Press Releases

CruiseDirect Wins Bronze Stevie® Award for Customer Service Excellence

MARCH 2, 2026

Morristown, NJ – March 2, 2026 – CruiseDirect.com has won a Bronze Stevie Award® in the Customer Service Department of the Year - Leisure & Tourism category in the 20th annual Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service.

The Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service are the world’s top honors for customer service, contact center, business development and sales professionals. The Stevie Awards organizes nine of the world’s leading business awards programs, also including the prestigious American Business Awards® and International Business Awards®.

Winners will be celebrated during a gala event attended by more than 300 professionals from around the world at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City on March 5.

More than 2,100 nominations from organizations of all sizes and in virtually every industry, in 41 nations and territories, were considered in this year’s competition. Winners were determined by the average scores of 150 professionals worldwide on eight specialized judging committees.

Entries were considered in more than 100 categories for customer service and contact center achievements, including Contact Center of the Year, Award for Innovation in Customer Service, and Customer Service Department of the Year; more than 70 categories for sales and business development achievements, ranging from Senior Sales Executive of the Year to Sales Training or Business Development Executive of the Year to Sales Department of the Year; more than 20 categories for AI in sales and customer service including Customer Service AI Trainer or Specialist of the Year, AI & Tech-Focused Customer Service Team of the Year, Best Use of AI Integration in Contact Centers, and Sales AI Trainer or Specialist of the Year; and categories to recognize new products, services, and solution providers.

As one of the leading online cruise booking engines, CruiseDirect has continued to distinguish itself through a customer-first approach, combining cutting-edge technology with personalized service to help travelers find and book their ideal cruise vacation. "We are honored to receive the Stevie Award for the third consecutive year," said John Maguire, CEO of CruiseDirect.com. "This recognition is a true testament to the passion and dedication of our team, who work tirelessly to deliver an exceptional experience for every customer. We are deeply grateful to the judges and our loyal customers for their continued trust and support."

Stevie Awards President Maggie Miller said, "The remarkable scores achieved by this year’s Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service winners reflect the extraordinary levels of excellence, innovation, and customer impact they deliver. We proudly join the judges in congratulating and celebrating these outstanding organizations and professionals on their achievements."

Details about the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service and the list of Stevie winners in all categories are available at http://sales.stevieawards.com/.

For media inquiries, please contact:
Jope Mendoza, Promotions & Email Marketing Manager | jmendoza@cruisedirect.com

 

About CruiseDirect.com

CruiseDirect is an online cruise booking engine that makes the vacation planning process fast and friendly.  CruiseDirect uses the latest advances in technology, such as live pricing and availability, to simplify online cruise vacation research, planning, and booking.  The CruiseDirect website provides customers with rich, inspiring content to help ease the decision-making process and partners with the best cruise suppliers in the business to ensure that customers will always get the lowest price on their cruise vacations.  For more information, please visit https://www.cruisedirect.com/.

About The Stevie® Awards

Stevie Awards are conferred in nine programs: the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, the German Stevie Awards, the Middle East & North Africa Stevie Awards, The American Business Awards®, The International Business Awards®, the Stevie Awards for Great Employers, the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, the Stevie Awards for Technology Excellence, and the Stevie Awards for Women in Business.  Stevie Awards competitions receive more than 12,000 entries each year from organizations in more than 70 nations and territories. More than 1,000 professionals around the world participate in the Stevie Awards judging process each year. Honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide. Learn more about the Stevie Awards at http://www.StevieAwards.com.

Sponsors of the 20th annual Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service include SOCAP International and ValueSelling Associates, Inc.

Our Partners

International Voyager continues to evolve and excel in a very fast paced and ever changing industry. John Maguire and his team deliver our brand as well as their customers with cutting edge technology and personal touch service. International Voyager’s team is creative, goal driven and will buck the status quo. It is these attributes that distinguish International Voyager from other travel companies and why we hold them in high regard. 

Adolfo Perez

Senior Vice President
Carnival Cruise Line
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Cruise Direct and Costa Cruises have enjoyed a longstanding business relationship driven by their team's passion for the industry, their clients and our guests. They are experts at matching their cruise clients to the appropriate product thus insuring an enjoyable and memorable vacation experience. We appreciate their knowledge and enthusiasm for Cruising Italian Style on Costa which has resulted in outstanding customer satisfaction.

‎Scott Knutson

VP Sales & Marketing
Costa Cruises
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International Voyager and Celebrity Cruises have been working together for the last 10 years, and we have been able to forge a successful partnership, mainly due to them having an elite executive team, cutting edge technology and dynamic booking engine. I am confident that this partnership will continue to thrive and evolve for ten more years and beyond.

Dondra Ritzenthaler

Senior Vice President, Sales
Celebrity Cruises
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International Voyager is an incredible partner to Royal Caribbean. They know the importance of having a human touch in this industry, even when operating as an online travel agency. Customer service comes first for them and it’s clearly taken them far. Simply by ensuring that each and every customer is satisfied, they’ve built a following of loyal repeat clients. Royal Caribbean couldn’t ask for a more trusted partner to plan our guests’ crusie vacations.

Vicki Freed

Senior Vice President
Royal Caribbean International
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International Voyager has been a valuable member of Vacation.com and we are very proud of the relationship we share with them. They are very passionate about selling travel and are focused on selling Vacation.com preferred suppliers. They also recognize the value of their Vacation.com membership by taking full advantage of programs we offer. We enjoy working with International Voyager and look forward to continued success.

John Lovell

President
Travel Leaders Network and Leisure Group
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Norwegian Cruise Line has enjoyed a great decade long relationship with International Voyager. They have the unique quality of being able to handle large volume with personal, intimate service because of their flexible technology that matches marketing to customers based on their personal behavior.  The International Voyager team is also one of the most nimble teams in the industry, allowing them to take advantage of our ever-changing environment.

Andy Stuart

Former President & CEO
Norwegian Cruise Line
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Vacations Start Here

For over 15 years, more than 33 million visitors and over 500,000 clients have enjoyed our award-winning service here at International Voyager. We’re proud to say that we offer responsive, hassle-free vacation planning for global travelers. Our multi-lingual websites offer rich, inspiring content, but that’s not all. Our interactive maps, smart search filters, and dynamic packaging — combined with our simple planning and booking platform — means you get an industry-best experience.

We negotiate the best rates and deals from our premier international travel partners, too. Everyone deserves to relax — our flexible payment plans ensure it. We’re thrilled to inspire bucket lists, family reunions, honeymoons, and dream vacations.

That’s why Vacations Start Here.

Visitors33m +

CLIENTS500,000 +

Experience15yr +

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