TRAVELSAVERS Is Latest Consortium to Drop American Queen Voyages

Several weeks after several agency groups, including Virtuoso, Signature Travel Network, and AAA Travel, suspended sales of American Queen Voyages, TRAVELSAVERS is also holding off on renewing its preferred partnership with the U.S. river cruise line. Pleasant Holidays also stopped selling AQV in November of last year. 

“We have been monitoring their actions and non-actions for a few weeks and believe it is in your best interest that we hold,” wrote Nicole Mazza, chief marketing officer for TRAVELSAVERS, in an email to member advisors.  

“Although we are hearing very positive comments about AQV’s onboard product and service, we are hearing and seeing a strong decline in AQV’s leadership team communications, a lack of engagement, a delay in commission payments, and agency issue resolutions with your peers.” 

American Queen Voyages underwent an extreme realignment in October when the cruise line’s parent company Hornblower Group decided to “further integrate” AQV with Hornblower “into one unified entity.” As part of the integration, then-president Cindy D’Aoust – a former president and CEO of CLIA – was let go.