Melina Chheng
Cruise Consultant
My favourite destination is Asia.
There is so much culture, it's affordable and I love the food! I love that it's such a mix of skyscrapers, temples, beaches and tropical rainforest. While I have backpacked this region of the world, travelling by sea or by river is far easier, meaning that city traffic and the poor rural infrastructure is simply not an issue.
Cruises in the region start from gateways such as Singapore, Hong Kong, Beijing, Bangkok or Tokyo, enabling you to combine a city break with your voyage. Extending your stay with a land-based trip to places such as Cambodia's Angkor Wat or the historic cities of China is an excellent complement to an ocean voyage.
My top tip is to get involved with cooking classes either on board or on an excursion - it's such a great way to get a feel for the destination, particularly in destinations such as Italy or Asia, where the onboard cuisine is often curated based on where you're sailing.
Fact File
Years in travel: Almost one and a half years
Years working at Mundy Cruising: I've recently joined the team.
First job in travel: Silversea Cruises in the Trade Reservations Department
First cruise with Mundy Cruising: A fantastic 3-day trip on Crystal's Crystal Symphony sailing from Liverpool via Dublin
Best cruise dining experience: Umi Uma by Nobu on Crystal Cruises - if you get the opportunity to cruise with Crystal I would 100% recommend reserving this specialty restaurant! I cannot speak highly enough about how amazing the experience and food was.
Best non-cruise holiday: In 2018 I took a backpack and did some solo travelling around Europe for 3 months.
Interesting fact about yourself: I'm another Australian living abroad in London!
Ocean cruise lines sailed: Crystal Cruises - and l will set sail on the Silver Endeavour to Antarctica in November!
Meet the rest of the team
Anjalina Young
Claire Benktander
Louise Harmer
Heather Newman-Mitchell
Edwina Lonsdale
Sharon Trigg
Hayley Hogan
Cathy Ellis
Matthew Lonsdale
Alex Loizou