Naples travel agency acquires firm, expands to Pinellas, The Villages

Naples travel agency Preferred Travel & Co. is growing into the Tampa Bay and Central Florida regions with an acquisition of Anchors Away Cruises & Tours.

The deal, according to a statement, expands Preferred Travel’s presence into Dunedin and The Villages. It also increases Preferred Travel’s total number of travel professionals to more than 100. Financial terms of the acquisition weren’t disclosed. 

Founded in 1995, Anchors Away Cruises & Tours provides a wide range of vacation planning, including cruises, cruise tours, land tours, resorts and river cruising. The company will continue to operate under its current name as a division of Preferred Travel & Co. Its former owner, Edward Mass Jr., will remain on through the transition and no changes are anticipated in staffing, the release states. 

“Anchors Away Cruises & Tours is a well-established agency that has focused on providing travel services to popular destinations worldwide for over three decades,” Preferred Travel President Olga Placeres says in the statement. “By adding them to our family, we honor their foundation while strengthening it with our global network, elevated services and expanded luxury offerings.” 

Both Anchors Away Cruises & Tours locations in Dunedin and The Villages will be maintained, and the Dunedin team will be moving into a larger office in the same building. Monique Ross, recently named head of business Development, works out of the Dunedin office, the release states. 

The acquisition of Anchors Away follows Preferred Travel & Company’s acquisition of Fort Lauderdale-based Landmark Travel announced in 2023. Preferred Travel was founded in 1984 and now has five locations across Florida.