Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. - CruiseOne (a leading U.S. franchise operation of more than 550 independent cruise-only travel professionals) today announced the appointment of Samantha Jacobs as Director of Public Relations.

Jacobs joins CruiseOne as the company's first-ever full-time, in-house senior PR professional. In this newly created position, she will develop and lead a strategic planning initiative to elevate the company’s profile, streamline messaging and build consumer understanding about the CruiseOne brand as part of the international World Travel Holdings portfolio.

“For the past 16 years, CruiseOne has been affectionately known as a ‘quiet giant’ by our friends, colleagues, partners, the media, and the industry overall,” said Steven Hattem, Vice President, Marketing and Sales for CruiseOne “With extensive travel PR experience and an outstanding media relations track record, Samantha is the ideal person to craft a strategic public relations plan that will communicate our long-term vision, build value for our agents and raise our profile to that of a major industry powerhouse.”

Jacobs brings more than a decade of agency experience to the CruiseOne teams. Most recently, she was Director of Public Relations for Starmark International, an integrated marketing agency in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. There, she led strategy, crisis communications, media training and media relations for The Las Olas Company, The Riverside Hotel, Carrera of America, the Kissimmee Convention & Visitors Bureau, Nova Southeastern University and others.

Previously, Jacobs served in management positions for PR firms in Baltimore, Maryland and New York City. For Warschawski in Baltimore, Jacobs led national PR for Under Armour Performance Apparel, which led to one of the most successful IPOs in history and garnered feature coverage in outlets like USA Today, Fortune, Forbes, CNN, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. For Quinn & Co. in New York City, Jacobs handled corporate communication and PR for major international brands including St. Regis, Le Meridien, Westin Resorts Caribbean, Tishman Boutique Hotel Group and more. Her work has won awards including coveted Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) Golden Bells, Sabre Awards and a Silver Anvil.

Jacobs will be based in the CruiseOne corporate offices in Fort Lauderdale, Florida effective immediately.

About CruiseOne and World Travel Holdings:
CruiseOne, with 552 independently owned cruise travel franchise locations, combines tremendous industry buying power with a unique, customized experience that offers customers the ability to plan vacations online while enjoying the personalized touch of an experienced local cruise consultant.

CruiseOne is part of the international World Travel Holdings (WTH) family. Sister brands within the WTH networking include Cruises Inc., Villas of Distinction, Island Hideaways, Creative Leisure International and private-label partner brands including Orbitz, BJ's Vacations, Hotwire.com Priceline.com, American Airlines, Continental.com, JetBlue, and US Airways, among others.