Agents hail ‘spectacular’ experience on HAL, Titan Travel and Rocky Mountaineer fam trip

Agents have praised a “most spectacular” multi-destination educational trip hosted jointly by Holland America Line, Titan Travel, and Rocky Mountaineer.

Twelve agents joined the 12-night itinerary to the Canadian Rockies and Alaska, which departed on May 5. The group included representatives from Aspire Travel, Ashdown Travel, Travel Counsellors, Hays Travel, Designer Travel, Premier Travel, East of England Co-op, The Cruise Room, Dawson & Sanderson, L&K Travel, and Duck Travel.

The trip combined flights with a seven-night Alaska cruise, a two-night stay in the Canadian Rockies featuring excursions to Lake Louise and the Columbia Icefield, a two-night GoldLeaf service journey aboard the Rocky Mountaineer from Banff to Vancouver, and a guided Vancouver city tour.

Five places on the mega-fam were originally given away via a competition at Travel Weekly’s Globe Travel Awards in January.

One of the prize winners, Laura Longhurst from Hays Travel, said: “My fam trip to Canada and Alaska was truly the most spectacular journey of my life, filled with breathtaking moments, unforgettable experiences, and memories I’ll cherish forever.

“It wasn’t just about the destinations, but the incredible, inspirational women in travel I shared it with. I have made friends for life along the way.”

Fellow Hays Travel agent Lyndsey Bannister described the trip as “an incredible bucket-list itinerary” and “an unforgettable experience”.

She added: “The Titan chauffeur service set the tone from the very beginning, the Rocky Mountaineer GoldLeaf experience was outstanding, and finishing aboard Koningsdam in a verandah stateroom with Holland America Line’s ‘Have It All’ package made it truly special.”

Jess Gardener, owner of L&K Travel, said the “trip of a lifetime” had hugely increased her confidence and product knowledge of the region.

“The cruise element completely blew me away,” she said. “I was so lucky to be with an incredible bunch of inspirational agents, and this is a trip I will remember for the rest of my life.”

Megan Leightley, an agent with Dawson & Sanderson, noted that the itinerary “perfectly combined all the iconic places you hope to see,” adding that being surrounded by “inspiring women in the industry” made the experience even more memorable.

“Exploring Canada and Alaska with Titan Travel, Holland America Line, and Rocky Mountaineer was a true bucket-list trip and an experience I’ll treasure forever,” she said.

Titan Travel trade success manager Chris Woodcook said the partnership between the three brands represented “the absolute pinnacle of North American travel".

He added: “The phenomenal engagement we’ve seen is a testament to what we can achieve when industry leaders collaborate to support travel agents.

“We’ve got more fams planned through the year and will be working hard with our partners to ensure agents who participate have the best experiences.”

Holland America Line’s UK and Ireland associate vice-president for sales and marketing Karen Farndell added the mega-fam was “an incredible opportunity” for agent partners to experience “what makes Alaska so special” with the cruise line.

“By bringing together our destination expertise, Titan Travel’s exceptional escorted tours, and Rocky Mountaineer’s iconic rail journeys, we’re creating an unforgettable learning experience,” she said.

“This collaboration between premium brands isn’t just about showcasing the very best of Canada and Alaska, it’s about empowering our agent partners with the knowledge and confidence to sell a product that guests will love.”