The TTG Top 50 winner sold 16 staterooms for Oceania Vista earlier this year, resulting in more than £80,000 in revenue for the luxury cruise line.
The seven-day Mediterranean voyage, departing in July 2028, marks the latest addition to Cotton Travel’s series of escorted client tours.
This flurry of bookings almost didn’t happen, however.
Josh admits he had reservations when Kal Sindhu, Business Development Manager at Oceania, first approached him about joining a fam trip.
“I kept pushing it off, because I was just so busy with work and you can’t commit to everything,” he told TTG.
As one of the leading sellers at his business, Josh also feared an extended hiatus would negatively impact revenue.
But Oceania was determined to host the TTG 30 Under 30 member. His reputation was growing amongst Oceania's trade team and before long, Louise Craddock, UK and Ireland Sales Director, had managed to persuade Josh to join a fam trip.
Josh says he was “amazed” by how luxurious the ship was
The award-winning agent promptly flew to Lisbon for a five-day sailing on Oceania Vista, the first in the line’s new generation of Allura Class ships.
The vessel, built in 2023, has a capacity of 800 guests and 613 staterooms – all of which have private verandas. It also boasts a crew-to-staff ratio 3:2, as well as top-end Owner’s Suites.
But as a newcomer to Oceania, Josh admits he knew very little about the product.
“I’d just assumed the cruise line was more premium than luxury – but oh my god, I was wrong,” he said. “My first impression was 'this is amazing'.”
Josh’s passion for Oceania really intensified once he’d tried its food. He was also pleasantly surprised by the “character” of the interiors, as well as the quality of the onboard entertainment.
“I kept wondering, ‘have we been living under a rock? Where has this brand come from?’” he said. “Everything just blew me away.”
Oceania Vista was built in 2023 and has 613 staterooms
Now a big Oceania fan, Josh was eager to introduce the line to his clients. On the third day of the fam trip, he sat down with Louise to discuss how they could work together. It was during this conversation when they landed on the plan to deliver group tours.
“I explained to Louise how I escort clients on river cruises, and she immediately said, ‘we could do that too',” Josh explained. “No ocean cruise line has ever done that with us, because they’ve been intimidated by the group aspect of it.”
Oceania, on the other hand, was more than comfortable with the logistics of hosting groups. “We do this kind of thing all the time – and it’s very popular with our domestic market,” Louise told TTG.
Josh contacted clients, and within hours, bookings started coming in. By the time the fam trip was over, he and Louise had signed the contract for Cotton Travel’s first-ever ocean cruise group tour to go ahead.
“We made a deal on the fam trip, securing 16 cabins in total,” Josh said. “It was a bonding experience like no other!”
As for Oceania, the company says this is “only the beginning” of a special relationship with Cotton Travel.
“Josh is such a visionary – he and his husband Scott are so deserving of all their success,” Louise said. “And credit to Kal for shouting in my ear that we need to work with them!”
This enthusiasm was echoed by Josh. “Had I not gone on the Oceania fam trip, none of this would have happened," he explained. "One part of me was shortsighted and thinking only about the immediate sales. But the other side of me, the one that wanted to go, prevailed. Thank God, I bloody did!”