Samuel Spencer

Luxury travel expert with a specialty in small-ship, expedition, yacht and river cruise travel. 30 years experience in the industry, I am honoured to sit on the Virtuoso Technology Committee and Regional Member Advisory Board, and have been featured/contributed in Virtuoso the Magazine, The Globe & Mail and The New York Times.

• Virtuoso Cruise Icon Award - 2025: Top 1% of cruise advisors.
• The Jerne 1000 Club - World's top advisors by verified sales.

About Me:

I specialize in custom travel planning, with a particular specialty in small-ship, luxury and river cruising, as well as custom tailor-made itineraries including land touring, expeditions and safari. I love to share my first hand experience, knowledge and expertise with my clients to ensure exceptional, out of the ordinary vacation experiences.

I started my journey in the travel industry at age 16 in London, England. Since then and over the last 30-years, I have lived in several countries working with cruise lines, airlines and hotel companies. For the last 17-years I have been the owner and general manager of Ocean & River Cruises Travel – an award-winning cruise and luxury travel specialist.

While I have completed the highest levels of training and certification with our cruise line partners, I find it is my first-hand personal experiences and insights that my clients really appreciate when putting together custom vacation packages.

I’ve travelled on over 200 ocean, river and expedition voyages globally including:

• Big ship ocean-liners
• The small sailing yachts of Windstar
• Intimate river cruise ships in Asia and Europe
• Small luxury ships such as Paul Gauguin, Seabourn and Regent Seven Seas
• Expedition voyages including Lindblad National Geographic and The Galapagos.
• Polar voyages to both regions, including Seabourn Expeditions, Swan Hellenic, A&K and Ponant to Antarctica; Aurora Expeditions, Quark Expeditions Greenland to NW Passage and the Arctic
• Luxury Ice-breaker expeditions with Le Commandant Charcot, Ponant in Northern Canada

Assisting with your complete travel experience:

Planning a cruise also runs well beyond the voyage itself. Over the years I’ve built great personal relationships with hoteliers, local in-destination partners, and specialty tour providers - many of whom I’ve met during my travels or through top level industry events. Leveraging these relationships allows my team and I to fully support our clients in all elements of their travel experience, door-to-door, as well as access to privileged and insider experiences, and our complimentary VIP extras.

Contact me for an initial complimentary discussion about your travel plans – no pressure, no hassle. After a detailed consultation, I’ll put together a proposal with my hand picked recommendations.

We do not charge flat booking fees; if there's any professional planning or service fees that might be applicable to assist with select components of your trip, we'll be sure to discuss those up-front.

While I travel frequently, I am supported by my in-office team David and Thomas to ensure we're always here for you from the time you start your trip planning, right through to when you return back home.