✨ Welcome back to our series, TravMedia's Travel Writer of the Week! ✨
Each week, we'll be shining a spotlight on one of the incredibly talented, passionate, and inspiring Journalists or Editors from our amazing community.
This week, we'd like to shine the spotlight on freelance travel writer - Marc Shoffman.
We hope you enjoy - happy reading !!
Where are you based?
I am based in leafy Hertfordshire, just 45-minutes from Heathrow and two hours from Southampton and Portsmouth, making it a perfect location for catching flights and cruise ships! (Although the airport of choice for press trips regularly seems to be Gatwick!)
What outlets do you write for?
I am a freelance journalist and my main patches are money and cruises. They make strange bedfellows, although there are overlaps when it comes to spotting deals etc.
I have written for a range of publications including The Times, The Daily Telegraph, the Mail on Sunday and MoneyWeek.
My main travel outlet is The Independent as I am its dedicated cruise writer but I have also written travel pieces for the i newspaper, The Sun and Cruise & Travel
Who is your audience?
I have been working hard to help introduce cruise travel to the young and vibrant audience at The Independent. Our readers are typically professionals aged 35 and over and are keen on emerging and intriguing destinations and unique forms of travel ranging from family-friendly to adult-only and aspirational.
What are your professional pet peeves?
Press releases and PR pitches that aren't relevant to my patch and regular emails asking when a story someone has been quoted in will be published. I will share timings if I know but I am not a media monitoring or cuttings service.
In your past professional life you were …
I was - or technically still am - an award-winning money journalist with about a decade of personal finance writing experience until I decided to diversify into travel around 2021.
Travel writing, specifically cruises, probably takes up about 60% of my week now. I also had a short stint as a musical comedian and even performed at a music festival to about 30 people around 15 years ago. Videos are available. Watch out Jack Whitehall!
Where would you like to return to?
My wife and I drove around Europe with our two pre-school daughters in 2014, visiting big cities such as Paris, Rome and Venice that they sadly can't remember as they were too young.
But one place that stuck in my mind is Corsica. It is was so pretty and unspoilt by mass tourism back then, I would love to return and hopefully our kids would remember it this time.
What's on your bucket list?
There are so many. I would love to do a northern lights cruise and Galapagos Islands as both are destinations that would be great to explore from the comfort of a ship.
Where do you travel for fun?
A cruise is also our family holiday of choice and we have explored the Med, the Caribbean and the Greek Islands together. It is a great family holiday as you just unpack once, see a range of destinations, have every meal covered and make new friends from around the world. Plus, we can just let our kids wander around the ship, knowing that they will always be somewhere on board.
Your funniest (or most harrowing) travel story is …
I once got in trouble with the security team on a cruise ship as my wife had disembarked early but guest services weren't aware. I was interviewed by a stern head of security who was wearing a bodycam as they were worried about where my wife had disappeared to. It shows how seriously passenger safety is taken on a ship and the importance of communication.
What advice would you give your younger professional self?
Build up more cruise loyalty points and buy bitcoin.
How best should people contact you?
I am always keen to hear about cruise ship launches and refurbs (ideally with pictures and/or video), as well as new itineraries and press trip opportunities.
Email cruise news to marc.shoffman.indy@independent.co.uk and other travel updates to marcshoffman@hotmail.com
