Why use a Travel Advisor?

We are all quick to call an expert when we are in a jam or out of our skillset; mechanic, accountant, attorney, dentist, or plumber. Remember that one time the toilet was overflowing? Or when the AC broke down on the...

What are the purposes and benefits of having someone help plan your vacation?

You already hire experts to get a better result

We are all quick to call an expert when we are in a jam or out of our skillset; mechanic, accountant, attorney, dentist, or plumber. Remember that one time the toilet was overflowing? Or when the AC broke down on the hottest day of the year?

From cutting our hair to preparing our taxes, there are just some better tasks left for the pros.

Travel is one of the most significant three purchases you'll make in your life after a home and car (or college tuition if that's in the cards for you).

You use experts to save yourself time and stress, but most importantly, to get a better outcome. In this case, a better vacation.

Of course, booking a cruise online yourself is easy… or is it?

You need a stateroom from category 1D, 2D, 5D, or 7D.

Wait… maybe a 1E or a 2F.

There are dozens of stateroom categories on one ship, and every cruise line has different categories. Now you can see why 75% of cruisers hand the job over to a professional travel advisor. They still get fantastic value, and they also benefit from our in-depth cruise knowledge, ship savvy tricks, and tools, and of course, we can offer great perks, amenities, and upgrade opportunities.

· There are 323 cruise ships to choose from.

· This year alone, 28 new cruise ships will be launched.

· There are over 2200 ports of call worldwide to cruise to, of which almost 600 are by river only and the other 1600 by ocean cruising.

That is a LOT of options. There is a ship and an itinerary for every traveler, but not every vessel or itinerary is for everyone. We are experts at matchmaking travelers to the perfect ship and itinerary.

Every element of your vacation, including but not limited to your accommodation, flights, tours, cruise, and travel insurance, all have a "fine print," also known as terms & conditions. This isn't new news at all. But what is new is the number of changes that each travel company is currently making to their services. Changes come out of nowhere and are often effective immediately. Navigating all of the date changes and schedule change fees and rules can be a nightmare.

The excellent news is… we're good at it. You can trust that we have checked the fine print - and understood it before we lock in your travel bookings. If you want flexible travel arrangements - we'll make sure to book it that way.

Travelers around the world consider different factors than pre-pandemic. These include the destination's Covid-19 protocols such as mask-wearing, social distancing, whether restaurants, businesses, and the big attractions are open (and at what capacity).

You also need to know the entry requirements for your destination.

· Will you need to be vaccinated?

· Will you need a negative Covid-19 test?

· What kind of test will be accepted?

· Antigen, NAAT, PCR?

· Will you have to quarantine?

These are all super important questions to consider, and the most challenging part? The rules are shifting goalposts. They change often, and sometimes overnight!

The average seven-day vacation to Europe or the Caribbean has up to 15 separate bookings in it.

· Accommodation (maybe 1-3 properties)

· Flights (perhaps a few booked separately with different airlines (for better value and logistics)

· Airport transfers to and from your home, accommodation, and the airport (between 2 and 6 of these)

· Travel insurance to match exactly what you booked

· A few day trips or excursions with the same or different tour companies

· Museum, gallery, or social attraction tickets to avoid waiting inline

· Car rental

Did you know that each of these separate bookings (usually through different companies) comes with its own rules and fine print? They can be incredibly complex to stitch together into one itinerary.

Just take a flight layover, for example. Did you know that different airports worldwide have "legal connection times," a minimum amount of time required to connect two flights?

Why on earth would you put yourself through the stress of researching and planning all of these bookings when you can rely on a professional travel advisor (like us) to do it for you for one low planning fee.

One of our favorite things about working in the travel industry is relationships and friendships. It's not uncommon for travel advisors to go to several conferences and training events each year and meet with the CEOs and Presidents of the biggest travel companies in the world. We have email addresses, phone numbers, and most importantly, open lines of communication with decision-makers and problem solvers at many cruise lines, resorts, hotel chains, and airlines.

We won't hesitate to call them out if we need them, whether planning your vacation - or troubleshooting while you are away; know that we put in that call for you.

Have you ever arrived at a hotel to find that your room is nothing like what you thought you had booked? It happens more often than you know.

And it's so disappointing.

When you check into a hotel, you have expectations about the room design, space, cleanliness, and of course, the room amenities. You also probably have specific ideas about what breakfast, parking, the gym, room service, or lobby cafe will be like.