Peter Cox - THE Man Creating Exotic Itineraries Retires

If you have ever been on a cruise to an exotic port...or one that used to be exotic...the chances are that it was discovered, examined and, truth be told, sometimes created by Peter Cox. 

For the past 17 years of his long career, Peter Cox has been the genius behind Seabourn's offerings of small ports that normal cruise ships cannot visit. 

Listening to Peter can be overwhelming and inspiring at the same time.  He speaks not only with an encyclopedic knowledge, but with the passion of a child that just found his new favorite toy (port).  And, truth be told, speaking or just listening to Peter Cox humbles a guy like me, who many think has vast travel experience.  This soft spoken, incredibly polite, gentleman has such incredible experience that he easily reminds me that I have but scratched the surface of visiting our world. 

He taught me that there is so much more than finding an off-the-beaten-path place.  There not only needs to be infrastructure for the ship, but a diversity of opportunities for the guests and reliable ways to get them there, feed them and provide a safe experience.  Oh, yes, and also be able to tie it into an itinerary that provides for ports to fly into and out of.  In July 2008 I wrote It's Like a Sandwich! Seabourn Spirit - New Ports for 2009 which was inspired by a talk Peter Cox gave for the top Seabourn travel agents.

Pamela Conover, the President of Seabourn said of his retirement, "‘I can't overstate the important role Peter has played in shaping not just Seabourn's itineraries, but those of many other lines as well...He has literally created an inbound travel business for quite a number of ports that had never been on the radar for cruise companies until Peter showed them to us. Peter is the complete package: intelligence, humor, deep knowledge and a passion for helping people explore the world. He started as a guide, and in a sense he has never stopped being one...He is a true gentleman and will be missed by us all." (You can read more at Seatrade Insider free subscription required)