Panache Cruises appoints polar explorer to boost expedition programme

Panache Cruises has appointed polar explorer Sue Stockdale as an ambassador to help with its expedition programme.

Stockdale was the first woman from the UK to ski to the magnetic north pole and has since been on expeditions to the geographic north pole and Antarctica.

Panache Cruises founder and managing director James Cole said: “With her vast knowledge of the polar region, we’re delighted that Sue is joining us as an ambassador for our expedition cruise programme.”

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Stockdale’s appointment means Panache Cruises has a total of seven ambassadors, including Blue band member Duncan James.

The northwest-based company, which aims to be the UK’s leading distributor of luxury cruises by 2027, recruited Stockdale as the agency sees a growing interest in expedition-style itineraries following the pandemic.

Cole said: “The Covid 19 pandemic has certainly boosted people’s wanderlust and we’re seeing much more interest in expedition-style cruise itineraries across all global regions.”

Cole added that his team has already created “fantastic expedition packages”, allowing customers to follow in the footsteps of explorers including Robert Falcon Scott, Edmund Hillary and Ernest Shackleton.

Motivational speaker Stockdale said she looks forward to working with Panache Cruises and meeting “budding explorers”.

She added: “Visiting some of the world’s most unique and remote destinations can be a humbling experience but also extremely powerful. Through my own expeditions, I realised that we are all capable of so much, yet we often don’t maximise the potential we have.”

Stockdale, who skied to the magnetic north pole in 1996, was recgonised as a ‘Pioneer to the Life of the Nation’ by the Queen in 2003.