George Argyropoulos (DEREE ’85) faces declining Rand with Cruise holidays

With over 20 years of experience in the marketing and sales of cruise holidays in both leisure and corporate destinations, George Argyropoulos (DEREE ’85) is the owner of Cruises International based in South Africa for 23 years. George has been in the cruise industry since 1987 where he worked as a Deputy Marketing & Sales Manager for Royal Olympic Cruises for three years.

In a recent article published in the South African newspaper portal IOL, George offered his expertise regarding the effect the collapse of the Rand would have on holiday makers. George said: “Just because the Rand is weakening does not mean travelers can’t indulge in a fantastic cruising experience offering six-star luxury”.

“Earlier this year, we announced that, in collaboration with Crystal Cruises, CI was offering a limited rand-based cash amount of up to R9 500 for South Africans to subsidize their fares when travelling on Crystal. Now we are delighted to announce that this offer has been extended to most bookings made up to the end of 2015 for cruises taking place in 2016.”

It applies to most 2016 sailings on Crystal Serenity and Crystal Symphony. Argyropoulos said this offer was over and above the all-inclusive packages.

“Crystal is hard to beat as its packages include all beverages, fine wines, champagne, premium spirits, non-alcoholic beverages and specialty coffees. Gratuities, a complimentary evening of specialty restaurant dining, 24-hour room service, a personal penthouse butler service, enrichment workshop classes and more come standard in the Crystal package.”

George was also the co-owner of Absolute Africa, a travel and conference services company in southern Africa, from 1998 to 2010.