Wirral Life March 2020 | Page 71

WIRRAL LIFE MEET DESTINATION SPECIALISTS DELMAR WORLD We speak to brother and sister team, Ann and Howard, about Delmar World; their family-run business that specialises in worldwide leisure travel... events to learn more, or even to board a ship for lunch, so they can see for themselves whether it suits them. This level of service is something you simply won’t get online. So, tell us about Delmar World. We are a team of well-travelled, destination specialists who are committed to sharing our extensive worldwide knowledge and giving outstanding customer service, as we have done since the family business began in 1964. What exactly is the Delmar Difference? I think it’s the amount we invest into each team member. We believe strongly in maintaining and expanding each team member’s knowledge through personal travel. Many people have a “bucket list” of their ultimate dream destinations but they need to be sure they’re making the right decision - it isn’t “one size fits all”! So it’s important to talk to someone who understands that and has the extensive knowledge necessary to make your dreams come true. Clients are welcome to call in at any time but, if they prefer, they can take advantage of our appointment service called Talk Travel™️. This allows them to see a destination specialist at a time to suit them. This bespoke service is very popular with clients because it ensures they can see the right person at the right time in order to ultimately discover their perfect holiday. What are your specialist areas? Originally it was USA and Canada but in the last 15 years we have become worldwide specialists, now including Australia, New Zealand, Africa and Asia. Each member of our team specialises in different areas of the world and they have travelled extensively in those areas in order to be able to give very informed recommendations that are tailored around each client’s individual needs. What is Perfect Cruises? Perfect Cruises is focused on the specialist area of luxury cruising. We have always had a strong demand for cruising - it is another of our specialist areas - but this was not always apparent under the Delmar brand. So we launched Perfect Cruises - no pun intended! - to heighten awareness of our expertise: whether it’s ocean, river expedition or luxury cruising, our team has the expertise to offer very insightful first-hand information, drawn from our own experience - between us we’ve been on over 50 different ships. We also work very closely with cruise lines directly to ensure that we can offer our clients the best possible deals - often before they are on general release and sometimes exclusive to our clients. We really care about our clients’ experience and relationship building is very important to us. In fact, we have clients who have booked with us since 1964, and we have seen generation after generation of clients come to us, bringing their friends and their family: we’re very proud to have such a high repeat and referral level. We’re also delighted to have won the Gold Feefo Award, which is voted for by our clients. Some of those testimonials, which are on our website, are hugely rewarding to read. Speaking of awards, you seem to have quite a few! Yes! We’re proud to have been awarded as the Travel Network Group’s Member of the Year for innovation and customer service as well as the CLIA (Cruise Lines International Association) Rising Star Award. We’ve won the Best Canada UK agent award three times in the last six years and we’re presently nominated as one of the top 50 travel agents in both Wales and the North West. Awards are great - and we continue to strive for excellence in this way - but our customer feedback and satisfaction genuinely is the most important thing to us. Do you have a message for our readers? Now we are in Heswall, we would love to meet you and for you to experience the Delmar Difference. Come and visit us at 5A Milner Road - there’s always a coffee, a smile and, of course, some travel inspiration waiting for you! And, if a client is new to cruising, or perhaps considering trying a new cruise line, we have opportunities where we can invite them to hosted wirrallife.com 71