Many people who receive this newsletter have been on our list for several years, and have gotten to know us a little bit. When we speak with clients (or potential clients) on the phone, we are sometimes asked a little bit about us and our business, so I thought I’d give a little background this week in case others were wondering.
Bob and I have been life-long wanderers, and travelled extensively both as individuals and after we were married. Travel has always been a priority. We only considered making a business out of it about 10 years ago. We started in the business part-time, but it quickly flourished and grew, and we’ve both been working full time at it since 2016.
Prior to going all-in on the travel biz, I was a Laboratory Technologist with a specialty in Haematology. Bob was a Management Consultant who did work all over North America, mostly in the Energy sector. Both of us think we’ve found our calling in the travel business. Nothing like being in your 50s when you finally figure out what you want to be when you grow up!
Here are a few notes about what we do (and don’t do!), and how we work:
- Most of our business is cruise. It is roughly evenly split between river cruises and small-ship ocean cruises. We also do some organized land tours (you can’t take a ship everywhere!)
- Pre & Post cruise extensions. Most of our clients add a few days before or after their cruise, and we can help with that. Most often it is extensions offered by the cruise lines, but some of our clients prefer to do their own thing.
- Insurance. Our standard advice is that you should seek out the guidance and advice of a licensed insurance broker for your travel insurance needs. Many of our colleagues in the travel biz think we’re crazy to offer this advice because some travel agents make good money selling insurance. There are two reasons we roll this way: First, we are travel experts and want to help you with that. We feel insurance advice should be left to the pros. Second – as you can imagine, the liability for providing insurance advice is huge, so you’ll forgive us if we proceed with extreme caution when asked about insurance.
- How we’re paid. This is a common question from those who’ve never worked with a travel agent before. We are paid on a commission basis after you travel. For cruises and packaged land tours, you’ll NEVER get a better price directly through the supplier (they maintain pricing standards to ensure this), so there are no additional costs to dealing with us. We deal with just about all the cruise lines and about a dozen land-tour companies, and the commission we earn on a percentage basis is about the same with all of those vendors. I bring this up to demonstrate that we are agnostic as to which cruise line you choose. We’ll offer an opinion if asked, but our job is to match you with the most appropriate product for you – not because we’re being paid to promote a specific one. The cruise line call centers are great at selling their own product, but they won’t be able to help you compare with their competitors.
- Our Team. Most of the time, you will deal with Bob or me about your travel plans. It’s worth noting there’s a whole team of people behind us. Peri and Satonis do much of the critical administrative work to get you booked on your trip. Rachel manages our social media channels – although it’s important to know that Bob and I write all these newsletters, and post original content on our YouTube channel. Rachel’s job is to make this content easier for you to see. ALSO – we’re thrilled to announce that Kim is joining our team to be our head of sales. She’s also a life-long traveller, and has an extensive background in sales, and we know you’ll love working with her.
- The Virtuoso Network. Our agency is part of this invitation-only travel consortium. This gives us access to additional amenities and benefits that are not available if you book direct. Virtuoso has about 20,000 travel agents world-wide, and Bob and I have been recognized as “Cruise-Icons” because our sales place us in the top 1% of this group. The Icons get together a couple of times a year (and they’re a blast to hang out with).
- Hotels: We learned the hard way that not everyone has the same standards when it comes to hotels, and that hotel standards change frequently. As a result we will book hotels that are approved by Virtuoso, or ones where we have personally stayed in the past two years. Here’s a link to the Virtuoso Hotel page if you want to browse: https://www.virtuoso.com/advisor/bobbrad77410/travel/luxury-hotels
- Our Location. Our office is on West 36th Street in New York, but Bob and I are rarely there. The best part of this job is being able to work from anywhere (and we do!).
- Our Travel. Another great aspect of this job is that travel IS the job. We typically take 3 international trips per year. This allows us to stay current with travel products and locations. In 2022 we visited Morocco, Spain, Italy, Greece and Turkey. We also did a couple of domestic trips (including Newfoundland), and spent a fair bit of time in Mexico. We try not to travel in the summer months, because we love spending time at the Lake. As recent first-time grandparents, we are trying to figure out how we are going to continue to travel while also spending as much time as possible with our new grandson!
What we don’t do:
- Custom Travel Itineraries. Some people want a custom itinerary put together for some part of the world. You would be best served by someone that specializes in that area, and you should be prepared to pay an hourly fee to access their expertise in planning your trip. We prefer not to charge such fees, and we know we can’t be expert in all areas, so we stick to what we know best: cruises and packaged land tours.
- Flights. Some of our clients use the cruise lines’ air departments, and we’re happy to connect you with them. If you’re doing your own air, you really don’t want to abdicate the multiple micro-decisions involved in booking an air itinerary. For example, how much more are you willing to pay to avoid a 6 hour layover in Newark? You are probably well aware that the airlines stopped paying travel agents a long time ago, so in order to offer this service, agents need to charge fees – something we prefer not to do.
I was born in Iowa City, and Bob was born in Vancouver (BC). We’re also currently working on our “Permanente” status in Mexico, which will allow us to live for longer periods of time in all three countries.
Today’s Travel Opportunities
Free Air on Viking Paris to Swiss Alps
- Spend 2-nights in Paris, then visit Trier, Bernkastel, Cochem, Koblenz, Mainz, Speyer, Strasbourg, Basel, then spend 2-nights in Zurich. 12-day package.
- Prices start at $3599 per person for departures July through November 2023
- Includes all taxes and fees, round-trip air, transfers, Silver Spirit Beverage Package, a shore excursion in each port, and wifi on the ship.
Free Air on New Orleans to Memphis on American Queen Voyages
- Visit New Orleans, Nottoway Plantation, St. Francisville, Natchez, Vicksburg, Greenville and Memphis. 9-day package.
- Prices start at $3219 per person for departures June through October
- Includes all taxes and fees, round-trip air, pre-cruise hotel night, open bar, unlimited shore excursions, on-board gratuities, and wifi on the ship.
Oceania Ultimate O-Life and Price Advantage
If you’ve got an Oceania Cruise on your radar, now’s a great time to book:
- Price Increase Coming – our sources at Oceania warn us that pricing will increase on April 3rd.
- Past Guest Discount of 10% available until April 2.
- Ultimate O-Life. If you want ALL THREE O-Life perks, they are available on select voyages: https://www.oceaniacruises.com/special-offers/olife-ultimate
Free Air on Viking Ocean London to Bergen
We don’t often see Free Air promos on Viking Ocean, so if you want to go to Northern Europe this summer, then jump on this one:
- Visit London (overnight), Edinburgh, Kirkwall, Shetland Island, Nordkapp (Norway), Tromso, Leknes, Gieranger, Bergen (overnight).
- Prices start at $6999 per person for a veranda stateroom on departures in July and August 2023.
- Includes all taxes and fees, round-trip air, transfers, beer/wine with meals, a shore excursion in each port, and wifi on the ship.
$1000 On Board Credit on Viking Ocean Caribbean and Amazon Adventure
- Visit San Juan (Puerto Rico), Antigua, St. Lucia, Barbados, French Guiana, Sailing Day on the Amazon River, Santarem, Parintins (Brazil), Manaus (overnight)
- Prices start at $4299 per person for a veranda stateroom on departures in November, December (2023), and January, March (2024).
- Includes all taxes and fees, transfers, beer/wine with meals, a shore excursion in each port, and wifi on the ship. $1000 on board credit per cabin.
Free Air on Viking Panama Canal from Fort Lauderdale to Los Angeles
- Visit Cozumel, Cartagena, Colon (Panama), full transit of the canal, Puntarenas (Costa Rica), Leon (Nicaragua), Cabo San Lucas.
Prices start at $5999 per person for a veranda stateroom on October 24, 2023, or $5499 on December 17, 2023.
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If you’re planning a trip, I’d love to help! Click here or call 800-876-0168 to get in touch today.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Sue Bradley
Sue Bradley
