Business: Executives

Trailblazer Michelle Fee of Cruise Planners Honored with Travel Weekly’s Lifetime Achievement Award

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Michelle Fee, CEO and founder of Cruise Planners was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award by Arnie Weissmann, editor-in-chief of Travel Weekly, at its 17th annual Readers Choice Awards Gala

“I’m honored to be recognized with this incredible award. Cruise Planners has been giving people the gift of entrepreneurship for 25 years. Our Cruise Planners travel advisors are truly making a positive impact in the travel industry and seeing their incredible success is beyond my wildest dreams.”


CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. (PRWEB)

Michelle Fee, CEO and founder of Cruise Planners, an American Express Travel Representative was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award during the 2019 Travel Weekly Readers Choice Awards Gala held at the Conrad New York.

The Lifetime Achievement Award pays tribute to individuals whose efforts have led to extraordinary results within an organization and who have also made significant contributions to the industry as a whole.

“I’m honored to be recognized with this incredible award. Cruise Planners has been giving people the gift of entrepreneurship for 25 years,” says Fee. “Our Cruise Planners travel advisors are truly making a positive impact in the travel industry and seeing their incredible success is beyond my wildest dreams.”

Fee, a 40-year travel industry veteran, founded Cruise Planners in 1994 in Coral Springs, Fla. and reimagined the travel world. She was a co-owner of a traditional storefront travel agency and was a trailblazer well before her time. Her visionary leadership spearheaded Cruise Planners to become the nation’s largest network of home-based travel agents with more than 2,500 travel advisors across all 50 states in the U.S. today. The company has evolved to sell all types of travel from all-inclusive resort vacations, guided land tours and cruises. As an American Express Travel Representative, Cruise Planners sells well over half a billion dollars in travel annually.

Fee is a mover and shaker within her community and beyond. She has been a major player in transforming South Florida into a dynamic marketplace, which brings more than four million cruisers sailing from Port Everglades each year. Cruise Planners hosts large trainings six times a year in Fort Lauderdale for new travel advisors from around the U.S. and also hosts 800 travel advisors and industry representatives annually for specialty training at the company’s annual convention, held recently at the Diplomat Resort Spa in Hollywood, Fla. Cruise Planners corporate office, known as Home Office, employs 135 team members and has consistently been voted “Top Workplaces in South Florida” by the Sun Sentinel with jobs in technology, marketing, sales and business development all within the hospitality industry.

As an award-winning CEO and industry leader, her recognitions include:


  • Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) Hall of Fame Honoree

  • EY Entrepreneur of the Year® for Hospitality and Leisure

  • Florida Trend’s Florida 500 Most Influential Business Executive in Hospitality

  • South Florida Business Journal’s 250 Power Leaders

  • South Florida Business & Wealth’s Distinguished CEO Apogee Award Winner

  • Godmother of AmaWaterways’ AmaSerena

  • Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) Woman of the Year

“Michelle is a true travel agent advocate and inspiration in the travel industry. I love seeing her success being recognized with this honor,” says Vicky Garcia, COO and Fee’s business partner as co-owner. “I’m very proud of my side kick and BFF. I feel incredible to be on this journey with her and to celebrate this moment. We’ve accomplished so much together and I’m looking forward to what the future holds.”

The legacy of the recipients of the Travel Weekly Lifetime Achievement Award collectively defines the environment that the travel industry operates in today and provides a model of vision and accomplishment for tomorrow’s leaders. Other notable recipients include:

  • Bob Dickinson, Carnival Cruise Lines

  • Richard Fain, Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd.&

  • Jimmy Murphy, AmaWaterways

Stay in Touch: Media can stay up-to-date with Cruise Planners by visiting our ([media room or Socially Yours page for social media updates and handles. For additional information or to make reservations, vacationers should locate a travel advisor near them. For those interested in becoming a franchise owner, please visit the Cruise Planners franchise website.  

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