Your Stories: From being a cruise ship dancer to life in a Yorkshire travel agency

Q. You started your first travel retail job with Beverley Travel this year – what attracted you to the agency?
The company prefers to recruit from outside the industry and take on staff without travel agency experience, like me. Sixteen out of 20 staff working in Beverley Travel shops and 15 independent homeworkers have all come from outside the industry with no prior travel retail experience. That’s 31 out of 35 who had not worked as travel agents before, so I knew the fact that I’d not worked as an agent would not count against me. Sales is something you can learn on the job. Every day we do training. We also have senior staff who sit with us to make sure we’re getting on OK. Everyone has been really supportive and the business has a nice personal feel.

Q. Why did you switch from working as a dancer to being a travel agent?
My final contract was with Princess Cruises and I felt I had reached as high a position as I could as dance captain. I wanted to come back home and be around my family a bit more. I’ve been away over Christmas for the past three years. My contracts were seven to nine months and then I’d come home before going back again. When I came home, I was seeing my friends having babies and getting married. Being a travel agent was already on my radar; I thought it would be the next step in my career and let me be at home, but also travel and explore new places. I still get that interaction with the public. I miss dancing, but you can’t do it forever.

Q. Tell us more about your previous career.
I worked as a dancer for Princess Cruises, Holland America Line and MSC. I did that for 10 years, from the age of 18. At 16, I moved to Manchester to go to the Northern Ballet School on a scholarship. I’d wanted to be a dancer since I was three, and when I was finishing school I auditioned for a scholarship place. The ballet school offered a three-year diploma course in professional dance, up to level six. In my final year I auditioned with 500 or so others for my first job, on a cruise ship. They picked around 15 dancers. I couldn’t believe I’d done it! My first job was with MSC, which was definitely an adjustment. When you work in a cast of 15, all in the same situation, you become like one family. With MSC, I went to New York, the Bahamas and the Caribbean. Before that, I had only been on family holidays – the farthest I’d ever been was Florida.

Q. What’s it been like working in a new branch?
One of our first bookings at Beverley Travel’s new branch, Paragon Travel Lounge [in Hull], was a cruise on an MSC ship I used to work on, MSC Meraviglia. It was a group effort that got the sale over the line! I’m looking forward to taking cruise bookings myself; it has been one of my challenges since I started earlier this year as I get better at sales. There are three of us consultants in the new shop. Owners Kelly [Cheesman] and Karl [Douglas] dip in to see us, and a couple of others are with us most days. It’s a busy shop and it’s been nice to watch how it has developed since opening. As a new branch, we’ve run opening events that suppliers have come along to. We also had an event with Audley Travel at another branch, and recently hosted a table at the races for charity.

Q. How are you enjoying life as a travel agent?
I’m loving it. My favourite part is just seeing people happy. I’ve had days where I felt nervous, but the team is so supportive – I never feel on my own. If I were to pick up the phone or put a message in the team chat, someone would come back to me. Everyone wants to help each other, which makes a difference. With an independent business you get a more personal, family feel.

Q. What does the future hold?
I would love to go up the ladder. It’s something that is encouraged here. Karl said to me the sky is the limit and if you work hard they will help you to make it happen. They want you to do well.