James Cole is a seasoned veteran of the luxury cruise industry, having built cruise specialist retail brands Cruise118.com, SixStarCruises.co.uk and RiverVoyages.com into a £100m cruise business.

In 2020, James founded Panache Cruises with the aim to become the world’s largest retailer of luxury cruises by 2030. Guided by one principle, 'nothing is too much trouble', he wanted to disrupt the industry and do things differently. Fast forward to the present day, with a team of more than 60 and a Florida-based team operating in the US market, and it's exactly that ethos that still drives Panache Cruises forward. James has been recognised on a number of occasions with industry awards including John Hays Entrepreneur of the Year 2021 and Peter Grant Contribution to the Cruise Industry Award at the Wave Awards 2023 as well as business accreditations such as Travel Trade Gazette (TTG) Luxury Cruise Agency of the Year 2025, TTG Luxury Workplace of the Year 2025 and more.