By
Rebecca Gibson |
Vicky Garcia, COO and co-owner of travel agent franchise network Cruise Planners-American Express Travel, is to christen Viking Cruises’ new longship Viking Magni.
Scheduled to launch in March 2014, Viking Magni is one of the 18 Viking Cruises longships due to be christened in a ceremony in Amsterdam. As ceremonial godmother, Garcia will perform the traditional ship blessing ceremony and break champagne against Viking Magni’s hull before she sets sail on her inaugural cruise.
“I am truly honoured to be selected as godmother during this historic event and I’m especially touched that I was selected to christen the Viking Magni since it has such a powerful definition, so I now have a lot to live up to,” Garcia said. “From the industry perspective, Viking Cruises still pays agent commissions on non-commissionable fares, which shows how the line values travel agents. The effort they have made to grow the river cruising market has been great.”
Cruise Planners represents more than 900 travel franchises around the world and has experienced a rise of more than 250% in river cruise sales in the last two years, including sales of Viking Cruises.