Neal Hussey joins Cruise2 as head of commercial and business development

Neal Hussey has been appointed as head of commercial and business development at Cruise2.

Hussey joined the online tailor-made specialist from Not Just Travel where he spent nearly three years as a senior trade partnerships manager for cruise.

In his new role, Hussey will be responsible for business strategy for the Cruise2 business, which launched in 2014 and operates under The Midcounties Co-operative, and sister luxury brand Holiday2, which soft launched in the second half of 2025.

The position starts immediately and he will report into managing director Chander Prakash. 

The agency has also promoted Manny Callender-Bankes to head of product and marketing and made further appointments across product, marketing and sales ahead of the anticipated growth this year.

Hussey told Travel Weekly: “It’s a great time to start something with the new year with fresh ideas and a great business and team.

“I had a great time with Not Just Travel and everyone can see they are a business going in the right direction.

“I have known Chander [Prakash, founder of Cruise2] for about 15 years and love what he has done with the business and felt I wanted to come in and help.”

He added: “My goal is to make sure both businesses reach their potentials and the number one thing is we want to double our business [revenue] this year versus 2025, which is a huge target for us to achieve.”

Hussey revealed Cruise2 posted “strong double-digit growth” from 2024 to 2025 while working with six or seven cruise line partners, and one of his priorities is to expand its partnerships.

“No doors are closed,” he said. “It is an exciting opportunity for myself and the product team, but ultimately, we want to listen to the customer and what they want to buy.

“There are so many different sub-sectors of cruise that are performing so well, we want to make sure we are well-placed to be a part of it.”

Looking ahead, Hussey said the agency would aim to recruit in certain areas to reach the goal of doubling revenue, particularly in marketing to promote its bespoke cruise and stay packages.