“The vast majority of our bookings have been coming through the trade”: TTC Tour Brands’ deputy CEO Melissa DaSilva

TTC Tour Brands’ deputy CEO & chief sales officer Melissa DaSilva highlighted the significance of travel advisors while marking the launch of Trafalgar’s new river cruise division in Amsterdam on Friday afternoon. 

“This moment has been a dream in the making and we have so many people to thank, countless numbers of people to recognize, but none more so than our travel advisor partners and I’m so grateful that you are all here with us today,” DaSilva noted as the naming ceremony for Trafalgar Verity got underway. “From the very beginning, you have supported us step by step and you have championed us… We want to recognize that we don’t take that for granted at all and that your belief in us has actually helped build the brand into what it is today.”

TTC Tour Brands’ deputy CEO & chief sales officer Melissa DaSilva

DaSilva shared that moving from land tours to the rivers of Europe was a natural evolution for the brand. 

“We’ve always believed at Trafalgar that how you travel is as important as where you go. We didn’t see river cruising as a departure from what it is that we already did, we saw it as a natural extension,” she said. “The demand was clear and we knew that it aligned with what our guests were looking for. We had decades of experience crafting immersive guided journeys and we’re now able to translate that to the water.” 

Notably, DaSilva told TravelPress Today that close to 80 per cent of its river cruise bookings are from travel advisors.

Trafalgar Verity godmother Cassie Estrella-Roca is a longtime supporter of Trafalgar and has been on 15+ land tours

“The vast majority of our bookings have been coming through the trade,” she added.

While travelling on the water offers a different perspective than travelling on land, she says the experience is still rooted in human connection. 

“We believe knowing a destination is so much more than the landmarks, it’s about the people that make that destination come to life. We form genuine connections, we break bread with locals and people leave with true connections to the places that they visit,” she said. “Experiencing these destinations by water is a different perspective than the one we already show our guests by road and by rail. In many ways, it echoes the ways travellers first discovered these great cities. It gives us a new way to tell stories but with that same Trafalgar perspective from the inside out, really connecting our guests not just as visitors but as participants, with the people, the traditions and the moments that bring the destination to life.”

Damien O’Connor, Captain Alexander van Der Graaf, godmother Cassie Estrella-Roca and Melissa DaSilva pour champagne over Trafalgar Verity’s bell

With that concept in mind, rather than going the route of selecting celebrity godmothers for its ships, Trafalgar opted for real guests who have travelled with the tour operator over the years. 

Although Damien O’Connor, vice president, Trafalgar river cruise has a lot of experience working with public figure godmothers like Malala Yousafzai and Simone Biles through his tenure at Celebrity Cruises, he noted that nothing compared to the joy he got from informing Cassie Estrella-Roca that she would be the godmother of Verity.

“Traditionally the godmothers come for one day and you never hear from them again. Cassie called us last week and said can you give us all the crew names? I want to write a personal card for all the crew… We are going to give her a seat at the table for the design group for our new build ships – she already started with ‘I want a shaving bar,’” he revealed. 

Trafalgar Verity marks the debut of Trafalgar’s river cruise division

Instead of smashing a bottle of champagne on the bow of the ship into the Amstel river, the captain, godmother and Trafalgar and TTC Tour Brands executives poured champagne over Trafalgar Verity’s bell during the ceremony.

“It is truly an honour to stand here today as the godmother of Trafalgar Verity. Travel has always been about more than the places we visit. It is about the people we meet, the friendships we form, and the moments that stay with us long after the journey ends,” Estrella-Roca noted during the ceremony. “Today, it is incredibly meaningful to celebrate a ship that will help create those same experiences for travelers for many years to come. It is my honour to offer my blessing for this vessel. May Trafalgar Verity travel safely along the rivers of Europe. May her crew always guide her with care and pride. And may every traveller who steps aboard discover the joy, connection and sense of discovery that make travel so meaningful.”

Trafalgar is now able to take clients on voyages by land and on the rivers of Europe

Following a gala dinner, Estrella-Roca shared that she sees this as her legacy as she doesn’t have kids. Similarly the godmother of Trafalgar Reverie, which began sailing the Danube on April 11, is another past Trafalgar traveller, Kate McIntosh of Melbourne, Australia.

While Trafalgar Verity and Reverie, as well as Harmonie, which will debut on the Seine River in 2027, are all repurposed Uniworld ships, Trafalgar has new builds set to join the fleet in 2028.

Stay tuned for more coverage from the inaugural river cruise.