Michelle Levins who owns My Cruise Concierge with her life partner, Derek Harwood, chats about their mutual love of cruise and how their loyal clientele and trade partners supported them during the worst year of their lives.
After working for leading travel companies for 17 years, husband-and-wife team Derek Harwood and Michelle Levins decided to strike out on their own and start their own business.
In 2016, the CLIA Cruise Masters founded their home-based agency, My Cruise Concierge in Forest Hill, Victoria and haven’t looked back.
“We loved our shared background in travel and after working for other people for most of our careers, we saw an opportunity to leverage our expertise in a new way,” Michelle says.
“We wanted to build a business where we could implement innovative ideas, really focus on client relationships and offer tailored travel solutions that truly met clients’ needs. We were excited to bring that vision to life.”
My Cruise Concierge is currently run by the dedicated team of two, but Michelle and Derek hope to expand operations with the addition of an assistant and cruise consultants, “who are passionate about delivering an engaging client experience”.
Balancing work and life
“We have a shared vision about our business, our life and the balance in between. We want to squeeze the most out of life, and being present for our two boys’ day-to-day activities and travelling with them is a priority. We enjoy the flexibility of being able to do things our way and try new approaches,” says Michelle.
Naturally, they have different styles of working. Michelle says that she is more detail-oriented, while Derek is more of a risk-taker.
“We don’t always see eye to eye, but we balance each other out. Probably our greatest challenge is blurring boundaries. Because we work from home, discussions about work can extend into personal time, which can make it hard to switch off and relax.”
Travelling – for work and leisure – is a priority for Michelle and Derek.
“We travel together as a couple and as a family, but we also take separate trips as we can’t always call on babysitters for our kids and don’t want to miss out on some of the fantastic opportunities that come our way. Between separate trips, family trips and conferences, we are probably away five to seven times a year.”
Both Michelle and Derek have also found the time to qualify as CLIA Cruise Masters.
Michelle says, “I fell in love with cruising when I sailed on Celebrity Infinity in Alaska in 2001. Derek loved working for a smaller brand, starting in student flights, so when the opportunity came up to open one of the first Cruiseabout stores in Melbourne, he jumped at it. He had never cruised before that, but he was a quick learner!”
Connecting with clients
Michelle is modest about their achievements. “I don’t think we necessarily do anything that most other successful consultants already do. We are just consistent and focused on engagement and connection, so our clients trust us.”
“We work mainly with the retired sector of the market and spend a lot of time on the phone or meeting with our clients, so they feel comfortable. We put on client events, work at three lifestyle villages and are great supporters of their social gatherings as well as hosting our own events with some wonderful supplier partners.
“We are always contactable while a client is away, including when we are on our own trips. We always give our clients a bon voyage call before their trip to see if they have any last-minute questions and always have a welcome home call with them. That is also great for receiving feedback and often results in talking about the next two or three trips in the pipeline.”
Michelle says their strong relationships with clients really shone through when, in April 2020, Derek was diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer.
“Our clients checked in on us as we were trying to get through that difficult time, while they were also sad about their trips falling over.
“We will always be grateful to our industry partners and travel friends – they were incredible. Derek is now four years cancer-free and thriving!”
Cruise trends to watch
Like many other advisors, Michelle and Derek have seen that especially since COVID, the trend is to upgrade the travel experience in all sectors.
“Clients are travelling business class instead of premium, first class instead of business, upgrading to suites or choosing a smaller, more luxurious cruise line.
“Our clients are also booking more expedition cruising. As we have both experienced several expedition cruises in incredible places such as Antarctica, the Kimberley and West Papua, we can confidently guide our clients in making their decisions.”
Special-interest group travel is one of My Cruise Concierge’s areas of expertise. While most of their group travel bookings are friends travelling together and, increasingly, multi-generational trips, they are planning to develop special-interest group travel with a slant on food – “watch this space!”
Cruise hotspots
“Our favourite destination is Antarctica, which we did on Silver Cloud,” Michelle enthuses.
“We felt so privileged to visit the seventh continent and loved the kayaking, those beautiful penguins and majestic icebergs. We didn’t go to South Georgia last time, so we know that we will have at least one more trip to Antarctica.
“Cruising in the Med is a big favourite, too. We took our boys to Europe for the first time last year for a 14-night cruise on Enchanted Princess and they loved it – if it was closer we’d be there every holiday!
“Derek has just returned from a Western Caribbean cruise on Carnival Jubilee and I am going on an AmaWaterways Danube cruise this month. I can’t think of a better way to travel in a cooler climate.
“Next year we will have a family cruise close to home with Royal Caribbean, hope to revisit Sri Lanka, and we’re planning to spend Christmas in Europe in 2025 with a Christmas market cruise… if the kids behave!”
For more information, visit mycruiseconcierge.com.au
