Frequently Asked Questions

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Even in the age of online booking, travel agents remain a vital part of the travel industry, thanks to their dedication to providing clients with expert destination knowledge and personal experience. Just as other professionals spend countless hours honing their craft, travel agents get out and discover the destinations, as well, to make great recommendations for you. They also participate in numerous continuing education programs and experiences, paying attention to the ever-changing travel environment, thanks to things like the Covid-19 pandemic, and more. Travel agents provide updated information on your destination, cruise line, or tour operator's current requirements and restrictions. 

Travel agents curate itineraries for you that are customized to your likes, desires, travel style, and budget. The average American consumer will spend well over 20 hours or more researching through dozens of websites for a single week-long trip. Travel agents have access to a multitude of vendors and suppliers, and do the research for you, saving you time and often money as well. Sure, you could do it yourself, but do you really want to? 

Travel agents also have great relationships with vendors and suppliers and can assist you in case of unexpected problems, as well as help you anticipate potential issues in advance. The internet is a great resource for looking at options, and a travel agent will help whittle down the overwhelming amount of available information to some great recommendations for you, based on YOUR travel style, likes, desires, and budget.

We will help you in all aspects of your vacation. From picking the right destination all the way to following up with you after the trip to make sure that all went well, we never stop working! We can help with dining arrangements, tours, tips, and ordinary questions in regard to making your vacation all it can be. But don't worry, that doesn't mean that you won't have any say in your vacation. If you want to be part of the planning, or do some of it yourself, we're happy to let you.  Some of our clients want to be completely hands-off and have us do it all, while others want to be part of it, and that's okay!  We want to do as much for you as you'd like us to do.  

In some instances, we do not charge a fee to you, however, in some, we do charge a professional planning fee.  Fees are charged when putting together customized and curated itineraries that go beyond simply booking a cruise, or a standard all-inclusive resort experience. For custom itineraries, planning fees are charged. Any fees we charge are professional service fees paid to us and are not part of your vacation package price. 

Respective of our professional fees, please consider that the average American will spend upwards of 20 hours researching online through dozens and dozens of websites for a single week-long vacation and a travel professional has the vendor relationships, experience, training, and capability to do it all for you in less time. (Our turnaround goal for every proposal is 72 hours, but some will require more time to properly build).

We feel that our fee structure is fair, and any fee(s) paid are part of our overall compensation given our professional certifications and expertise. The balance of how we get paid then comes from the trip supplier/vendor in the form of a commission after you have returned home from your trip, which might be many months from now. The fee that you pay covers the following:

• We will do the research for you... All our time and services are part of it, including the research and proposal presentation. We will review availability, pricing, promotional opportunities, and more while building out your proposal recommendation.
• Total flexibility in provider options... As an independent travel agency, we work with all the cruise lines, and a multitude of land-based travel vendors, giving us the flexibility needed to build a package based on your travel style, likes, desires, and budget. We are NOT beholden to any single provider, and therefore are not going to base our recommendation based on any single provider's inventory. We fully understand that cruise lines and land resorts are NOT one-size-fits-all and try hard to match the right property with the right client. We base ALL our recommendations on the information that you provide for your travel style, likes, desires, and budget, and therefore are not just looking for which vendor offers the best commission for us. We will NOT push you into a situation that is not right for you.
• Options for your consideration... When building a package proposal for you, we will present optional items (activities, excursions, tours, etc.) that fit within your travel style, likes, desires, and budgets, but those recommended options are NOT required to be part of the final package. If you really do not want to include a particular component, just say so and we can remove it. We include them based on our conversations with you and the information provided above but it is your trip, and we want you to have the best experience you want to have.
• Trip preparation & documentation... We assemble everything needed to get you ready to travel all the way until you return home once again. We will send out your travel documents 2-3 weeks prior to your departure. Plus, you will have access to all of it through our My Trips app on your mobile device.
• Consistently monitoring... We are regularly watching your reservation in the time leading up to departure for any updates or changes from the travel supplier, so you do not have to.
• We are your advocate... While you are traveling, we are here for you should something go wrong while you are at your destination. 
• A single point of contact... Unlike a website or other form of bookings, such as a big-box warehouse store or similar, you will have one point of contact for any questions and concerns – the Travel Advisor with whom you are working.  In most other methods of booking travel, you would never speak to the same person twice and would have to repeat your questions or situation repeatedly.
• We are with you until you get home again... Just think of us as walking beside you, both as a guide from the beginning until the end when you return home.
• Itinerary revisions... We understand that things happen that will, sometimes, necessitate a change or revision to your travel plans. Based on the type of travel involved we will provide up to three (3) revisions to a proposal at no charge. Beyond that, we will begin to charge for any subsequent revision requests. Note that once a trip is booked with the supplier (meaning your deposits have been paid or it has been paid in full), the travel supplier itself will have its own change fees which we have nothing to do with. All the travel suppliers' terms and conditions will be shared with you at the time of booking so you will understand what their rules are about the actual reservation.

The answer to this question is that it all depends on how far in advance of your actual trip that you book. 

Most travel suppliers (cruise lines, resorts, destinations, etc.) require full payment on a reservation anywhere from 30 - 120 days prior to departure.  When quoting your trip, we will always let you know the final payment due date, and if you are outside of the supplier's payment window, then you will pay a deposit to secure the reservation and have until the final payment deadline to pay the balance.  The further in advance that you secure the reservation, the more time you will have to pay the balance. 

As your agent, we will facilitate all payments on your behalf using the credit card information that you provide to us.  We don't specifically offer any type of payment plan as we simply work within the stated deadlines, but if you want to work out regularly scheduled payments, we can do that together with you.  Some of our clients like to make it easier on their family budget and ask us to apply X amount towards their balance on a specific date each month, while others simply save it up themselves and pay the balance at the due date.  Whatever works for your specific situation is fine with us.  

When it comes to processing payments, as the travel agency, we do not accept direct payments to our agency for your travel reservation. The only time payments are made directly to us is for our planning fees; we will send you an invoice directly for the planning fees, and a credit card or ACH transfer is acceptable through the link provided.  

ALL reservation payments are made directly to the suppliers, and most suppliers will accept all major credit/debit cards; a handful of suppliers do not accept Discover.  If that situation arises for your reservation, we will let you know!  When paying with a debit card, please be sure to double-check with your bank regarding any daily limit requirements to ensure the successful processing of the payment. 

We do not accept personal checks or cash.  

As a travel agency, we do not charge any agency fees for changes or cancellations; however, the suppliers often do. All cancellation policies will be shared with you at the time of booking, typically on the booking confirmation. We know that it is an awful experience to have to cancel your vacation. We hope that you appreciate that your personal travel advisor will have already done quite a bit of work on your reservation at the time you cancel. Because of this, we respectfully ask that you allow him/her the first shot at booking your next vacation.  Please note that the suppliers' change and cancellation policies will still apply. These vary by supplier. Your personal travel advisor will be glad to answer any questions you have. 

While there are a few cases where we might choose to price match, on average, we choose not to do so. When we do, the package we present to you and any lower rate found must match 100% (including room accommodation categories, flight schedules, transfers, included activities, etc.).  Usually, for another agency to offer a lower price, one or more of the following things take place:

• They are not revealing to you the taxes/fees/other charges of the reservation that you will wind up having to pay once you are onsite.
• They have an exclusive group rate on that sailing or land package.
• They are cutting into their own hard-earned commission and rebating part of it back to "buy your business" (which is forbidden by most suppliers).
• They are otherwise "buying your business" by offering you items, such as hundreds of dollars in In-Store Credit that can only be used for merchandise in their store after you have traveled, or Onboard Credits for assorted cruise packages. 
• OR a combination of any of the above

We value your business and work extremely hard at making your vacation dreams come true.  As professional travel advisors, we feel strongly that we deserve to be paid for the time and work spent putting together your vacation itinerary. With that in mind, should you have a lower price you've found that you would like to ask us about, we will review it, provided you share all of the details with us so that we can ensure we are looking at an "apple to apple comparison", and that all components between what we have presented to you and what you are sharing match exactly. If they match 100% and the lower rate is a public offering (meaning it is widely available to the public and not part of a membership organization, we will gladly match it). If, however, the price you have found is lower due to one of the reasons mentioned above, we will not be able to match the price.   We also ask that, when choosing between prices, you do consider that the level of service our agency offers is not often matched by other, sometimes lower-priced agencies. When working with one of our agents, you will work with them from start to finish with only a few exceptions (such as unavailability due to a family emergency). When working with us, you will never reach a call center, but always speak with the same person. Our agents work hard to build a relationship with each client and do not treat you as just another transaction. After 10 years in business, our agency loves all our repeat clients and appreciates that loyalty, as well as the referrals that our satisfied clients provide.  

For this question, the answer is Maybe. We will advise you on how to transfer your reservation to us and, once successfully transferred, we will get started planning your dream vacation. Some reservations that have been booked directly may have already passed the transfer deadline before you reach out to us, so we cannot guarantee this without first receiving all the reservation details from you.  Due to liability concerns and restrictions by our insurance company, we are NOT able to service ANY reservation that we have not made. With that in mind, we also cannot provide any advice on a reservation that we have not booked for you.    

Please note: This offer only applies to reservations booked directly with the destination. Out of professional courtesy, we will not transfer a reservation from another travel agency.

We absolutely recommend adding travel insurance for every trip you take. Travel insurance is a wonderful protection plan which provides peace of mind and covers many things regarding your trip such as:

• Trip Cancellation/Interruption
• Medical & Dental Emergencies while on vacation
• Travel Delays
• Travel Accidents
• Baggage Loss, Damage, or Delay
• Emergency Transportation
• And more

You may wonder why to buy travel insurance for your vacation. It is not just your individual travel investment that you will be protected; you will be protecting yourself and your family while you are away from home. Did you know that more than 95% of health insurance companies in the United States do not cover individuals while they are traveling out of the country? It is true!  In addition, when you are in a foreign country, their doctors and hospitals often require cash payment before treating anything, often to the tune of thousands of dollars.  With Allianz Travel Protection in your back pocket, those costs will be covered by your policy and treatment can begin right away.  

Vacations can take months to plan and only hours to ruin if you must cancel your trip or get sick while traveling. Insurance protects against the unexpected - the unplanned - the unforeseen.  We all hope that our trip will go off smoothly without any problems, but none of us are able to control the weather, the airlines, or any number of things that could disrupt an otherwise wonderful vacation.  But that's not all... Worldwide Travel Protection from Allianz Global Assistance offers benefits like trip cancellation and interruption, emergency medical and dental coverage, and more, as well as providing a 24-hour assistance hotline so help is always just a phone call away. With the included Bipack trip cancellation and interruption coverage, you are also protected if your vacation is canceled or interrupted for covered business reasons