Joseph Grimley joined VIVA Cruises in May as Business Development Manager for the North, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Travel Gossip found out a bit more about him…
I never travel without… my kindle, or ‘teddy bear’, as my wife calls it, as I tend to fall asleep while reading.
The famous person (dead or alive) I’d most like to sit next to on a plane is… Agnetha Fältskog from ABBA. My first crush in the late 1970s and early ’80s.
If I had a tattoo, it would be… a crocodile on my chest, which would save me a fortune buying Lacoste clothes.
The next place I’ll visit is…somewhere I’ve always wanted to go, Strasbourg. I’m jumping on VIVA Enjoy next week and sailing up the Rhine. Can’t wait!
The last place I visited was… Lake Lucerne. It has absolutely stunning scenery.
My most memorable travel experience was…either seeing orangutans in Borneo or spending Christmas Day in a remote Cambodian village while cruising on the Mekong. This is difficult as I’ve been very fortunate having worked in the industry for over 30 years.
The worst thing I ate or drank abroad was… lamb’s tripe in France, many years ago. My schoolboy French mistook ‘tripoux l’agneau’ for lamb three ways, when it was in fact lamb tripe.
My bucket-list destination is… either Buenos Aires or somewhere in Japan.
Born and brought up in… Leicestershire.
Live in… Northumberland. We made the move up to the North East five years ago.
The best piece of advice I’ve been given is… don’t buy anything unless you can afford it twice. Great advice from my late Grandad. Unfortunately, I’ve not always followed it.
If I could eat one meal for the rest of my life it would be… curry or anything spicy.
The thing I miss most while travelling is… my four cats. We rarely go away for more than four nights at a time.
When I left school, I wanted to be… an architect, but I fluffed my A-levels so had to change career path. I’m very grateful I ended up in travel, though.
The thing I’m most proud of is… quitting vaping 18 months ago after 13 years. That was hard.
In my new role, I’ll be… building on the fantastic work Michelle Daniels has done over the last year to raise awareness of VIVA Cruises among UK agents. Education is key and I look forward to developing and strengthening relationships with agents in the North of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
What attracted me to the job was… European river cruising would be my specialist subject on Mastermind. I did my first river cruise in 2007 and have worked extensively in European river cruising over the years. VIVA Cruises offers customers a refreshingly different experience, which excites me. I can’t wait to tell agents about it.
If I won the Lottery tomorrow, I would… buy a campervan.
Outside work, you’ll usually find me… on the pickleball court, in my greenhouse or in the veggie patch.
