On Monday 14th May 2007, nearly 200 Executives and their partners converged at various airports in the UK, where they were met by Head Office representatives for their flights to Nice and onward travel to the millionaires playground of Monte Carlo.

On arrival at the port, the real luxury began. Anyone who has been on a luxury holiday with Telecom plus, knows that when we say luxury, we mean it! Of course no one needed to carry their own luggage, as it was delivered to everyone’s cabins by the Silversea staff, leaving Executives free to stroll slowly across the red carpet and on to the ship, to be welcomed on board by the ship’s senior staff, delicious canapés and a glass or two of perfectly chilled champagne. This really was a taste of the luxury to come.

Guests were escorted to their cabins, where cabin stewards gave them a tour of their suite (yes, everyone got a suite with either a panoramic sea view or a private balcony), where a bottle of champagne on ice was waiting to be un-corked. You see it really was hard work making it all the way from the gangplank to the cabin! Naturally, the amenities in everyone’s suites, private bathroom and dressing room, the Bvlgari soaps, luxury towelling robes and fully stocked free bar were nothing less than everyone deserved.

Many Executives took the opportunity before the ship set sail to walk around Monte Carlo, which was being set up for the famous Formula 1 Grand Prix race the following weekend, or to relax by the pool, enjoying a drink or five in the sun. After a sumptuous dinner, there was the traditional sail away party on deck under the stars. It must have been quite hot as a few Executives decided to go swimming, fully dressed!

On Tuesday morning the ship docked at the enchanting and romantic medieval port town of Genoa which, after a short coach transfer, everyone was free to explore at their leisure. By late afternoon and once everyone was back on board 140 poker ‘professionals’ and novices got together for the Telecom plus cash prize Poker Tournament, complete with exclusive piggy chips in the Panorama Lounge, while anyone else looking for some organised entertainment joined the Telecom plus Grand Prize Bingo in the Show Lounge, which was expertly called by the one and only Rob Barras.

Following pre-dinner drinks and canapés everyone dined at their leisure, with some of the very top point earners dining at Charles’ table. The amazing Hazel Payne performed a selection of her most popular songs in the Show Lounge after dinner. For those Executives who had the stamina, there was a choice of a disco or Karaoke into the small hours.

On Wednesday morning the ship docked in Civitavecchia, the closest port to Rome. There was a fantastic choice of free excursions including a Vatican City Tour, visiting the Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel, St Peter’s Basilica and time for a bit of shopping, a Rome Sightseeing Highlights Tour which took in The Colosseum, The Pantheon, The Trevi Fountain, The Spanish Steps, some shopping and a brief stop at the Vatican, or a Rome City Centre transfer. Everyone came back to the ship exhilarated after a fantastic day in Rome, and there was just enough time to get ready for another round of Prize Bingo or the finals of the Poker Tournament, which was won by first time poker player, Spencer Thomson. Naturally no luxury cruise is complete without a black tie evening, and this cruise was no exception. It gave a chance to all the ladies to show off their finest evening gowns and the gents all looked dapper in their tuxedos. After a dinner which included only the finest dishes, such as lobster, caviar, goose liver and ‘death by chocolate’ we were treated to an exclusive performance by the amazing Kit and the Widow, who performed a cabaret specially written for Telecom plus. Who can forget that chorus “the greatest cruise to choose to go on, is Silver Whisper with Telecom plus!”

Some got a few hours sleep, many didn’t, before we docked in Nice for the all too soon return to the UK. Everyone who went on the cruise had a fantastic time, learnt a tremendous amount from their fellow Executives, and came away committed to persuading Charles to run another holiday promotion next year!

Silver Whisper Testimonials

Steve Percy

‘If it is to be then it’s up to me’… With Steph Longworth’s words ringing in my ears, some of the many that rightly earned him a standing ovation at Express Day 2006, I headed back to Cardiff. Cruise places go to other people… don’t they? Well why not me. If I do what it says on the tin, and apply the principles that the training and my upline suggest, then my place should be assured shouldn’t it?

I joined the business in early May 2006. This event was closely followed by my wedding to Sian and then a couple of weeks away with the Territorial Army on my Annual Camp. I’m an ex-commissioned Officer in the Royal Marines and I like to keep my hand in. So with the challenges of childcare for our three year old Oliver to consider and our busy lifestyles as an IT Service Delivery Manager and a Podiatrist to balance, the honeymoon was put on hold.

There was surely no way that I could possibly be part of the last 50 to assure a place on the Silver Whisper, a 6 star liner, one of the most luxurious ocean going liners in the world, and yet something told me that if I set this as a long term goal, and ticked off my shorter ones along the way then anything could happen. Hey, even if it never came off, I’d be building my customer and Distributor base and that was all good, so I went for it. Consistency, practice, improving my skills, regular training, reading the books, offering the business opportunity, supporting my business partners and watching their businesses grow… time ticked by and Derek Thomas my upline phoned in December to tell me I was in the top 50 in December 2006. Assuming this was just a typing error, I continued to apply the principles, and low and behold there I was again in January 2007.

There were those words again from Steph ‘…..then it’s up to me’. February 2007 was frantic and really exciting, and that’s from a bloke that used to parachute as part of his day job! The days went by in slow motion and it felt like an age for Head Office to announce the top 50 at the end of the month; but I remember my (and Sian’s) delight to see my name on the Cruise Winners Newsplus released in early March. Absolutely unbelievable. On stage at MAD Day, recognition was reward in itself, but the trip itself was really special, because it also coincided with our first wedding anniversary, and we were able to take on board our newborn Rhys who was only six weeks old at the time.

Monte Carlo, Genoa, Rome, truly amazing, and with the grand total of one Euro spent on a fridge magnet outside the Vatican, it was great value as well. Cuisine has been such a disappointment in the house now that we’re back. It doesn’t seem appropriate to get through as many lobsters, frogs legs and pink champagne as it did in May at no cost to ourselves. To top it off we even had a fabulous desert delivered to our suite from the Captain congratulating us on our first wedding anniversary. How good was that?

So in summary, think about what this would mean to you and believe this can be yours next time. I’ve dispensed with my scepticism now for ever, because I know if you believe in yourself, your team and the opportunity that a fantastic company like this can offer you, then you can realise anything you want in life. You’re only stifled by your imagination. Thank you Steph for those words at Express Day 2006 and for Derek Thomas and Stuart Jones in Cardiff who continue to re-affirm for me that with goal directed action, anything is possible.

Steve Percey - Trainee National Marketing Director and advisor to the Hon Charles Wigoder… Hey, we need goals don’t we……

Gail Bannister...The cruise was absolutely fantastic - especially the food! It was pure luxury. One afternoon, we ordered a huge plateful of chocolate truffles and two glasses of champagne from room service. Then we sat in the sun on our balcony and ate the lot! It was just great to be able to do that - and even better when you think we didn’t have to pay for it!

But the best bit about the holiday was getting to know so many positive people and being able to listen to their stories. We got some fantastic ideas for our business - not only from some of the top leaders but also from people who had only recently joined. The only disappointment was that it was over far too quickly! I can’t wait for Express Day 2007 to find out what the next holiday promotion will be.

Mark Blakemore...When we heard the announcement at Express Day 2006 that there were 50 places (plus partners) to be filled on the cruise in May 2007, my team and I felt really motivated to get more focused than ever before. This was certainly one boat we didn’t want to miss! I remember very clearly the moment after the qualification period in early March when I heard we’d made it - I was in New Zealand at the time and my wife Yvonne phoned from Scotland to tell me the great news. This was a fantastic boost when I was on the other side of the world, away from my family. Basically, all the hard work had paid off. But also, team members Spencer and Maria Thomson, who had been in the business less than a year had also qualified, which was truly a great effort. Not to mention that he also became the Telecom plus Poker Champion on board. He’d never played a hand of poker in his life! Celebrating that was great fun…There were so many highlights that I would love to share, but the main ones for us were the champagne on tap, the superb service on board, the most exquisite food 24 hours a day, fantastic suites to chill out and relax in and, of course, the Telecom plus staff behind the scenes who made the cruise run so smoothly from start to finish. Meeting and mixing with so many positive people was a huge memorable factor as well. To describe the cruise as absolutely fantastic wouldn’t even begin to cover it! We’re looking forward to many more holiday incentives in the years to come - these holidays are truly worth aiming for. All it takes is some self-belief and action. Thank you very much Telecom plus.

Labels: distributor-news, testimonials

posted by Jeremy Tromans at 9/06/2007 02:07:00 AM