Press Release

CRUISE WEST ANNOUNCES NEW DIRECTOR OF SALES THOMAS KRATSCH
Leading Small Ship Company Hires Former All-Travel.com Vice President of Operations

May 6, 2008

SEATTLE, May 5, 2008– Cruise West, America’s leading small-ship cruise line, has hired Thomas Kratsch to the director of sales position. Kratsch, a 10-year veteran of the travel industry, was formerly vice president of operations at All-Travel.com. Kratsch will be accountable for the ROI of all sales activities and initiatives as well as development and execution of new and existing sales programs and activities that generate revenue for Cruise West.

“Thomas’s well-rounded background and stellar reputation is exactly what we sought,” said Dick West, chairman and managing director of Cruise West. “We look forward to a season of growth under his leadership.”

In his decade of travel service, Kratsch has held the vice president sales & marketing position at US Travel Family of Companies in Anchorage including Doug Fox Travel in Seattle. He also held the position of director of supplier relations at World Travel Vacations/World Travel BTI (BCD Travel) in Atlanta, and was a regional manager at AAA Washington in Seattle. He serves on the Signature Travel Network marketing advisory board of Marina del Rey, California, and the Travel Advisory Board for Passport Online Inc., based in Portland, Oregon.

Kratsch hails from Wisconsin and received a degree from the Executive Management Program at Cardinal Stritch College in Milwaukee.

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~Up-Close, Casual and Personal Cruising ~

Cruise West offers the opportunity to explore remote and distinctive destinations throughout North and Central America, Asia and theSouth Pacific. Small-ship cruising allows for personalized experiences not offered by larger cruise lines. Guest capacities aboard Cruise West’s nine ships range from 78-138. Guests may expect personal enrichment through onboard narrative and presentations by local experts. The ships’ forward lounges and ample outdoordeck space provide outstanding viewing opportunities, and inflatable boats allow for up-close exploration and shore landings.

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Cruise West – a second-generation, family-owned business based in Seattle – offers the opportunity to explore remote, worldwide locales by providing distinctive, one-of-a-kind, personalized itineraries not offered by the traditional larger cruise lines. Cruise West’s smaller ships – nine in all – hold between 78-138 people each, and the casual style onboard encourages relaxation and congenial interaction between guests and crew alike. The experience is personally enriching through expert Exploration Leaders providing onboard narrative and lectures, special local guests from a wide variety of backgrounds, and the library provided on each vessel. All have forward lounges and ample outdoor deck space for viewing and photographing wildlife and scenery. All vessels are also equipped with inflatable landing boats for close-up exploration of remote areas and shore landings.

Destinations served include: Alaska and the Bering Sea, British Columbia, Columbia & Snake Rivers, California Wine Country, Mexico's Sea of Cortés, Costa Rica & Panama, Japan, the South Pacific, and the Kuril Islands.