Our Team

ELLEN SACK - THE BARGE LADY

Owner and President

Ellen has been a broker of European canal barge vacations for twenty five years, but does not consider it “work.” It has been a pleasure to welcome her many guests to that “perfect barge,” while offering a high degree of strategic advice and individual attention. Ellen thinks of herself as opinionated - and her customers seem to like her just that way!

Ellen has been sending travelers to her favorite destination – Europe – since 1978, when she began her career as a retail travel agent in Chicago. Professional and personal jaunts took her all over Europe and the Caribbean, but as wonderful as this life was, when asked in 1985 to launch a small barge in Burgundy, Ellen jumped at this intriguing opportunity. Her professional and personal life would become increasingly intertwined with the fledgling canal barge industry. Since then, Ellen has served thousands of guests, while at the same time helping many barge owners launch their vessels and publicize what was special about each one. Here she is below with Captain Olivier and Chef Gladys on the barge Alegria in the Midi.

Ellen has been a leader in the industry. She has introduced many barges into the market (most notably the barges Prosperite and Sojourn); created the barge rating system now in widespread use; and publicized barging in the print and internet media. Ellen was selected as one of the top 133 travel providers in the world by Conde Nast Traveler; she has been featured in the book “1000 Places to See Before You Die,’ and was named the“reigning expert on barge cruising” by Today show travel editor Peter Greenberg. Stories about barging and Ellen’s contributions were seen in The Wall Street Journal, American Way Magazine, Delta Sky Magazine, and Town and Country Magazine. She has been quoted numerous times in the travel trade press and is considered a top go-to source for all kinds of media.

Ellen believes that she is selling knowledge aboveall else! To keep current, she has traveled to France an estimated forty times to visit her barges – as well, she has cruised on vessels in the Netherlands, England, Ireland and Scotland.As Ellen says:” It’s a tough job, but someone has to meet the crew, taste the wine and sample the gourmet cuisine!” Speaking of cuisine, Ellen has had many culinary adventures involving her two favorite French delicacies, chocolate and cheese! The ultimate cheese tray at a top restaurant in Burgundy at right, certainly put a smile on her face!

Ellen and her husband Nick (known as Monsieur Le Barge Lady) cruise every year together. They visit old favorites, such as the Ultra Deluxe La Nouvelle Etoile (pictured below) where they cruised in Champagne. Ellen and Nick were among the first guests on the brand new C’est La Vie, cruising deep in the heart of Burgundy with a top crew.

Ellen has also cruised on the rivers Rhine, Danube and Rhone and on the Adriatic, Baltic and Mediterranean seas. Recent in-depth European city visits have included Venice, Berlin, Munich, Amsterdam and a yearly stay in Paris. Ellen has also traveled widely in the Caribbean, Israel, Turkey and plans to visit Cuba in Winter, 2012.

Ellen has been active in the Juvenile Diabetes Research foundation for many years. She has chaired major fundraisers for the Greater Illinois Chapter and also has raised thousands of dollars by selling at auction the many cruises donated by generous barge owners.

CAROLINE SACK KLEIN

Director of Marketing and Sales

Caroline joined The Barge Lady in 2010. As Ellen’s daughter, Caroline has been exposed to the barge industry her whole life and remembers many dinner table conversations about barging and travel. After graduating from college in 2002, Caroline had a successful run at sales and marketing positions with Fortune 500 consumer packaged goods companies and for Careerbuilder.com. Since Ellen has devoted her whole life to growing and developing Barge Lady, it was always a strong possibility that Caroline would someday enter the business.

Naturally, the travel bug caught Caroline at an early age! She went to France for the first time as a young teenager, and since then, she has traveled throughout Europe; has enjoyed resort life in Mexico and Hawaii; and gone on adventures in China, Hong Kong, Bali, Indonesia, Malaysia, Tanzania, Zanzibar and Argentina. Caroline travels everywhere with one carry-on, and now Ellen does the same whenever possible!

Since arriving at Barge Lady, Caroline has traveled to France four times, which reflects our core commitment to continual and first hand assessment of the barges. She began by accompanying Ellen in July, 2010 to several vessels on the Canal du Midi, Provence and Southern Burgundy; among the barges we visited were Emma, Enchante, Alegria and Roi Soleil. Another trip was at the invitation of Orient Express for their top producers and introduced Caroline to the Ultra-deluxe barge Amaryllis. On this same trip, she inspected Napoleon, Fleur de Lys and Alouette, a barge we did not know well, but that Caroline now considers her “barging soulmate!” Caroline has met (and charmed) many of our most important barge owners.The top picture shows her with Rory McCrae, now the owner of the new Apres Tout. She also visited Paul and Annie Roberts on their charming barge, the Bonheur.

While in France, Caroline found new and wonderful Paris hotels for us to recommend. She has also supervised the installation of updated booking software and has up re-organized and re-energized almost every aspect of our operation.

Caroline wants to expose barging to everyone who appreciates unique and private travel experiences, as well as fine wine gourmet food and charming European countryside. She has made a significant start in transferring the family passion for barging to a brand new generation!

KELLY WEISS

Creative Director

Kelly has served a number of important roles at The Barge Lady, but her influence is most felt as the designer and curator of our gorgeous website, She also creates such marketing materials as e-mail blasts, press releases and brochures for many individual barges. Kelly earned a BFA in design in 2004, and the next year jumped at the chance to combine all of her passions – art, travel, photography, gourmet pursuits and marketing – when she went to work at The Barge Lady.

Kelly always had a strong interest in travel. She has taken many trips throughout the U.S., Mexico and the Caribbean. At age 22, she traveled to Germany – her first European trip. She knew it would not be her last! Kelly and her husband Tim have ably represented us on many cruises, including on the the Shannon Princess in Ireland; the Magna Carta in England and the Savoir Faire in France, a fabulous itinerary which began in Paris and ended in Burgundy. She and Tim also went to the Canal du Midiand enjoyed a delicious lunch onEmma and also visited Athos, Anjodi and Alegria.

In fall, 2010, she returned to France with Caroline, teaming up for an excellent adventure in Burgundy on our most popular barges L’Impressionniste, Luciole and Elisabeth. On her latest trip in summer, 2011, Kelly brought along her mom, Terri Snyder (This was Terri’s first trip to Europe!) and cruised on the barges Sojourn in Beaujolais and Papillon in Burgundy. Kelly and Terri enjoyed the sights of Lyon, among many other experiences. They also visited with Chef Katherine Frelon at La Ferme de Lochere, her villa in Burgundy, where she hosts gourmet cooking weeks.