Mimmi Tysk has sometimes been called "Cruise Mimmi", which is related to her passion for cruises. Today she runs a travel agency for everyone who loves to cruise, and we have taken the opportunity to do an interview. How about now, is cruising only for blue-haired ladies?
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An interview with "Cruise Mimmi"
Under The travel fair at Stockholmsmässan In October we met Mimmi Tysk, who works with Kryssningar.se and Go Cruising. In addition to Mimmi being a lovely person, she can also be described without exaggeration as a cruise expert. There is a reason why she has sometimes been nicknamed "Cruise Mimmi".
Our own experience of cruises is limited to a Mediterranean cruise we did with Freedom of the Seas, from Royal Caribbean, a couple of years ago. This was certainly a very nice experience, but we are far from experienced cruise travellers, and we therefore chose to do an interview with Mimmi, to find out a little more. One morning, before the Travel Fair opened, we had a coffee together and talked cruises.
A masquerade - which led to a cruise
For Mimmi, it was a party that opened the doors to the world of cruises. Working in the travel industry, she was invited to a fancy dress party organised by the cruise company Royal Caribbean. Or was it a fancy dress party? Mimmi and her friend had gone all-in on the masquerade theme, face paint and all, but when they arrived at the party they realised that everyone else had at most added a discreet little cruise ship costume to their otherwise sober attire.
Did they stand out at the party? Yes, definitely! But it did lead to them winning the first prize - a Mediterranean cruise on the ship Splendour of the Seas.
A first cruise experience
Mimmi, who had never cruised before, remembers having prejudices before the trip. Will I have to play bridge on board? Will all the other passengers be older ladies with blue hair?
But none of that turned out to be true. The cruise, which started in Venice, opened up a whole new world for Mimmi: the world of cruising. She still remembers how fascinated she was that first time. There was so much to do on board: restaurants, bars, dance floors, stages, gyms, rock climbing... Plus, the ship stopped at one exciting destination after another.
From travel agent to cruise expert
Mimmi worked for a long time as a travel agent at Freys Resebyrå in Norrtälje, and she spoke very highly of the opportunity to freely try out new ideas, which led to her developing in her job. At one point, she was invited on a study trip to see newly built Voyager of the Seas, which was then the largest cruise ship in the world. For Mimmi, it was a wow experience like no other.
At Frey's Travel Agency, Mimmi started creating cruise holidays, where you could sign up to cruise in a group, together with Mimmi. In this way, you got an experienced and safe guide with you all the way, right from the start of the trip in Sweden. She advertised the trips in the local press and they became immensely popular. The rumour of "Cruise Mimmi" spread in the industry.
The step to self-employment
Mimmi's exceptional travel sales skills were recognised in a number of ways, including being nominated for 'Travel Salesperson of the Year' at the 2013 Grand Travel Awards. Although she enjoyed working at Frey's Travel Agency, she knew deep down that one day she needed to move on.
When another person at the travel agency was at risk of being made redundant, on a last-in, first-out basis, she finally plucked up the courage to take the plunge. Her colleague was not made redundant and Mimmi started her own business.
Go Cruising and Kryssningar.se
Before the interview, we took a look at Mimmi's websites: Go Cruising and Cruises.com. Why are there two and what is the difference? Mimmi explained that the company has had different names over the years. She started with "Go Cruising" and later had the opportunity to take over the site "Kryssningar.se".
Today, "Kryssningar.se" is the main (and most easily navigated) site. In the future, Go Cruising will be completely replaced by Kryssningar.se, but for now both sites need to remain because different customers find one or the other. Regardless of which website you visit, you will of course find the same cruises and the same prices.
How has it been to start your own business?
Unsurprisingly, Mimmi has done well. She has that special combination of expertise and passionate commitment that often leads to success. Apart from the pandemic year, when the business struggled but still made a small profit, it has gone from strength to strength. Today, they are a total of nine employees at the company, and Mimmi has also bought the travel agency where the cruise saga once started, Freys Resebyrå in Norrtälje.
Why buy a cruise via Kryssningar.se?
We gave Mimmi the opportunity to tell us why you should buy a cruise through them, instead of going directly to the respective cruise company. Of course, Mimmi had an answer to this.
At Kryssningar.se, virtually all the world's cruise companies are collected. You get a clear overview of all cruises and can thus compare prices, routes, activities, times and the like. On the site, you can sort by destination, cruise line, price or type of cruise, such as package holidays, river cruises, luxury cruises and expedition cruises. Prices are the same as if you book directly with the cruise lines, and at trade fairs and similar events, prices may even be lower.
Another advantage is that you can ask for help and advice. Mimmi, and her eight colleagues, are impartial in choosing between different shipping companies and can help you find the one that suits you best. They are also all experienced cruisers. Because yes, if you work for Mimmi, you have to go on cruise study trips from time to time, so that you can guide customers in the range.
No question is too stupid! The employees at Kryssningar.se love to talk about cruises.
Mimmi's next cruise
Of course, we wanted to know where Mimmi herself was cruising next, and she told us that it would be a cruise with Icon of the Seas, from Royal Caribbean, with the family during the autumn holidays.
The 10-year-old son has been cruising since he was 6 months old and he loves cruising. The best thing according to his son is all the activities available on board, such as mini golf, padel, basketball and the favourite, parachute simulation iFLY.
Cruise Mimmi busts myths
In conclusion, we wondered if Mimmi could help dispel some cruising myths. She laughed and said that some myths are perennial. Anyway, according to Mimmi, the following myths about cruising are NOT true.
- Cruising is only for old blue-haired ladies (FALSE)
- You are "stuck" on the boat and there is nothing to do (FALSE)
- The only thing you do on board is eat and eat (FALSE)
Mimmi explained that there are many different cruises and cruise ships. Do you want peace and quiet or lots of activities? Are you travelling with children or do you prefer a more adult atmosphere? Do you like bigger or smaller ships? Or maybe you're interested in what has become really popular lately - river cruises? Get in touch with Mimmi and her colleagues at Cruises.com they can guide you through the cruise jungle.
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Monica says:
Great reading! Good to get rid of old prejudices and get new perspectives. I wonder - in the slightly more serious kind - what it is like if you get seriously ill and are far from land? During the pandemic, it was terrible to be stuck on cruise ships - people were infected one by one and were not allowed to leave their cabins for weeks - that has been forgotten today! And speaking of old prejudices - why do we still refer to older female passengers as "blue-haired ladies"? When was the last time you saw one? Possibly 30-40 years ago. Strange that the term sticks and they all seem to only live on cruise ships?
24 October 2024 - 12:18
Helena says:
Hi Monica! Good thoughts about illness, I'll hear if Mimmi can answer this! And haha, that thing with "blue-haired ladies", you can think about it ... agree with you, it's probably just an image that goes with it, it probably does not have much to do with reality anymore ...!
26 October 2024 - 4:34