Meet the team

Clare Dudley – Managing Director My first job in travel was when I was just 18 years old and I worked for Lunn Poly Business Travel,  But when I moved to Premier Travel in Cambridge, as business development manager, my role involved me more and more with  the cruise market. Gaining more experience in other sectors of the trade was necessary, before stepping off on my own and I joined Fred Olsen Travel as cruise development manager. “The confidence to set up my own business came from the work I did at Fred Olsen’s. The company is part of a multi-million pound cruise empire and the hunger and knowledge to grow the business was everything I wanted. It was Christmas 2009 when I finally realised that I had accumulated all the background and knowledge to do it for myself. So it’s now been over 2 years since I launched Ponders Cruise and Travel and I am exceptionally proud of what we have achieved to date and my passion for Ponders and delivering superb service and holidays to all our clients is still as intense as the first day we launched.
Troy Welham – Sales Manager I have been in the travel industry for 10 years; I worked for Premier Holidays for 8 of those. My focus was on the “short haul” destinations department. Also whist I was there I was their wedding co-ordinator for all the clients looking to get married abroad or honeymoon somewhere special. I have been with Ponders since its beginnings and am enjoying seeing clients return again and again due to the high levels of service and excellent knowledge we provide. I love picking up the phone and not knowing where the next client is going to want to go and making their holiday dreams a reality.
Lorraine Bainbridge – Travel Expert Consultant I have always enjoyed working in travel and I started working for Premier Holidays in 1985 and worked in their USA and Channel Islands departments, both in administration and reservations departments. In 1989 I moved to their travel agency side and worked firstly as a travel consultant, then Manager for Premier Business Travel. I took a career change in 2004 working for a manufacturing company as a PA. In March 2011 I returned to my love of travel and started working for Ponders Cruise and Travel and I am thoroughly enjoying it I love the diverse range of holiday options that we can offer our clients and having all my previous travel experience I find that whatever you are looking for perhaps a family holiday or a corporate booking I am able to offer impartial advice on many destinations and accommodations.
Sarah Glew – Marketing Manager My background has always been in marketing and although I have enjoyed diversity in products ranging from stationary to IT software, I actually started off in the travel industry. So after taking a career break whilst I had my two children, it is nice to return back to a company that really does put customer service to the forefront of its business. I joined Ponders in April 2011 and am very excited about the future of the company and working with my sister (Clare Dudley) is fantastic, I feel it means that we take a more personal and thoughtful approach to ensuring Ponders Cruise and Travel maintains the high standards we set out to achieve as a team, and also ensuring we are providing the best variety of holidays and completing the package by offering you all the add on’s in one place that you may need when booking your holiday.