Subscribe now using your favorite service:
Get ready for a cruise-filled episode of Trade Secrets. This week, co-hosts Emma Weissmann and Jamie Biesiada welcome Royal Caribbean's Vicki Freed, senior vice president of sales and trade support and service, and Nick Weir, senior vice president of entertainment, onto the show. Hop aboard as we dive into everything from the brand-new Icon of the Seas — billed as the largest cruise ship at sea — to what it takes to entertain Royal’s millions of cruisers. This is the first of a two-part series featuring Freed; join us next time for a discussion on creating a strong advisor-supplier relationship.
This episode is sponsored by Windstar Cruises.
Theme song: Sock Hop by Kevin MacLeod (License). See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Credit: 2024 Jenn Martins
Further Resources and Related Reading
Contact Vicki Freed by email or via her personal cell phone, 305-458-0463
Follow Nick Weir on X (formerly Twitter)
Royal’s Trade Marketing Hub (also home to the link to register for Vicki’s Coffee Talk)
Vicki Freed on Humans of Travel: Royal Caribbean’s Vicki Freed on Breaking Into the Cruise Industry — and Meeting the Boss Who Helped Shape Her
Icon of the Seas coverage:
- Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas Takes Thrills to the Max
- Royal Caribbean Sets a New Cruise Benchmark with Icon of the Seas
Ask a Question on the Podcast
If you're a travel advisor with a question about the latest travel news, trends, best business practices or more, please call our hotline and leave a message at 201-902-2098 or send an email to tradesecrets@travelweekly.com.
About Your Hosts
Emma Weissmann is the Managing Editor of TravelAge West, a print and online magazine for travel advisors based in the Western U.S. She is also the host of the Humans of Travel podcast, where she interviews notable individuals in the travel industry about their lives — the highs and lows that make them human.
Jamie Biesiada is a Senior Editor with Travel Weekly. She is an award-winning journalist, including being named the American Society of Travel Advisors’ 2019 Travel Journalist of the Year. Her roots are in community journalism, where she was the editor of several local newspapers and a regional entertainment magazine.
About the Show
Trade Secrets, a podcast from the editors of Travel Weekly and TravelAge West, is where travel advisors ask — and answer — questions. On each podcast, our editors will ask a veteran travel industry insider to join them and field listeners’ questions. Topics will range from business advice to industry trends, history and more — as long as it’s travel-related, we want to address it! Find Trade Secrets wherever you get your podcasts, or at www.travelagewest.com/podcasts/trade-secrets.
