Today we’d like to introduce you to Fox Forlenza.
Fox, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I started in 2022 on a whim. Initially my research into becoming a Travel Advisor began in 2021 after
my (now)-husband (Brandon) and I went on our first cruise together on Royal Caribbean’s Independence of the Seas. Following that I selected an agency to partner with. So the best thing in this field is to find what is called a host agency, and I found MEI-Travel through Royal Caribbean Blog. I wasn’t an avid follower of the Royal Caribbean Blog at the time, but I knew if Matt over there trusted an agency they would probably be a good fit for me.
I applied, went through the interview process, and then was accepted to start training. After training began the period of building a business, which in this industry is tough. Everyone thinks they can be a Travel Advisor, including myself at the time. There is so much more involved I didn’t even realize. You’re not just booking trips for people to Disney or Universal or even a cruise. You are holding their dreams in your hands. Every aspect of what is going on is up to you.
So I learned, and I had to learn quickly. After about 6 months I still didn’t have much traction and I wanted to give up. I had clients, but I didn’t have a booming business yet. I was still working as a Paralegal and that stability was hard to leave. However Brandon wouldn’t let me give up. So I kept going.
In December of 2022 I was invited to the naming ceremony onboard Royal Caribbean’s Wonder of the Seas. There I met two of my best friends ever Jenn and Ruthann who are both fellow Travel Advisors. Through these connections I found not only my people, but a new way to drive my business. See, at MEI-Travel, unlike other agencies, while we are technically competitors, we don’t treat each other that way. We life up and support each other’s business. And we are all 3 living proof of that.
I was accepted at that time as well onto the leads team and started getting more business for my small business. Well, with that came MASSIVE amounts of business. In 2023 I increased my bookings and business by insane amounts over the previous year. It’s funny, I set my goal at $100k for 2023. I smashed it and hit over $1.3M that year.
This brought me more exposure. Attending live training events, going to conferences, meeting in person with suppliers, attending and trying out the newest and latest ships. All of these were not only networking opportunities to help my business, but they were also great opportunities to showcase my professionalism and dedication to my craft to my clients. They were able to see I took it seriously, and truly was building a small business they could trust.
2024 and 2025 were also amazing years and I smashed additional records and increased by business by 2 and 4 times respectively over 2023.
I then moved into the event space as well. I love booking for families and couples and your average client, but I also love doing big events. They are so much fun. I met the owner of CruiseCon (CruiseCon.com) who wanted to put on a Cybersecurity event at sea. We had our first (very successful) event in February 2025 onboard Royal Caribbean’s Voyager of the Seas out of Port Canaveral. Following that we did CruiseCon West (a one-time product) out of Los Angeles on Royal Caribbean’s Quantum of the Seas in October 2025. We now have scheduled CruiseCon 2026 out of Port Canaveral on Royal Caribbean’s Explorer of the Seas in February 2026, CruiseCon Europe on Royal Caribbean’s Liberty of the Seas in July 2026 out of Southampton, England, CruiseCon Privacy on Royal Caribbean’s Mariner of the Seas out of Galveston, TX, and CruiseCon 2027 again out of Port Canaveral on Royal Caribbean’s Explorer of the Seas.
I also am in the process of launching a separate events company, but that’s a tight little secret I might tell you if you ask. It’s scheduled to launch in Q1 of 2026 officially.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has not been a smooth road. There have been hiccups and bumps. As a small business owner I am responsible for just about everything from my reputation to my marketing, servicing my clients and bookings, taking care of paperwork, invoicing, tracking money. It’s hard! There are so many little things you don’t think of when you start a business and you learn along the way. There are extremely bad days that have you hiding under your desk. Floods of emails and tasks that need to be done. Again, you’re responsible for these people’s dreams and vacations and when you mess up (and you will) you need to be able to quickly figure a way out to fix it. There are mistakes you make and you learn and you will never make again.
CruiseCon 2025 was also the most stressful thing I ever did. It was a HUGE learning curve. You are putting on an event for hundreds of people and trying to figure it out as you go. Mostly because it was a brand new event we didn’t know all the nuances of how exactly we wanted it to work, what our limits would be (both physical and financial). I ended up in the hospital with vision loss in one eye and underwent a lot of testing to figure out finally it was stress. Initial potential diagnosis was a stroke and even possibly multiple sclerosis. I was scared to no end. But stress does some evil things.
As such I have since hired an assistant and she has been a God-send! My business is bigger than ever, a new business is launching from my experience and my life is a little less controlled and run by stress. It’s still there, of course, but not as much thanks to the help I now have.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a Travel Advisor and I specialize mainly in two things (but I book the entire globe). Over 90% of my business is cruises for families, couples, and solo travelers. I specialize and am also known for LGBTQ+ travel as a member of the community myself. I highly specialize in the Royal Caribbean Group Brands such as Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, and Silver Sea. However I book them all. I also do land vacations to Europe, other parts of the United States, and my extra special specialty is Alaska. I am OBSESSED with Alaska! Everyone should go! I also specialize in Universal Orlando Resort. As someone who is there almost every week at least once, I am a force to be reckoned with on knowledge and experience.
However I now also found a passion in events. From weddings at sea, family reunions at sea, to big corporate events, I am planning them all. And LOVING IT! I absolutely am passionate about bringing my skills and experience to bringing people together for fun and sun! And a little education if you are on the corporate side.
What sets me apart from others in my dedication to my craft and my willingness to learn. Clients come to me with something new and I don’t turn them away. I learn, I research, I attend events so that I can learn that product and go back to my client and say “Yes! I can do that!” I don’t say “No”. This probably goes back to my days working at Walt Disney World. Back then we simply never said “No.” It was trained out of our vocabulary.
I am most proud brand-wise of the reputation I have built in the cruise industry and in the event industry. I had ZERO idea where my business would lead me. Where my passions would be. When I was presented with my first group I was like “Ummm… I dunno if I like this.” Come to find out, I didn’t like it, I LOVED it.
My brand offerings are everything from solo to huge groups. I offer so much, and it’s all personalized, and it’s all fee-free. So many Travel Advisors, especially after “the pause” (Covid-19) started charging fees. There’s an argument for it as people shop around so much and compare and you don’t want to dedicate time and resources to people who aren’t taking you seriously, but our agency and myself have chosen not to charge service fees for simply booking a vacation. My expertise is free, my rates are competitive and often less than booking directly (and NEVER more than booking direct), and you get someone who is dedicated and reachable. The most important thing is access. I give my clients access to me. Be it a phone call or an email. You are never dealing with a call-center. You are dealing with a real human being whose name and number you know. No extensions to dial, just a direct line.
I also really have moved into the group and event space hardcore. And groups are everything from a large family traveling together to a massive event. People can also get group rates and special concessions from working with a Travel Advisor like myself.
The other thing I like to remind people of is that when you book with a “real” Travel Advisor who owns a small business you get better service than even those big corporations can provide. You are booking with someone who is taking care of a family, building a life, future, and legacy, and that in itself is rewarding. I also like to give my business in turn to other small business owners because I know what that is like, what a difference you can make in someone’s life by choosing them over a big corporate entity.
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
The most important lesson I have learned is that not everyone can be a Travel Advisor. I’m sorry. This job is HARD. I see so many complaints about “Travel Agents” (notice I use Advisor as I am not an Agent, I advise my clients). So many of these people have gone out and seen an ad about making money booking travel. They think it’s simple and easy. I mean, it doesn’t sound hard, right? But you are taking a person/family’s money and spending it wisely. And so many of these “Agents” out there are simply not doing that. They see it as a way to make money to travel, or doing it on the side. I don’t do this on the side. I am a full-time Travel Advisor. It’s all I do. It is 100% of my income. I have office hours, but you have clients traveling every day of the week, all hours of the day, and if there is an emergency you need to be able to drop everything and run to help.
Tell me someone with a full-time other job, who is doing this on the side, can manage that? They can’t. And that was a tough lesson to learn. I had a client in Europe once and was getting calls at 3 am because their driver didn’t show up. I had to get out of bed, clear the sleep from my eyes and figure it out. From delayed or canceled flights, to service failures from a supplier, you are there for your clients. YOU are their resource and customer service and lifeline. Not everyone can do that.
The other hard lesson I learned was not panicking. If your client is panicked and you panic, you are just making it worse. I have to remain calm and collected so they can know they are in good hands. Funny story was one of my clients actually complained I wasn’t panicked about a situation where the cruise line just accidentally canceled their stateroom that was paid for. They felt I didn’t care, but as soon as I hung up the phone I started freaking out, was sweating, etc. I handled the situation, called them back, let them know all was good to go and the problem was solved. You have to remain calm, even in the face of extreme problems because that’s my job.
Pricing:
- No service fees, ever
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.foxdoes.travel
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/foxdoestravel
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/foxdoestravel
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/foxforlenza
- Other: https://www.mei-travel.com/fox.forlenza
Image Credits:
Fox Forlenza
