Speaker Biography      

Vicki Freed

Senior Vice President, Sales, Trade Support and Service, Royal Caribbean International

Vicki Freed is Royal Caribbean International’s Senior Vice President of Sales, Trade Support and Service.

Freed oversees the company's sales force, the largest and most awarded sales team in the cruise industry. She also manages Royal Caribbean International’s Trade Support and Service division, which includes Reservations, Group Sales and Consumer Outreach. 

Freed joined the company after 29 years with Carnival Cruise Lines, where she spent the last 15 years as senior vice president of Sales and Marketing. Prior to that, Freed served in a variety of sales management positions within the cruise line. From 1998 to 2000, Freed also served as the first and only female chairman of the Cruise Line International Association (CLIA), the marketing and travel agent training arm of the North American cruise industry.

During her tenure in the Cruise Industry, Freed has earned numerous awards for outstanding achievement in sales and marketing, including an induction into CLIA’s Hall of Fame as recipient of their 2018 Lifetime Achievement Award. She’s also been honored with the esteemed Michelle Morgan Leadership Award, becoming the first cruise line executive to receive the recognition. Other accolades include TravelAge West magazine’s Excellence in Leadership Award and SoCalASTA’s Diamond Award, as well as being named Travel Trade magazine’s “Executive of the Year.” Under Freed’s sales leadership, Royal Caribbean International has been the recipient of the Travel Weekly Readers Choice Award for Best Sales & Service 11 years in a row and the TravelAge West Wave Award for Cruise Line Providing the Best Travel Agent Support for 11 years in a row.

Freed serves on the board of the Jewish Adoption and Family Care Options (JAFCO) and she is a trustee of the United Way of Miami-Dade County. Previously, she served on the Florida Commission on Tourism for ten years, the board of directors for the South Florida Chapter of Make-a-Wish Foundation for nine years and the board of directors for the Association for Travel Marketing Executives. 

Freed earned a bachelor’s degree in business with an emphasis in marketing from the University of Colorado.  She also holds a Certified Travel Counselor (CTC) designation.