Pat graduated from the University of Kentucky with a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Psychology; and received a Master’s degree from Xavier University three years later; followed by 30 additional hours above the Master’s level. She started in the travel industry selling opportunities to become a home-based travel agent in 1989 and worked her way up the corporate ladder to become Vice President
of Sales and Marketing for a travel conglomerate based in Hawaii. After moving with her husband, Mike, daughter, Tiffany, and son, Todd, to Florida in 1996, Pat began dreaming of working for herself. In 1998, she made that dream a reality with the founding of Cruises-N-More. Pat’s vision for the company was to give clients the best deals in a friendly manner that put the customer’s best interests first, just the same as if they were family. The company grew to become one of the largest online cruise agencies in the U.S. As CEO of Cruises-N-More, Pat, and her family – including Tiffany, Todd, and Tifni, plus numerous other employees and managers – continue to strive to maintain the “family friendly atmosphere” daily. Mike, who is retired, provides a much loved smile, occasional doughnuts, coffee and a jovial attitude when he visits the office.
“I feel this is the best business we could possibly be in, as our whole family loves to travel and has been cruising together since the 80s, when the children were very young. We have now introduced cruising to the next generation of the Neidhardt family, our beloved grandson, Xander, who was born in 2009 to Tifni and Todd,” says Pat. Xander has already traveled extensively and sailed on the Norwegian Epic (4th of July 2010), the Silversea Sliver Spirit (September 2010), and the Royal Caribbean Allure (Thanksgiving 2010). In addition to cruising, the entire Neidhardt family loves to spend time in Hawaii on the island Maui, and, yes, Xander has been there multiple times already, along with various countries in Europe. Hopefully, traveling from a young age will inspire him to one day to join the family business.
