Seabourn’s UK boss hails team after award win

Lynn Narraway, Seabourn vice-president for the UK and EMEA, was honoured with the Outstanding Achievement Award at Aspire’s sister title Travel Weekly’s Globe Travel Awards in recognition of her career spanning four decades.

Lynn Narraway, Seabourn vice-president for the UK and EMEA, was honoured with the Outstanding Achievement Award at the Travel Weekly Globe Travel Awards in recognition of her career spanning four decades.

Narraway’s career started outside the travel sector and her initial foray into it was in sales, before an acquisition led her to join Carnival.

This deal led to her being appointed to lead the UK arm of Seabourn and Holland America Line, and since then she has extended her remit to become one of the cruise sector’s most eloquent spokespeople.

She is credited with “representing the wider sector with distinction”, including as chair of Clia’s executive committee, and is well known for supporting a range of charities and her role as a mentor to many in the industry.

Judges said she “exudes passion for the brand she now leads” and is “loved by the many trade partners and members of her team that she has nurtured over an outstanding career”.

After accepting her award, Narraway said: “It feels unbelievable to win this award. I’m still shaking.”

Reflecting on her career in travel, she added: “I always wanted to be in travel right though university. It took me a lot of applications to get into it but when I finally managed it there was nowhere else I wanted to be. I then found my true passion in cruise and I’ve had fantastic teams throughout my career.

“The team at Seabourn are amazing and this award is as much for them as for me.”

Narraway described the cruise sector as “special and unique” due to its collaborative nature, and the overall travel sector as an “extraordinary industry”.

She added: “Although we’re competitors, it’s a really fun industry and I love mentoring young people who are coming into the industry; I would recommend anyone to join it.”

Narraway’s family, who were informed of her win before Christmas and kept it a secret, were in attendance and watched on from the balcony as she collected her award.

“To have my husband and two daughters here and watching on was just amazing and I feel very honoured,” added Narraway.

"Thank you to everybody I’ve ever worked with, to all our travel partners and especially to our team at Seabourn."