One step ahead so you can relax... I’m a Travel Counsellors Cruise Ambassador, with a particular focus on river cruising, expedition cruises and luxury small-ship journeys. I also arrange tours and adventures worldwide. Call: 07989 420702 | 01483 651044 Email: jenny.cookman@travelcounsellors.com I help clients plan thoughtfully chosen, low-stress holidays, simplifying the options and guiding them to the right experience. River cruising is a key area of my expertise. I have now been on 44 ships myself and love this serene form of travel with the opportunity to relax and explore. I help travellers who would like to explore Europe’s great rivers - including the Danube, Rhine, Rhône, Douro and Seine - as well as more far-flung waterways such as the Nile, Mekong, Ganges and Amazon. Each river offers a very different style of travel, and choosing the right ship, itinerary and cruise line can make all the difference. I’m also an experienced advocate of expedition cruising, and as a qualified CLIA Expedition Cruise Champion, I help clients plan journeys to some of the world’s most extraordinary places, including Antarctica, the Arctic, Alaska, the Galápagos and other remote or warm-water destinations. These are trips where expert planning, the right operator and excellent preparation really matter. I also arrange small-ship and yacht cruises, whether that’s relaxed sailing in the Mediterranean, island-hopping in the Caribbean, a French Polynesian adventure or other carefully curated itineraries worldwide. I have expert team members who specialise across all areas of travel - from tailor-made touring and safaris to luxury villas, adventure travel and long-haul destinations. This means that whatever type of holiday you’re considering, we have the knowledge and experience to support you. From our first conversation or email, through to supporting you while you’re away, I can look after every detail including flights, transfers, hotels and pre or post cruise stays and tours - so you can travel feeling informed, reassured and well looked after. I take time to understand what matters most - your pace, interests and budget and shape your holiday around that. Every trip is bespoke, combining my own experience with the support and full financial protection of Travel Counsellors. My role is to make the process feel clear and manageable, and to help you choose a journey you’ll really enjoy and will always remember. Please get in touch when you’re ready to start planning your next journey… Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jennycookmantravel LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennycookmantravelcounsellor/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jentravelinspiration/ Explore my guides and blogs Bordeaux River Cruise: Exploring France's Wine Heartland The Garonne glittered in the late afternoon light as we stepped aboard Scenic Diamond, our home for the next seven nights. The ship felt calm and inviting - a comfortable place to begin a journey through France's wine country. 11 Jul 2026 5 min read Solo Travellers Senior Travellers Destination Spotlight: The Douro River Porto is a colourful, vibrant place with the Douro running through the centre towards the ocean. The city is now one of the most popular destinations in Europe and is protected by UNESCO. Churches, plazas and colourful shop front facades are a few of the features of this historic gem. The beautiful Scenic Azur river ship was waiting for me, and I settled into my balcony suite, my home for the we 27 Jan 2023 4 min read Five more reasons to try a river cruise... Five More Reasons To Try A River Cruise.... Part 2, following on from my previous blog 'My five top reasons to try a river cruise'... 1. Be In The Heart Of The Action River cruise ships are relatively small compared to ocean ships, so when you’re in a city, you really will be ‘in’ the city. River cruise ships will tend to dock in the centre, so you can be right in the heart of things. You can g 23 May 2021 3 min read My five top reasons to try a river cruise... 1. A room with an ever-changing view One of the reasons so many people love river cruise is the view outside your window, or from the deck. Not only have you always got a view (which many hotels charge extra for), it’s also always changing. You can open the sliding doors and settle down with a good book and watch the world go by. I love siting on deck with a drink, relaxing and taking it all in. 30 Jan 2021 3 min read What’s better, a relaxing holiday or a cultural holiday? Both! There are two very different camps when it comes to holidays. Some people want to relax and do nothing, while others want to have things to do and interesting places to visit. The difficulty comes when you’re a “relaxer” and your partner is a “doer”, or vice versa. The answer then, is to find a holiday that would give you both, and for me that’s a European river cruise. You can soak in the sunshin 19 Jul 2020 3 min read Are holidays good for our mental health? Going on holiday has some great health benefits. We can’t travel at the moment, but that shouldn’t stop us looking forward to taking a break when we can. We will explore more below as well as showing you some fun examples of how you can holiday at home, whilst you can’t get away. 1. Escapism from your everyday routine Do you sometimes feel weighed down by the everyday routine? We all have so mu 24 May 2020 6 min read A river cruise stop in Rotterdam, Netherlands A great advantage of river cruising is the ability to dock in the centre of the city. I watched the whole process from my cabin, and looked on at the backdrop of Rotterdam, wakening to a sunny autumn morning. It was then time to embark on an adventure round the city. I collected my ‘whisperer’ tour device – a useful gadget that keeps you in radio contact with the guide, and gives some interestin 25 Nov 2019 4 min read Ten reasons to try a river cruise. I have just returned from a 5-night Rhine cruise aboard A-ROSA Flora, disembarking at the annual Cruise Lines International Association River Cruise Conference in Amsterdam. It was fantastic, and I will be back on the river when I next get an opportunity. I’ve summarised some of my thoughts about river cruising in this blog. 1. It is very relaxing. There is something very calming about rivers. T 25 Nov 2019 4 min read What my customers say Very pleased with the professional and reliable service that we have received. We had a lovely time and thoroughly enjoyed our cruise on the Douro River. Jenny gave us an excellent recommendation for river cruising, we thoroughly enjoyed it, and whilst we were away cruising veterans agreed it was one of the best cruising companies. Everything was in place for a stress free vacation. Jenny was a delight to work with. Incredibly easy communication style, very helpful ideas and suggestions. Would not hesitate to work with her again, in fact i will seek her out. She took my rough draft ideas of a French river cruise with Switzerland add-ons and turned it into a fantastic and fool-proof holiday. All was included: planes, trains, auto transfers and ship. Good choices of hotels as well. She has a relaxed manner, and never let on if she was annoyed by my frequent emailed questions. Just a delight. Jenny was not only knowledgeable , but extremely helpful while answering communication quickly! Thank you! Catharine Merkel The experience was lovely and definitely one that we will remember for some time. From the pick up from Amsterdam to the taxi journey back to the airport on our last day, the team (front and back of the boat) were amazing. It takes a lot for me to give a 10/10, but that's what I am giving the cruise. Food was lovely, so much choice and well-cooked. Excellent wine pairings in the evening. An invitation to the 6-course meal Italian restaurant, the lovely Easter treats, and the Easter Monday Gala meal. Trips were well run, and the guides were informative, funny, and knowledgeable. We didn't really use our Butler service, but in future, I think we will take more advantage of this. Next time I will take my Yoga leggings etc, as I missed out on the early morning sessions. Cruise Director, Cathy from Canada, was excellent, and the evening entertainment was good - normally, I avoid these like the plague. Good mix of nationalities. We enjoyed it so much we purchased vouchers to use on a future trip and will be in touch with you to book. Thank you :) What a fantastic holiday! This was our first River Cruise and we all didn’t know what to expect. The outbound journey with Air Portugal arrived on time in Portugal and the team were awaiting our arrival at the airport . The transfer was a short 30 minute drive to our beautiful boat where everything from luggage handing to meet and greet was done in a smooth and efficient manner. Throughout the cruise the friendly staff were there to help and the food was delicious. The excursions were great and the cruising was truly wonderful. On our final day Every assistance was provided to ensure a smooth journey home and everything was on time. The whole holiday experience is one which we cannot wait to repeat. A big well done to yourself, the team, the crew and the locally appointed guides My wife and I recently used Jenny as a travel consultant for a 14 day cruise up the Nile River. She was excellent, prompt and helpful. Seamless service. Jenny was so kind in helping us to find the right river cruise for us. It has taken all the burden off us and we know we have nothing to worry about knowing she has looked after everything. She is a lovely warm, helpful person and I would recommend her to everyone without hesitation. Jenny is great! I had no idea what I wanted to do, just knew I wanted to try a river cruise solo! She helped with helping me do what I wanted and never pushed her agenda. Matter of fact, we are still working on more land excursions.

Jenny is a warm and caring professional who took care of every detail of our "empty nester" celebration 14 day river cruise from Budapest to Amsterdam. She found us a great deal on a cruise, booked a beautiful room with a view of the river, and checked on us during every part of our journey to see that we were well. I would recommend her to everyone who wants to have a worry-free travel experience with someone taking care of every detail. We enjoyed our cruise very much and hope to use Jenny's services again! Melecia Jefferies Jenny was very good at helping me decide on the best river cruise for my first experience. She looked at options for me and communicated with the cruise company to make sure I got a good deal. I expect to be using her services again soon. We wanted to complete a river cruise down the Danube. Jenny expertly guided us through the process of choosing a company, a cabin and our extensions in Prague and Budapest at the beginning and end of our cruise. We had a fabulous time with Scenic on the beautiful ship Scenic Amber. Nothing was too much trouble for the wonderful staff and the food was exceptional. We enjoyed the high quality of the excursions with local guides and the local entertainment. Thanks so much Jenny for making the booking experience so smooth and easy, it was good to have your inside knowledge and guidance in what turned out to be a fabulous holiday. Suzanne Mountain Jenny organised a river cruise for my mother and step-father last year and I cannot say enough how blown away they were my her knowledge, experience and understanding. She made the whole process of choosing their trip slightly limited by specific needs easy and enjoyable. Unfortunately they had to cancel but Jenny even ensured that was stress free and with no fuss or drama. They are hoping to re-book again soon and I would totally recommend anyone who is considering a river cruise contacts Jenny. She is brilliant! Jenny organised a Rhine River Cruise for us with Riviera Holidays. This was a 8 day trip on the SS Emily Bronte travelling from Cologne to Basle. The benefit of using Travel Counsellors is that Jenny managed of all the negotiations for us, including paper work and form filling. She was easy to contact both by sms and email and quickly sorted out any query we had. Holidaying has become more complicate post Covid and it was good to have someone take over the responsibility. Thank you Jenny. Jenny introduced me to the concept of river cruising and I really enjoyed my cruise in France. I travelled alone and that left me feeling a little uneasy but Jenny assured me that I wouldn't be the only one and that the team on board would welcome me. The team on board were truly excellent and ship was clean and well-equipped. The trip was designed to help me rest whilst enjoying cultural enrichment and it certainly delivered on both counts. Jenny and her team arranged everything so the trip was well organised and seamless. I strongly recommend Jenny. Jenny is a wonderful travel consultant! She helped us find our dream holiday in the Maldives. Jenny is attentive, a good listener and got all the details right. After an initial call, she has prepared some suggestions for us, we haven then given her feedback and she went off searching more options for us. The entire process was friendly and very professional. Once we have decided on the resort, Jenny has ensured any dietary needs have been looked after. We went well prepared and feeling in good hands. Our holiday has been truly amazing and magical. Thank you and we will work with Jenny again. Highly recommend. We asked Jenny to organise a family holiday during the pandemic, so that we could see each other at Christmas. We wanted somewhere in the Canaries, where both my brother (who lives in Amsterdam), my family and my dad could avoid travel to, without severe quarantine restrictions, if possible. It was a big risk, but we went for it, knowing that under Travel Counsellors we would have more protection and help if restrictions changed. Jenny was so helpful, finding us a fantastic villa with heated pool in Tenerife. When restrictions temporarily changed in Tenerife, Jenny organised us an alternative holiday within two hours so we could see each other. Fortunately we ended up in our original villa - and in fact Jenny then put our flights back while we were there, as we decided to stay longer. Jenny is a star and I would highly recommend her - for instinctively understanding what you want out of a holiday, doing her utmost to help with patience and her unflappable nature. We were very, very lucky to be together at Christmas - so a massive, heartfelt thank you, Jenny. I consulted Jenny Cookman to organise what can be described as being quite a difficult holiday arrangement. My holiday plan included not only return flights to Canada with accommodation in Vancouver BC but also to book domestic Canadian flights (plus accommodation), for a dear friend and I who planned to travel from Kelowna BC to Iqaluit NU (a remote part of Canada which can only be reached by air). Coordination, time matching, allowances for flight changes, time zone differences, etc are all paramount in bringing a plan such as this to fruition. I found Jenny to be extremely capable in getting the plan to come together seamlessly. Sourcing cost effective flights and savings on accommodation was done with ease having Jenny in control. Jenny is a wonderful, professional and pleasant person to work with and deserves the highest recommendation. Thank you so much, Jenny! Lucien Guildford, UK Lucien Desmarais Just before Christmas 2019, I was informed that I needed to travel to Haslet, MI USA. I wanted to travel as soon as possible but was busy at work trying to finish a kitchen for a client by Christmas. So I gave Jenny a call to see if she could help me out, by the following morning she had a flight, hotel and a car arranged for me. I can't thank her enough for helping me out. I would not hesitate in using or recommending Jenny's services to anyone that needs to travel or wants a holiday. 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Always When you plan a holiday with me, you’ll be given my personal mobile number from the very first call. I’ll listen to your thoughts and ideas like I would a friend and arrange accommodation, activities, and flights that are all personalised to you. And I’ll share my personal tips and recommendations, so you can experience the true beauty of each destination. Stress-free travel, and more time for what matters most I believe your time away should be stress-free, easy, and seamless from start to finish. So, I take care of all the details for you - from ATOL protection, insurance, and flexible payments to access to the myTC app, which keeps everything in one place. Support when it matters most If the unexpected happens, you can rest easy, knowing that I’ll handle any last-minute changes, flight cancellations, or disruptions before you even pick up the phone. So you always feel happy, carefree, and ready to make the most of every moment. Start planning with me Let’s talk through your ideas, no pressure. Let me inspire you Stay inspired with my insider tips, hidden gems, and dream-worthy itineraries until you're ready to make them real I’ll be in touch soon to share personalised recommendations, exclusive offers, and a few travel secrets worth dreaming about. Something went wrong sending your details. Please try again — sometimes even the best journeys hit a small delay. Your dream trip starts with the right travel expert Tell us about your holiday plans. We'll match you with the perfect travel expert to bring it all to life. Finding your match... Every unforgettable journey starts with the right person by your side. Start planning with me Your journey to somewhere unforgettable just began. Thanks for your message — I'll be in touch soon to start planning something magical. Something went wrong sending your message. Don’t worry — you can still reach out directly. 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