With Nathalie De Grandmont
23JAN08
Josephine Lynch, District Sales Manager for Eastern Canada, and Barbara Newton, Director for Canada
Barbara Newton, Director for Canada
Viking River Cruises and Viking Tours brochures
A Night On The River
On a recent night In Montréal, the Saint-Lawrence River was very calm and covered with snow. Not a perfect evening to cruise? Well, think again…. because despite all that, about a hundred travel agents treated themselves to a wonderful evening on the river. Well, ok, the trip was not on the Saint-Lawrence but, even better, on some of the most amazing rivers of Europe and Asia, aboard the luxury ships of Viking River Cruises. And the two captains of the evening – Barbara Newton, Director for Canada, and Josephine Lynch, District Sales Manager for Eastern Canada – could not have picked a better venue to host their guests: the Golden Salon of the Ritz Carlton. As a matter of fact, the historic icon of Montréal’s Golden Square Mile seemed like a perfect fit, since Viking River Cruises is also a regular of the Condé Nast Traveler ‘s Gold list, as well as being a multiple recipient of the Travel + Leisure ‘s “World Best Cruise Line” award. With such a setting and a very tempting buffet, the captain’s table was definitely set for a very pleasant virtual trip that brought every one on the Danube, on the Rhine, on the Volga (in Russia), as well as on the famous Yangtze River in China.
“River cruising is very different from ocean cruising”, explained Barbara Newton, Director for Canada.”The ships are much more intimate, all the cabins have an outside view and the passengers can also see the scenery from almost everywhere, since the dining rooms, for example, are surrounded by windows.” The Danube remains the biggest seller right now – especially for those who try river cruising for the first time – but the cruises in Russia and in China are also becoming very popular. In fact, in the last 3 years, Ms. Newton says she has witnessed an incredible growth in river cruising. So much, in fact, that Viking River Cruises has decided to appoint a co-captain to run the ship by her side: Josephine Lynch (most of you will know her as Jo), who joined the team last October as District Sales Manager for Eastern Canada. Last night was Ms. Lynch’ s first presentation in Montréal, but it will not be the last, as she intends to visit Québec and Ontario on a regular basis.
Recently, the company launched a new division called Viking Tours, which will specialize in high-end products, mixing cruise and land components, such as palace hotels, exotic safaris and so on. “This year, a lot of emphasis will be put on China”, explained Barbara Newton. “We really have the best quality cruises – and land products – in that country, and by far.” So Barbara Newton and Josephine Lynch are setting their compass towards the east for 2008, and as we could witness last night, they know how to cruise along with style! And they will surely convince many people to join them on board.
© Open Jaw