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Teresa Skeim
Teresa Skeim

Teresa Skeim

Seattle, WA Travel Agent

Cruise Specialists

65 Reviews
100% Recommended
25+ Years of Experience
Additional Languages
English

World Cruise & Hosted Cruise Expert

My mission statement is “Move life forward – live life now, don’t wait!” Whatever your interest: music, history, culinary wildlife, adventure, or something else, I can help you create your next travel memory. 

I started my travel industry career with Holland America Line at 24 years old and I understand that oceans connect and move us. They, along with the destinations that cruise ships bring us to, offer life, color and beauty. I have been with Cruise Specialists since 2012, and this allows me to bring together my passion for travel along with my desire to offer an enriching travel planning service to discerning travelers. My expertise lies in planning World Cruises and Grand Voyages, Hosted Voyages, river cruises (including unique back-to-back river cruises) and expedition cruises. 

My passion for travel has taken me to many intriguing places — I’ve been to Alaska at least 10 times and have covered much of the Caribbean several times over. I’ve experienced Europe, throughout western and eastern Europe (including a Danube river cruise), and many other wonderful places. Travel is what connects us and I cherish these memories, as well as helping my clients make their own. 

In order to be able to answer your questions and enhance the services I offer to you, I have experienced these cruise lines firsthand:

  • Silversea
  • Holland America Line (worked there for 10 years)
  • Oceania Cruises
  • Viking River Cruises
  • Windstar Cruises
  • Seabourn 
  • Scenic Luxury Cruises

I have also toured and inspected ships with the following cruise lines:

  • Celebrity Cruises
  • Oceania Cruises
  • Princess Cruises
  • Regent Seven Seas Cruises
  • Royal Caribbean
  • Seabourn
  • Silversea
  • UnCruise Adventures
  • American Queen Steamboat Company 

Some of my favorite cruise highlights include:

  • A two-week Crystal Cruise in the Caribbean. The all-inclusive nature of Crystal makes it such a relaxing experience! And the staff-to-guest ratio is truly outstanding.

  • A 7-day cruise on Oceania Sirena, from Barcelona to Malta. The cuisine on Oceania Cruises is touted as The Finest Cuisine at Sea. I can personally attest that their food is beyond incredible, with an emphasis on fresh, local ingredients their chefs gather in the ports being visited. 

While I have been on many more cruises, the above experiences help highlight some of the ways I am looking to enrich your travels. 

Voyage Host 

Another cruising highlight that has enhanced my understanding of client needs is that I have served as a Voyage Host. As a Voyage Host on a Windstar Cruise in the Mediterranean, I was an extra resource for a group of 40 travelers who had reserved their cruise through our special group. You can read more about this in my Hosted Cruises bio. 

Finally, as a Cruise Consultant with Cruise Specialists, I have the support of a strong and experienced team that helps me respond to any need you may have. We have decades of experience in working with detailed reservations, planning pre- and post-cruise hotel stays, travel protection and much more.   

I look forward to meeting with you via phone or email, hearing about your travel dreams and making your next trip unforgettable.

Areas of Expertise

Destinations:

Alaska
Egypt, Nile River
Australia
World Cruise
At Sea, Mediterranean
On the River, Danube
England
On the River, Seine River
Scandinavia
On the River, Rhine River
On the River, Douro River

Interests:

Cruises
Luxury Cruises
River Cruises
World Cruises
Small Ship Cruises

Suppliers:

AmaWaterways
Celebrity Cruises
Holland America Line
Oceania Cruises
Regent Seven Seas Cruises
Silversea
Seabourn
Viking
Avalon Waterways
Atlas Ocean Voyages
Tauck

My Travel Specialties

Back to All Specialties
Hosted Cruise Expert

Camaraderie on a Cruise Specialists Hosted Voyage

Hosted Cruise Expert

<p>On a hosted cruise, there is a hand-picked Voyage Host who cruises along with our guests and is there to serve as an extra resource. They host a welcome reception, arrange times for the group to get together and chat, host an exclusive shore tour and are there to offer tips on what to do in port or assist with other questions you may have. It’s like having an extra layer of reassurance with you on your trip — and with Cruise Specialists, it’s totally complimentary. </p>
<p>At Cruise Specialists, we have several options on how you can receive the services of a Voyage Host. I strongly encourage many of my clients to seek out a hosted voyage, and with our agency specializing in hosted voyages, I can easily match you with the right one. </p>
<p><strong>Hosted World Cruises </strong></p>
<p>As mentioned in my World Cruise bio, Cruise Specialists has a Voyage Host on the Holland America Line World Cruise. We also are the exclusive agency to have a host on the 2024 Oceania Cruises World Cruise and will provide a Voyage Host on the 2024 Princess Cruises World Cruise.</p>
<p><strong>Our World Cruise hosts have collectively sailed on dozens of World Cruises!</strong> They know the staff and have cultivated personal relationships over the years. These relationships extend in a discreet way to our clients in ways that aren’t always easily describable, but always appreciated. Collectively, they have also been to virtually every cruise port around the world. They can tell you their favorite spots to enjoy a coffee or tea, try some shopping, or hidden gems that they only know about because they’ve been there.</p>
<p>Going on a hosted World Cruise provides you with a person on the ship who is there for you. If you’re a solo traveler the Voyage Host serves as an extra layer of peace of mind that you’ll know someone else on board for the duration of the trip. </p>
<p><strong>More Hosted Cruise Programs </strong></p>
<p>At Cruise Specialists, we offer hosted cruise programs on hundreds of other cruises throughout the year on several cruise lines, including:</p>
<ul>
<li>Crystal Cruises</li>
<li>Oceania Cruises</li>
<li>Regent Seven Seas Cruises</li>
<li>Seabourn</li>
<li>Silversea</li>
<li>Azamara</li>
<li>Celebrity Cruises</li>
<li>Cunard</li>
<li>Windstar Cruises </li>
</ul>
<p>We also offer a hosted program with the river cruise line AmaWaterways.</p>
<p>On those hosted voyages, you’ll receive the benefits of a Voyage Host, a Welcome Reception and a VIP Shore Tour. In some ports, on select cruise lines, a Private Car & Driver is offered as an alternative to the shore tour. I recommend my clients take this complimentary opportunity whenever it is offered!  </p>
<p><strong>Hosted voyage benefits easily amount to a significant level of added value and provide a level of enrichment you can’t find elsewhere.  </strong></p>
<p><strong>My Own Hosting Experience </strong></p>
<p>I had the opportunity to host 40 guests on a Windstar Cruise in the Mediterranean. I hosted a welcome reception/cocktail party to introduce myself to the guests and so they could meet others if they desired; I hosted special events, dined with guests and had many casual conversations about the destinations we were about to visit. Cruising on a Hosted Voyage is such an easy way to have more of a shared experience while traveling.   </p>
<p><strong>Special Bon Voyage Event</strong> </p>
<p>I’ve had the pleasure of working at the Cruise Specialists Bon Voyage Event prior to our hosted Holland America Line World Cruise. For that cruise, we provide a pre-cruise hotel for our clients and host a lovely Bon Voyage Reception and Dinner the night before the cruise departs. Cruisers get to meet our Voyage Hosts before even stepping on board, which is a reassuring feeling for our first-time World Cruisers. Repeat guests enjoy reconnecting with friends from previous trips and sharing tips with newer World Cruisers. A small number of staff members from Cruise Specialists are also selected to go each year. It is an honor to attend, based primarily on our own World Cruise sales, and I have had the pleasure of attending numerous years. I love that part of meeting clients in person, becoming friends and building long-term relationships. </p>
<p>In summary, a hosted voyage is an excellent way to add value to your trip. I specialize in hosted voyages and can help select the right one for you, no matter which destination you hope to travel to. </p>

Other Specialties

Luxury Cruises, World Cruises & River Cruises

My mission statement is “Move life forward – live life now, don’t wait!”...

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World Cruise Expertise Details

A World Cruise takes you to dozens of destinations around the world on one seaml...

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River Cruise Expert

A river cruise is the ideal way to immerse yourself with the comfort of seeing a...

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Silversea Cruises ~ Alaska

I recently had the sheer pleasure of sailing to Alaska on board the Silver Muse....

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My Oceania Experience ~ The Finest Cuisine at Sea

Oceania reputation for the Finest Cuisine at Sea is well earned. With locally so...

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Why Celebrity

  Celebrity continues to evolve and improve upon an already excellent cruise ex...

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Grand Voyages

For the past 35 years, Cruise Specialists has specialized in Grand and World Cru...

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2024 & 2025 Holland America World Cruise

Since 1989 Cruise Specialists has offered a hosted group departure on every Holl...

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Reviews

65 Reviews
I don&#39;t remember how many years Teresa has been my agent. I am very happy to have her as my agent. She has been very good at handling the many emails I send her and taking care of the bookings we make for our cruises with Holland America. We usually book our cruises on the ship and then Teresa takes it from there to make sure we receive our invoices from HAL and Cruise Specialists. She also handles the payments we make for our cruises and sends us updated invoices so we can keep track of our balance due. I not only consider her my agent, but also my friend.
Barbara - Japan ~ East and Southeast Asia
Teresa is the best in all respects!
Ronald - Europe
I have always had excellent service. Teresa has gone more than th4 extra mile to take care of this technology limited client.
Margaret - Cape Town ~ South Africa ~ Africa

Certifications & Awards

Additional Certifications

  • Viking Certified Expert: River, Ocean & Expedition

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