Our Travel Specialists

Lisa Theodoratus, Owner
Lisa has worked for many years as a luxury cruise and tour specialist and has sailed on many luxury vessels including nine sailings just on Silversea. Lisa is a Certified Travel Consultant as well as a CLIA Accredited Cruise Counselor.

Cruising is one of Lisa's favorite vacations because of the ability to visit many obscure places you might otherwise miss. Most of her favorite trips have been on small luxury vessels or riverboats in exotic locales. Lisa has also traveled as the host on our Ensemble Escorted Cruises on many occasions and enjoys interacting with and assisting our guests. 

Lisa's other interests are scuba diving, which started on the Great Barrier Reef on her first visit to Australia and has since taken her to most of the world’s great dive sites. Italy is a favorite destination and Lisa enjoys putting together wonderful personalized trips for clients. Golf is another travel passion that led to the purchase of two vacation homes on Palm Spring area golf courses. One in Bermuda Dunes Country Club and the other in Palm Desert Country Club. (rental information can be found on our unique travel tab).

Adventure travel can be found in many forms from highly exerting requiring special skills to simply observing other cultures and animals from the comfort of a safari vehicle. Whatever your travel dreams are Lisa will get you there!

Pat Bennett
I'm an avid traveler and "cruiseaholic." Finding the most perfect cruise for my clients--offering the very best quality and value, has been my love since 1995.

I'm a member of San Francisco Women in Travel; Hong Kong specialist and CLIA Associate cruise counselor.

Searching out, and finding, great cruises complements my love of shopping...and interior design, which has been my second love since 1975.

In keeping with my ever-expanding interest in culture, I'm an opera and ballet enthusiast and volunteer for our outstanding San Francisco Opera and Ballet.

As a native of Michigan I was bitten by the travel bug early and migrated to Chicago and then to the Bay Area.

Charmian Watford

Charmian thought that she wouldn’t like cruising – until she tried it over ten years ago!

Her first Cruise Experience was very different to what she had expected and she enjoyed it hugely.  She liked the convenience of only unpacking once, having her ‘own place’ to return to after a wonderful day ashore, and letting someone else ‘do the driving’.

Now she has cruised in all parts of the world, preferring small luxury ships and exploration cruises.  She has escorted our exclusive Ensemble Escorted Cruises many times.

She also has a ‘travel insider’s knowledge’ of Australia and Great Britain having lived in both countries. She is happy to share her knowledge of these wonderful destinations with our clients in order to make their vacations truly special.

Charmian is currently stationed in Australia and available to make your incoming vacation a very special one.

Noryne Turner
Noryne Turner is a 6th Generation San Francisco native, who resides in Marin County. She has been a travel consultant for 25 years, having held positions ranging from on-site travel agent to managerial.

Her recreational interests include tennis, golf, hiking, biking, Bridge & Spas. Her specialty is arranging group & individual travel for clients seeking a recreational, active vacation.

She has arranged, & led, many groups to various land destinations and on cruise ships for family reunions & special recreational interests.

Linda Smith

Linda has been selling travel since 1995. She is qualified by the Cruiseline Association  as an Elite Cruise Counselor.

She has been selling all types of travel experiences for individuals, friends, couples, honeymooners, families, groups, and businesses.

Linda is a certified Advanced diver and has gone diving all over the world and books dive travel for individuals and has been designated by Tourism Australia as a Premier Australia Specialist since the designation began, based on training and actual travel experience in Australia.

She also is trained as a specialist in New Zealand, Tahiti, South Africa, Japan, France, Italy, Spain, Fiji, Cook Islands, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore.