
But, as Smith celebrated her bumper sale, at least 20 agents were having to rearrange customers’ Eclipse bookings after delivery of the ship was delayed for a second time, this week.
Eclipse’s first sailing date has been moved from an amended date of late January to April 13, 2019. Financial issues at the Uljanik shipyard in Pula, Croatia were cited by the line for the delay.
Scenic said about 20 of the 40 UK bookings affected were made by agents and that commission had been protected.
The operator is offering full refunds and a 25% discount on a future cruise for those booked on one of the seven cancelled cruises.