President’s Club-Level Access, Viking EDGE Incentive Recognition, Executive Collaboration, and Firsthand European Training Continue Strengthening Club Cruise’s Luxury Travel Authority
Club Cruise™, a luxury travel agency specializing in Viking River Cruises, Viking Ocean Cruises, luxury tours, customized European itineraries, and destination-focused travel planning, continues expanding its national luxury travel presence through executive-level industry collaboration, Viking partnership development, and firsthand European destination expertise developed during the 2026 Travel Leaders Network EDGE Conference and concurrent supplier meetings throughout Europe.
This week, Club Cruise™ participated in the Travel Leaders Network EDGE Conference at the Gaylord Pacific Resort & Convention Center in San Diego alongside a few thousand travel professionals, including many of North America’s leading agency owners, luxury travel advisors, cruise executives, tourism boards, hospitality brands, technology innovators, and supplier partners.
Representing Club Cruise™ were Jef Huber and Amanda Huber, who participated in executive leadership forums, VIP supplier meetings, advanced education sessions, and founder-level strategy discussions centered on the future of luxury travel advising, AI integration, digital client engagement, wellness and longevity travel trends, Viking cruise growth, and premium destination planning.
Travel Leaders Network (TLN), part of Internova Travel Group, is recognized as one of the travel industry’s most influential travel advisor consortiums, supporting thousands of travel advisors and agency locations worldwide through supplier relationships, education, technology platforms, luxury travel programs, and executive-level industry access.
The annual EDGE Conference — representing Educate, Discover, Gather, and Evolve — serves as Travel Leaders Network’s flagship national conference and one of the luxury travel industry’s premier executive networking and educational events.
For Club Cruise™, participation at EDGE represented far more than conference attendance. As President’s Club-level participants and international summit delegates, Jef and Amanda Huber were actively involved in the executive conversations shaping the future of luxury travel, supplier collaboration, Viking growth, AI-enhanced client service, and relationship-driven travel advising.
“EDGE is where the future of the travel industry is being shaped, and Club Cruise™ was there inside the executive inner circle,” said Jef Huber, founder of Club Cruise™. “We have seen TLN come a long way from the Vacation.com era, when we were part of an inner-circle executive leadership group of 10. Now, some decades later, it is powerful to see a packed room of 100+ President’s Circle members, top agency leaders, Internova executives, Viking decision-makers, supplier partners, and founder-led agencies building extraordinary national travel organizations. That access strengthens our strategy, our partnerships, and ultimately the experience we bring back to our clients.”
Jef Huber also participated in founder-level and executive strategy conversations with agency leaders who have built major travel organizations over decades, including businesses that began with small teams and expanded into large-scale national advisor networks. These discussions included respected agency founders, CEOs, TLN executives, Internova leadership, supplier partners, and long-standing industry relationships developed through President’s Club events, international summits, and years of collaborative travel leadership.
“EDGE felt like a travel industry family reunion at the executive level,” said Jef Huber. “It was great reconnecting with Lindsay Pearlman, Roger Block, the Internova leadership team, Viking executives, supplier partners, and fellow founders who have built remarkable travel organizations over decades. Having everyone together in San Diego made it especially meaningful for me personally — California is my home, my Golden State, where I was born and raised — and it was special to welcome so many industry friends and leaders here.”
For Club Cruise™, these conversations reinforced the power of the Travel Leaders Network and Internova ecosystem. The conference was not simply about attending sessions; it was about engaging with leaders who understand how to build, sustain, and scale respected travel brands through supplier relationships, advisor development, technology adoption, luxury specialization, and long-term network leverage.
The conference also included VIP supplier meetings and executive sessions involving Viking leadership and premium travel partners. For travelers seeking experienced Viking specialists and trusted luxury cruise advisors, these direct supplier relationships represent a significant advantage when planning complex river cruise, ocean cruise, land extension, hotel, transfer, and custom itinerary experiences.
The event also marked another important reunion with Travel Leaders Network, President Lindsay Pearlman following previous international leadership experiences including the New Zealand International Summit and earlier executive gatherings in Switzerland.
“It was wonderful reconnecting with Jef and Amanda again following our New Zealand summit experiences and other TLN leadership gatherings,” said Lindsay Pearlman, President of Travel Leaders Network. “Club Cruise™ continues operating at a very high level within the Travel Leaders Network community, and it is always exciting seeing agencies invest so deeply in relationships, destination expertise, executive collaboration, and luxury travel leadership.”
One of the standout moments of the conference came during Viking’s featured “I Sell Viking” campaign presentation led by Michele Saegesser, Vice President of Sales and National Accounts for Viking, and the Viking executive team. The high-energy presentation became one of the most talked-about highlights of EDGE and reinforced Viking’s continued investment in advisor partnerships, training, recognition, and destination-focused expertise.
The biggest highlight was as the Viking presentation concluded then disturbed in a frenzy 500 lanyards to distinctive loyal advisors who 100 received complimentary Viking river cruise giveaways certificates throughout the event among the thousands attending the conference nationwide.
“Michele Saegesser absolutely stole the show and said she was ‘Back’ from a brief retirement to sell again,” said Amanda Huber of Club Cruise™. “Her energy, leadership, and passion for the Viking brand made the ‘I Sell Viking’ campaign one of the defining moments of the entire conference. She turned the event into a ‘Meet Taylor Shift Concert Backstage Craze’. It was exciting seeing Viking invest so strongly in advisor education, recognition, and long-term partnership development.”
During the conference, Club Cruise™ also participated in a special dinner meeting hosted by Mario Herrera, Business Development Director for Viking, and Sandra Marshall, Senior Director of Field Sales for Viking. The meeting created an important opportunity for deeper discussion around Viking growth, advisor partnership, future collaboration, and the continued expansion of Club Cruise™’s Viking expertise.
Following those meetings, Club Cruise™ was honored and presented by Mr. Herrera an incentive sales 2026 Viking EDGE President’s Club Award, recognizing the agency’s continued growth, leadership, and expanding partnership within the Viking advisor community.
The recognition further reinforced the renewed strength of the relationship between Club Cruise™ and Viking as Club Cruise™ continues expanding its role within the luxury river and ocean cruise marketplace, supported by ongoing collaboration with Viking leaders including Michele Saegesser, Mario Herrera, and Sandra Marshall.
Club Cruise™ expressed appreciation to Michele Saegesser, Mario Herrera, Sandra Marshall, the broader Viking executive leadership team, and the many TLN executives, supplier partners, and hospitality hosts who contributed to the week’s educational programming and executive collaboration opportunities.
While EDGE was underway in California, Heather Viking continued expanding Club Cruise™’s firsthand European destination expertise overseas through active meetings and destination immersion Viking Pre-Post Extensions Retreat with hosted experiences in Paris and Barcelona.
Currently traveling through France and Spain, Heather has been meeting directly with Viking-connected land teams by Host Daisy D, training on extension specialists, luxury hotel partners, sightseeing operators, local hosts, and destination suppliers to further strengthen Club Cruise™’s expertise surrounding pre- and post-cruise planning, customized itineraries, transfers, luxury accommodations, and European travel experiences.
Hosted experiences in Paris included destination evaluations, hotel reviews, extension planning discussions, sightseeing coordination, and collaborative meetings connected to Viking land and touring operations designed to help travelers maximize their European journeys beyond the cruise itself.
Heather is now continuing onward to Barcelona — one of Europe’s busiest cruise ports — where additional supplier meetings, destination evaluations, and cruise planning opportunities are underway as part of Club Cruise™’s continued investment in firsthand destination knowledge and Viking expertise.
Although Heather Viking was missed by many industry friends and her favorite Viking management team attending EDGE, her work overseas reinforced Club Cruise™’s larger strategy: combining executive-level industry access in the United States with real-world destination expertise throughout Europe while handling client operations and her 15 Minute Scheduled Viking Chat Evaluations throughout various time zones.
Another major relationship thread throughout the week involved Angela Hughes, CEO of Trips & Ships Luxury Travel and founder of Luxury Travel University, whose long-standing friendship and collaboration with Club Cruise™ leadership continues evolving through Travel Leaders Network leadership events and international summit experiences.
“It was wonderful reconnecting with my Summit Allies Jef and Amanda again at such a high level within the industry,” said Angela Hughes. “We have shared incredible experiences together through TLN leadership events in Switzerland and New Zealand, and those relationships matter. Between Club Cruise™ and Trips & Ships, there is more than 75 years of combined luxury travel experience, supplier relationships, and destination expertise. The conversations we had this week in sunny San Diego surrounding future collaborations, luxury partnerships, and upcoming projects were incredibly exciting.”
Angela Hughes additionally shared that her current focus includes expanding awareness around Micato Safaris and luxury African safari experiences using new AI-supported language, advisor education, and modern marketing strategies designed to expand reach through potential Club Cruise™ collaboration, Travel Leaders Network leverage, and shared luxury travel partnerships.
Even while overseas, Heather Viking continues working remotely with clients daily through scheduled planning calls, booking reviews, transfer coordination, itinerary support, and travel check-ins.
As Heather Viking continues building upon 100 countries visited worldwide, Club Cruise™ remains focused on combining firsthand destination knowledge, executive-level industry relationships, Viking specialization, national buying power, and continued professional education to better serve luxury travelers throughout the United States.
Club Cruise™ also confirmed plans to participate in next year’s Travel Leaders Network international conference scheduled for May 19–22, 2027 at Moon Palace Cancun, where many of the travel industry’s leading agency owners, executives, advisors, and supplier partners are expected to gather again for global collaboration and future planning.
“The greatest advantage for our clients is the combination of relationships, access, and firsthand expertise,” said Jef Huber. “Whether Amanda and I are participating in executive sessions at EDGE, Heather is meeting with Viking-connected destination partners throughout Europe, or we are collaborating with respected luxury travel leaders like Angela Hughes, our focus remains the same: building stronger insight, stronger partnerships, and elevated luxury travel experiences for our clients.”
Club Cruise™’s continued participation in executive leadership forums, Viking EDGE Incentive recognition, international summit experiences, supplier partnerships, destination immersion, and future-focused luxury travel collaboration reflects the agency’s long-term commitment to Viking expertise, luxury travel leadership, and relationship-driven client service.
Travelers interested in Viking River Cruises, Viking Ocean Cruises, European cruise extensions, luxury tours, custom itineraries, or premium travel planning can connect with Club Cruise™ for a personalized planning review.
ABOUT CLUB CRUISE™
Club Cruise™ is a luxury travel agency specializing in Viking River Cruises, Viking Ocean Cruises, luxury tours, customized European itineraries, premium air planning, cruise extensions, and destination-focused travel experiences. Affiliated President Club Members with Travel Leaders Network and Internova Travel Group, Club Cruise™ serves travelers nationwide through relationship-driven luxury travel planning, supplier partnerships, executive industry access, and firsthand destination expertise # 1-800-CLUB-SEA