Elite Cruises Reviews 

88
•
TrustScore 5 out of 5

4.8

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Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic cruise specialists. Every enquiry is answered extremely promptly and with in-depth knowledge across the cruise industry. We’ve experienced faultless service for over 20 years and have enjoye... See more

Company replied

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

AN IDEA TO GO TO ANTARCTICA ON A EXPEDITION CRUISE LAST YEAR TURNED INTO THE PLANNING OF A MEGA HOLIDAY OF 10 WEEKS. NOW THE PLANNING IS FINISHED, THE ITINERARY SORTED, AND ALL BOOKED. ALL PUT TOGETHE... See more

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Rated 5 out of 5 stars

I am probably the longest serving customer and happy that my sometimes difficult attitude is always dealt with cheerfully and very efficiently. We have become close friends despite having nev... See more

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Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic advice when choosing our river cruise. Exceptional help to book trips when phone waiting times was hours. This company went above and beyond our expectations to make our holiday special. We... See more

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Company details

  1. Cruise Travel Agency
  2. also in
  3. Cruise agency
  4. Luxury hotel
  5. Tour operator
  6. Travel agent
  7. Travel deals

About Elite Cruises

Written by the company


I'm Francesca Barone the owner of Elite Cruises and I've been in the travel industry for over 30 years. Specializing, for the most part, in the luxury/ultra-luxury cruise (and hotel) sector, my knowledge is vast and I have a black book jam packed with all the connections in the right places, that we'll ever need, amassed over these decades. My reputation amongst clients (many of whom have been loyal for decades), and suppliers alike is excellent.

Elite Cruise's ethos is to be accessible to you at all times; no multi option frustrating hold queues; our attention to detail; our genuine care and concern to find you the ship and/or hotel that best aligns with your personal requirements and expectations.

Whether you'd like a simple 'off the shelf' holiday or a multi destination complicated bespoke package put together the service, professionalism and knowledge offered will be identical. You are safe in the knowledge that your reservations/s are being handled by a fully ABTA/ATOL bonded agency.

We have literally hundreds of suppliers to tap into to fulfil your travel needs, reinforced by the knowledge to know who to approach for what on your behalf.

With us business is personal and we very much look forward to being of service.

Contact info

4.8

Excellent

TrustScore 5 out of 5

88 reviews

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4.8

All reviews

(88)

2 reviews in the last 12 months

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Rated 5 out of 5 stars

We feel we can fully trust Francesca

We feel we can fully trust Francesca. She is very knowledgeable and extremely helpful and especially patient with older couples like ourselves! The cruise we took was our first experience and we had a wonderful time! Thank you to Francesca!

10 September 2022
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Reply from Elite Cruises

Thanks Mary. Lovely to have had the opportunity to look after your booking. Look forward to hopefully arranging more for you in the future. Francesca, Elite Cruises.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Very competent cruise consultant

Francesca listens to the customers’ concerns and delivers without fail. We have had dealings with her over 20 years and she consistently delivers satisfaction

12 November 2022
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Reply from Elite Cruises

Thank you, Mary. Your loyalty, friendship and support spanning a couple of decades had been sincerely appreciated. Francesca, Elite Cruises.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Simply the Best

In 1997 we booked our first Silversea cruise with a travel company that was only distinguished by the Agent we dealt with. This was my first meeting with Francesca. When, subsequently Francesca started her own company we, of course, followed her. In all that time, over many and varied bookings, she has never failed to provide us with a totally personal service, detailed, timely, accurate, proactive, available: superb beyond belief. For a Travel Agent to book a World Cruise for a client is not easy. The complications are numerous and often difficult to resolve; Francesca is a total professional in this difficult area of cruising as she has proved to me three times!
Keep going Francesca! The Travel scene would be a poorer place without you.

12 November 2022
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Reply from Elite Cruises

Thanks very much Barry. It's been a complete pleasure looking after your cruise requirements for 25 years (though that figure is slightly worrying as we must be that much older)! You are a joy to work with and I very much forward to the prospect of continuing to reach and hopefully exceed your expectations.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Excellent and friendly service

We have used Francesca for many years now and have always found her very helpful and professional. She always answers any questions promptly and we would highly recommend her for any travel requirements.

11 June 2022
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Reply from Elite Cruises

Sally thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review for me. Long may our relationship continue and here's to many more being organised between us. Francesca, Elite Cruises.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Francesca Barone is the travel agent you have been looking for!

Francesca offers and provides a fully personalised cruise and holiday travel package. She organised the honeymoon holiday for my son and his beautiful wife. She was available for all their queries and her friendly, patient approach to organising their holiday meant that the whole experience ensured they had the honeymoon holiday they had always dreamed of!
I have known Francesca for over 20 years and have always been impressed by her commitment to her clients and her professional approach to her company. She has a wide knowledge of the cruise industry and will ensure her clients
have their holiday requests met at every level.

12 November 2022
Unprompted review
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Reply from Elite Cruises

How lovely - thanks very much for taking a few moments to leave me such a lovely review Annie.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Truly fantastic in every way

Truly fantastic in every way. Right through from booking to checking if we had a good holiday afterwards. Also very good at changing arrangements as needed and assisting in resolving any complaints with a holiday supplier.
Recommended !

12 November 2022
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Reply from Elite Cruises

Thanks for this lovely review Roger - always a pleasure doing business with you and Pamela and love being able to assist when it comes to organising your cruises. Francesca, Elite Cruises.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

We highly recommend Francesca as a Luxury Cruise Consultant

We are Silversea Cruisers and Francesca is always very helpful and responsive with all our emails. She is very proactive in finding solutions and offering competitive options.
I would highly recommend using Francesca as your Cruise Consultant.

12 November 2022
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Reply from Elite Cruises

Lovely vote of confidence Donna, very much enjoying handling your luxury cruising requirements. Looking forward to continuing to build our working relationship.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Excellent service

Excellent service, quick responses to queries and very personal touch.

9 November 2022
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Reply from Elite Cruises

Thank you very much Wayne. Great to have you both on board as relatively new to me clients. The power of social media. 😊

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

A Great Company

They are so helpful, regardless of the smallest query, so friendly all the time. A pleasure to do business with them

22 September 2022
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Reply from Elite Cruises

Thanks Carol. After these few decades of looking after you and George, it continues to be a real pleasure. Getting to spend some quality time together when we were on Silver Moon in September was wonderful. Our unexpected larger group for dinner in Kaiseki was such fun (and yum) 😋😊

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Once is not enough

Forgive the length of this review, but I think there is merit in the right audience reading this, if it be one that isn’t one choosing a business by recommendation thus is looking for its own confirmation ahead of engaging.

Unlike the vast majority that have and will write here; I have only used Elite Cruises once and once only. Normally I’m not relationship driven; rightly or wrongly I consider myself savvy enough to research extensively and make my own purchase decisions directly with providers. However, I haven’t cruised for quite a while, and at the start of that research I quickly established rather uniquely the cruise product market seems to better serve clients by encouraging them to use agents, rather than by booking direct. This is why is used Elite Cruises. I came across Francesca purely through social media research, and no form of recommendation. Very quickly I gained a sense of complete professionalism, and went on to receive a booking experience at a level well beyond anything I have experienced previously that might compare, through an individual travel agent. After the initial voice engagement the ongoing service was concluded via email. Everything that was promised was delivered, and where things didn’t quite go to plan towards the embarkation date they were resolved quickly and diligently. In my own work I deal with high value clients and hold strong beliefs that three important behaviours are key to being successful – honesty, integrity and trust. Elite Cruises absolutely demonstrates all of this. Though it doesn’t stop there. Just take a look at the level of detail that Francesca shares on social media when she gets to travel on some the cruise lines that you will be considering. You literally will be left with very little left to ask ahead of stepping on board.

So if you are, like me, one for detail, like to research and know everything before making financial commitments, the pre-sale, post purchase and pre-travel experience you are about to commit to really will be as memorable as the trip itself surely will be. Would I use Elite Cruises again? Like everyone else pretty much already has done; absolutely. I wish I could book everything like this but I appreciate service like this has a value.

1 June 2022
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Reply from Elite Cruises

I hardly know what to say Richard, what a comprehensive, informative, wonderful, and humbling review. Thanks so much for taking the time. You know where to find me for any of your ongoing travel arrangements, cruise or otherwise. 😊

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Have used Francesca for the last 15…

Have used Francesca for the last 15 years on all our Holidays nothing is ever too much trouble and she always gets the best deal as well ! Would highly recommend for all travel arrangements.

16 October 2022
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Reply from Elite Cruises

Love having you and Marie as clients, Martyn. Long may we keep doing what we do. X

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

24/7 personal attention from the owner…

24/7 personal attention from the owner of the business.
Very knowledgeable in the cruise business highly recommended

8 October 2022
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Reply from Elite Cruises

Thank you so much for taking the time to leave me a review David. Your and Rosemary's support throughout these past few extremely challenging years has been appreciated more than words can say. Here's to getting the opportunity to work with you both for many more wonderful cruise and land holidays. 😊

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Pleasure to do business with

Always a pleasure dealing with Francesca, she takes great care of her clients and shows exceptional professionalism.

1 November 2022
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Reply from Elite Cruises

Thanks for your support Denise. Love working with you. Always reassuring to have great contacts at my preferred suppliers to help me underpin the work I put in, and trips that I organise for my valued clients. Francesca, Elite Cruises.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

No pressure holidays

I did not have to worry about a thing every thing I wanted was looked into and made possible- ie a few days in Dubai after our trip to India. No need to worry about visas paperwork flights etc Francisca dealt with everything and all we had to do was pack a case. Could not recommend her more, went on a Med cruise with this company and once again everything was top class. If you want a super holiday with no pressure and someone else to do all the hard work - this company ticks all the boxes

11 November 2022
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Reply from Elite Cruises

Wonderful review Rosemary - thank you very much. It was a pleasure to organise that bucketlist trip for you and your sister to India. Getting you onto your first cruise was very exciting. Love introducing people to this wonderful way to traverese the globe. Francesca, Elite Cruises.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Always so Professional and friendly

Always so Professional and friendly. And really knows everything you need to know about Luxury Cruising.

11 October 2022
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Reply from Elite Cruises

Thanks for your support Natalie - much appreciated. Francesca, Elite Cruises

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Francesca has top marks in all respects.

Francesca is very reliable and very professional. If she
says she will get back to you she will do so very promptly.
She is very personable and committed to her clients. We have dealt with her for nine years and have complete confidence in her. Many of our friends use her too and also sing her praises.

16 July 2022
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Reply from Elite Cruises

Thanks very much Kay and Ian. It's great and much valued, doing business with you and your friends. Long may it continue. Here's to organising the next one with you. Francesca, Elite Cruises.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

We have been using Elite Cruises for…

We have been using Elite Cruises for several years and we have always received exceptional, helpful service when booking our cruises. Any problems we have had with our chosen cruise line have been swiftly and efficiently resolved. We recommend Elite Cruises extremely highly.

29 August 2022
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Reply from Elite Cruises

What a lovely review Brian - thanks so much for taking the time - much appreciated. Francesca, Elite Cruises.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Francesca our TA for over 20 years

I have known Francesca of Elite Cruising for many years and booked many cruises through her.

Francesca dealt with our latest booking with her usual professionalism, and care, in addition she is very intuitive regarding our preferences.

Because of her personal knowledge of the various luxury cruise lines and their ships she can offer really good advice and assistance.

10 November 2022
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Reply from Elite Cruises

Fabulous review Pat - thanks so much. We won't count how many years as that will just remind us time is a ticking by....... I look forward to continuing to work with you to fulfil your cruising requirements. Francesca, Elite Cruises

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Excellent personal service

Francesca provives a personal service spending time to understand requirements fully. She isn't pushy like some other companies and has always responded in a timely manner. A pleasure to work with when looking at possibilities for future cruises.

9 November 2022
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Reply from Elite Cruises

What a lovely review Karen - thank you. I look forward to picking up your cruising thoughts again when you are ready to discuss further.

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