Lola Stoker

Mississauga, ON

Cruise Holidays | Luxury Travel Boutique

I was born in The Netherlands and moved to Canada in my early twenties. I started my career in travel and hospitality in Ottawa and later moved to Toronto where I have lived and worked ever since. My home is in Etobicoke, a quiet neighbourhood in West Toronto and our office is in Mississauga, near Pearson International Airport.

My background includes a Degree in Hotel Management from the University of Maastrict, The Netherlands. A veteran of the hospitality industry, I spent my early years working in catering, restaurant management and sales. Later, an opportunity arose in Corporate Travel Sales where I represented some of the larger corporate travel companies in Canada. Although I enjoyed this career, I was always envious of the leisure travel specialists that I met; they seemed to be having so much fun researching and booking dream vacations for their clients.

In 2012, I decided to pursue a career in leisure travel and started a boutique travel agency with my husband, specializing in cruises and custom vacations. I've learned more about myself and the world than I ever imagined. I am truly grateful to have this opportunity to help clients, who have been bitten by the travel bug, plan their trips and cruises.

Many of my clients have spent most of their lives in North America and are eager to see more of the world. Canada is an absolutely gorgeous country, but I believe that it is important for people to travel, experience different destinations and cultures to broaden their horizons and enrich their lives. This could mean an escorted tour in Asia, an expedition trip to Antarctica or a relaxing river cruise in Europe.

My background gives me a unique perspective when booking cruises and other travel experiences for my clients. Born in The Netherlands, I traveled extensively throughout Europe. After moving to Canada as a young adult, I continued to travel extensively to Asia, the Caribbean and Mexico. Eventually, opening my own travel agency will allow me to use my unique expertise to help a variety of valued clients.

I love connecting with my clients, hearing their stories and seeing their pictures of their travel experiences after they return. This was particularly true with a client who booked a trip to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands. The client had the opportunity to stay in a jungle resort with an amazing view of a volcano, visit the city of Quito, cruise the Galapagos Islands and get close to the extraordinary wildlife there. The pictures I received after this trip were absolutely breathtaking!

While I travel quite a bit with my agency, I make sure I am available for my clients. While my clients are abroad, I make it a point of being reachable so that I can quickly respond to any questions they may have. After my clients have returned, I'm always eager to discuss their trip, not only to learn about their experiences but to find ways to improve my service to them.

My number one mission is to deliver a once in a lifetime, worry free travel experience through superior service, excellent value and relevant expertise - and I will do whatever it takes to achieve that goal!

Testimonials

Hi Lola, The river cruise was perfect! What a great way to see Europe! Budapest, Vienna and Prague were amazing - the history, culture, art and music were beyond imagination. The scenery along the river was spectacular. Thanks so much for helping us plan and choose the right cruise and itinerary! You are the best.

My Travel Albums

Peru

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Saint Lucia

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Puerto Vallarta Old Town April 2019

Costa Rica 2018

Danube river cruise

Kenya, Safari 2019

Ponant Luxury Expedition Cruises - ship inspection

The Famous Blue Eye Sensory Experience Lounge

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Venice and the Adriatic plus Corinthian Canal

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Turkey and Greece with Azamara

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Egypt October 2018

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My Travel Stories

Windstar Venetian Passageways Cruise (Part 3)

Corinth Canal – The Corinth Canal was built in the 19th century and is 6.4 kilometers long and 25 meters wide. The Canal essentially cut of the Peloponnese isthmus from the Greek mainland making it an island and saved sailors trying to get to the Adriatic from the Aegean Seas or vice versa about...Read more.

Customer Testimonials

Caribbean Cruise

Hey Lola!!! Yes! We had an AMAZING TIME! A trip of a lifetime that will never be forgotten- not only because it was our honeymoon, but the islands, the people and the ship all added to it! We are definitely interested in doing a cruise again, specifically Norwegian as the food and drinks were so good, I have never gained weight on vacation before lol! We signed up through that "cruise next" promotion. We are hoping to book a bigger boat (the breakaway or getaway), one of them depart from NYC and like staying within the Caribbean. We would like to possibly go same time next year so if you know of any future promotions (free alcohol of course lol) please don't hesitate to forward it our way. Thanks again for everything! Without your help and suggestion, we never would have done this!!!!

A.G.,Toronto,ON

Baltic Cruise

Hi Lola, Our cruise was awesome! Our Princess transfer to South Hampton was a breeze! In fact, cruise check- in here was much better than in Fort Lauderdale. The seas on this cruise were very calm. The one thing we liked about this cruise was that we did not have a 2 hour plus bus ride to get into the city or anywhere for that fact. We saw so much! In Copenhagen and Oslo, we simply walked off the ship and there was our guide and our 3 to 4-hour walking tour began and walk we did! But everything was so fascinating from the history to the architecture. We were overwhelmed by it all! Our favourite spot was Copenhagen. We want to go back there for sure! On this particular cruise, we found the walking tours were certainly worth their price and like I said earlier being a stone’s throw away from the city was such a plus! We loved our time in London. We are inspired now to visit the Norwegian Fjords and go back to Copenhagen! Awe, Would certainly recommend a Scandinavian cruise!

M.S., Toronto,ON

Mediterranean Cruise!!!!!

Hi Lola, Thanks again for helping us out and guidance for our first cruise ever. What a great experience. All was more than expected in terms both the ship and destinations. Azamara knows how to operate and treat their guests. The stops in Slovenia, Croatia and Montenegro were especially spectacular. We had a diversion from one of the ports due to bad weather. The alternative was no disappointment. Service and food quality were exceptional, and the size of the ship made things very comfortable. The mix of passengers was very enjoyable. The Azamazing Evening and White Night events were very special. Someday we hope to travel this way again.

C.F., Toronto,ON

Mediterranean Cruise!!!

Hi Lola! I loved it! I never got seasick in the slightest! Going to bed with the patio door open and waking up in the night to hear the waves and being pulled back to sleep was the best! Thank you for the lovely champagne! It was kind and thoughtful of you and Peter! The Cruise. Loved waking up in a different country every day. Kev and I so enjoyed watching the boat dock in the mornings. I enjoyed the excursions that Oceanic offered. The boat was beautiful, the food was amazing, and the staff were beyond lovely. I think we will go again in 2019, so will be looking forward to chatting with you. What a positive experience! Thank you for taking such good care of us. We felt so secure knowing you and Peter were there for us. Also, thanks for making sure the car was at the airport in Rome! I felt that we were so well taken care of. Thank you so much for such an incredible memory!

B.W.,Toronto,ON

River Cruise in Vietnam and Cambodia!

We certainly did enjoy the Asian vacation, the AmaDara cruise portion was up to their high standards with good food and excellent tour guides throughout. The cruise manager ('A. K.') was in charge of both the pre and post cruise portions of the trip and he did a first-class job, everything ran to time and was well explained and organized. Perhaps what surprised us most was how nice we found Cambodia to be given that it is the poorest of these two countries. Our hotel in Siem Reap was one of the nicest we have stayed in anywhere around the world. EVA airlines were excellent, great service, clean, and ran pretty much on time with each flight, so we would readily recommend them for any of your clients. No doubt it is because of the lower labour costs but our experiences with Asian airline so far is that they do offer superior service.

H. W.,Toronto,ON

Norwegian Cruise!

Hi Lola, Our Norwegian cruise was spectacular. Our first stop was Bergen and it is such a quaint town. It’s kind of reminded us of the 1000 Island region but more spectacular. Our next stop was Geiranger. Since the start of the cruise, we were enjoying 15-20 Celsius temperatures with lovely sunshine. The Sapphire Princess while being a small ship was very comfortable. We sailed into the most beautiful of fjords and just sat on our balcony soaking in the scenery and sunshine. We certainly are glad that we chose this itinerary. The seas were calm and with most people onboard being from Great Britain. Our stay in London was good too. No rain! I. Our location was just a 5-minute walk to the Natural History Museum and the V&A Museum both of which we ventured into. Murray and I have stayed in other Cheval properties whilst in London and highly recommend. So now my focus will shift to Australia. Only 3 months away. I know we will be paying our cruise shortly with you.

M.S., Toronto,ON

Mediterranean Cruise!

Hello Lola: Thank you for arranging the details for our vacation. The Venice Hotel Bisanzo was in an ideal location. The Barcelona Hotel Dante was also in a convenient site. We rated the Holland America Mediterranean Cruise as "the best ever". Your Cruise Holiday Excursions were excellent and the transportation you provided was very efficient.

T. B., Toronto,ON

Cruise across the Atlantic Ocean!

An amazing crossing on the Queen Mary, smooth sailing even through a force 9 gale for one day, just a slight rolling on and off. Everybody should have a chance to experience the QM!!! We rented a car (gear shift) and drove to Kent to take day trips--castles, Sissinghurst Gardens, Chartwell, Lewes., and stayed at a delightful Inn--The Griffin Inn in Fletching. Started in the early 1200's -wonderful place, great meals and an even better pub. Thank you once again for organizing the Q.M., another wonderful trip.

D. D.,Toronto, ON

Mediterranean cruise

Hello Lola, We absolutely loved our cruise and are not able to find any negatives. Obviously, we enjoyed all the ports, but I absolutely loved Santorini. We are happy that we had 2 ports in Israel, but there was so much to see it made for long excursion days. We were so fortunate to have 2 phenomenal speakers on board, which gave us great insight to the Middle East, before arriving at our ports. Both transfers worked out perfectly. We were 5 minutes early after disembarking from the ship and our driver was there waiting for us. All flights left on time and arrived early. The entire trip was seamless, and we sincerely appreciate all your work in making it a wonderful experience. Many thanks!

C.H., Toronto,ON

River Cruise in France

Hello Lola The cruise was fantastic! We were pleasantly surprised with all the special perks! We even had our own room. I went on every excursion, thank goodness I bought very good walking shoes, a lot of walking up and down and cobble stones by end of trip my feet and legs were in good shape! The captain was wonderful he sure knew how to maneuver the many locks, and the staff were very good. We met a lot of cruisers!!! Most have been on 4rd and 5th WOW! Donnie and I thank much for all your help and encouraged us to go on this trip.

J.M., Toronto,ON

Australian cruise!

We are back from our Australian adventure. Still working through the jet lag but it is getting better. Our time in Australia was absolutely wonderful. We stayed in a Meriton Suite apartment which was located in downtown Sydney and was the perfect location. . Darling Harbour was amazing. Boasting over 60 restaurants with the Marine Museum, Sea Life Aquarium and Wildlife habitat to name a few things there as well. We made it to the famous Bondi Beach and then continued on the coastal walk to Cogee Beach which was about 7 kilometers one way. We walked there and back and was absolutely stunned by the coastal beauty. We pretty much saw the major attractions within Sydney. We also took to the harbour and made our way to Manly Beach which was a nice spot. We also got to see koalas. We took over 10k pics. We both would love to go back. On a separate note, thanks for the airline code for our river cruise next year. I was able to book our seats for the four flights.

M.S, Toronto, ON

My Reviews

56 of 105 people found this review helpful

3 great cruises!!! And all very different!!!

Have booked our last 3 cruises with Lola....all very different and all with a different group of people. Western Mediterranean, Asia and Caribbean. Had only done one cruise prior. They were all excellent! Liked the fact that she had been to most locations so could give us tips on what to see, where to go and which excursions were best and had best value.

By Sally from Ontario
Traveled to Vietnam ~ East and Southeast Asia

I would recommend this agent to my family and friends