You aren’t bothering me…really

by | Feb 5, 2019 | Uncategorized

IMG_4119Over the last few days I have been working with two different clients on two different trips. One has me looking for a Caribbean cruise, first for next Christmas and then when that proved way too expensive and hard to find, one in February of 2020. The other was looking for a short cruise to Cuba.

I did most of the planning by going back and forth with e-mails. They would ask questions, inquire about alternate cruises, ask about travel insurance, different types of staterooms and other types of questions. I would send replies with new options for them. In all, I would guess that I exchanged at least 10 long e-mails with each of these wonderful folks.

But the one thing that both of them had in common was that they started every e-mail by apologizing for asking for so many options, for so many changes. On almost every e-mail reply the first line was, “Sorry to be bothering you with this,” or “I hate to ask you about a different option.” I just want to make one thing clear…you aren’t bothering me.

I have had this happen before with close friends. One of my best traveling buddies asks me about airfare and always starts by saying, “only when you have time.” Another very close friend spends a lot of his time looking at travel arrangements to have me book them. When I ask why he did all the research he said, “I didn’t want to bother you.”

If I was bothered by people asking me to find out about different types of travel, I wouldn’t be doing this as my “funtirement” job if I didn’t love looking for travel. I am at a point in my life where I don’t really have to do this job. And I really do love it…most of the time.

Sometimes because I look so hard for different options, I find something truly important. As an example, in looking for the Cuba cruise for these clients I discovered that if they went to Cuba after March 18, the overnight cruises were much shorter than after. The March 18 cruise (and those before that one) have an overnight in Havana. They arrive at 8:00 am on day 1 and then don’t leave until 3:00 pm on day 2. After the March 18 cruise, they arrive at the same time but leave Havana at 6:00 am on day 2 so even though they get a full day and an evening on the island, they don’t get a second day.

We also looked at another cruise that did an entire day in Havana and then sailed away at 5:00 pm and then did an entire day on the south side of the island in Cienfuegos from 8:00 to 5:00. But I also read a lot of reviews by other travelers that had been there that one of the things they loved the most was the evening time in Havana and this cruise didn’t give them that. And I found other options. They ended up getting the exact cruise they wanted along with all the visas and travel insurance they need.

I loved finding that kind of stuff. Digging to find the best thing for the clients. See the smile on my face. You aren’t bothering me…really

I like bothering people and stirring things up. –Tim Daly

Free bottled water on a cruise ship

by | Feb 2, 2019 | Uncategorized

Big plastic bottle potable water isolated on a white backgroundThis last week I had some wonderful ladies (I have mentioned them in a previous post) in the office and we were going over their cruise for next October. The cruise line they were going to book was offering a lot of “free” items if you booked now. One of those was a beverage package which gave them pretty much unlimited alcoholic beverages, soft drinks and specialty coffee beverages. But it doesn’t give them bottled water.

Now I have never had a problem with the tap water on a cruise ship but these ladies found this to be a very important item that they were truly surprised not to be included. To be honest, so was I. Not sure why it isn’t, but it isn’t. But I told them how they could get unlimited bottled water on board pretty much every cruise ship.

Step 1—Take an empty water bottle with you. You know, a reusable bottle.

Step 2—Head for the gym. This is where the “pretty much” comes in. Some ships (notably river cruise boats) don’t have gyms.

Step 3—Once you get to the gym, look for the bottled water dispenser. It will look just like a big Sparklets bottle. Like the one that is probably in your office. Like the one in the picture. Take the aforementioned water bottle and fill it.

There you have it. Bottled water at no charge for the price of a short walk to the gym. And hey, since you walked to the gym, maybe you should go ahead and work out. You don’t have to but you could. Then you could eat more. Isn’t that why we work out when we cruise?

There are only three things women need in life: food, water, and compliments.

— Chris Rock

It’s all about the fun

by | Jan 30, 2019 | Uncategorized

adobestock_172983654The last few days in our office I realized why I am enjoying the travel business so much more this year than last year. This year it’s more fun. We have been doing this for a year and people know where we are and are coming in regularly. Comparing the last couple of days to the same time period last year reminded me that last year was all about training and learning and just getting started. Most days last year I felt I was in over my head. This year has been all about meeting new people and arranging their travel…and having fun!

Today for instance I got to meet another member of a bunch of wonderful women who range in age from 66 to 89 (I can mention their ages because I would NEVER mention their names)  who came in late last week to book a cruise for next October. I have now met five of them and loved every minute of helping them plan their cruise and the air arrangements to get there. Between their three visits to the office so far, I have made five new friends.

Then yesterday, another client (who is becoming a friend) called to ask if she could bring in her new Mac and have me help her find some info on Cruise Critic. Had a great time doing that. In the meantime, I booked cruises for the ladies, talked with the Royal Caribbean Business Development Manager (who is a GREAT guy) who came in to see our fearless leader. Found out some facts I needed to know for still another client about things for them to do that are…you guessed it—fun!

Then I finished up today by meeting two other client friends at Starbucks to talk about their South America cruise that they just returned from. They shared some great recommendations for any other traveler that comes in who is going in that direction.

And lastly, earlier this morning, when I was talking to our fearless leader we were discussing why we do this job. I told him that I know there are many reasons our travel consultants do this job but for me, it’s because every day…it’s fun. I have spent the last 37 years working in the publishing industry where the most common contact I had with customers/clients was when they had problems. When they were facing deadlines. It’s altogether different in travel. In travel, people are calling us because they want to go on vacation. They want to have fun. It’s one of the best jobs I have ever had…helping people have fun.

Even though you’re growing up, you should never stop having fun. –Nina Dobrev

Dealing with schedule changes

by | Jan 28, 2019 | Uncategorized

AdobeStock_84068264.jpgOne of the things that I have always had a huge problem with is schedule changes. Today I had an appointment with four wonderful women who want to take a cruise to Mexico next fall. Was really looking forward to meeting with them. But yesterday the leader of the ladies (so to speak) called to say she couldn’t meet due to a personal appointment she had forgotten. She asked if we could move the meeting to tomorrow (Tuesday) at the same time.

Only problem is that Tuesday is my regular work day. By that I mean that on Tuesdays, I work on my real job. Of course I work on my “real job” other times during the week, but I set aside Tuesdays for big project work. This week (the last week of the month) is when I schedule creating my monthly newsletter, my biggest product. Now I know that it would seem it would be an easy thing to just do that on Monday instead of Tuesday. But as I told my wonderful bride this morning, it’s tough to just turn creativity on and off. Plus, I had information and graphics I was waiting for from other sources. But still, I had to make it work and I did. But it was a pain.

All of this will be moot tomorrow if these really cool women come in and put a deposit down on their cruise. I just have to get used to rolling with the punches.

I don’t think that scheduling is uncreative. I think that structure is required for creativity.—Twyla Tharp

It’s not all cruising

by | Jan 25, 2019 | Uncategorized

 

londonSince I started writing on these pages last month I have had a few people ask me if we are all about cruising. They want to know if we just help clients plan cruises. Nothing could be further from the truth. We at Expedia are a full-service travel agency. On our door is the slogan, “We plan, you pack.” We do have cruise ship in our name and Kathleen and I do take a lot of cruises but we have traveled on land in Europe and all over the USA. Plus, with most of our cruises we usually spend quite a few days either before or after the cruise exploring the city or region we are leaving from on the cruise we are taking.

florence1For instance, we are doing an 11-day cruise from Dublin, Ireland to other ports in Ireland and spending four days in Iceland. But before we get on Celebrity’s Reflection, we will spend four days in Edinburgh, almost a week in Leeds, England visiting good friends and three days in Dublin before we embark. So when a client comes in and doesn’t want a cruise but does want a land trip, we can do it all. We can book you with a tour company who will take you everywhere in the country or region you have in mind. Or I can plan an entire trip just for you.

edinburgh 1Last year I had two clients who came in during the spring asking me to help them plan a European trip for their families last summer. One wanted a four country tour with a cruise to the Greek Isles right in the middle of the land visits. The other asked for an eight city, 34-day tour by train, plane, rail and automobile. We arranged flights, rail tickets, hotels, dinner reservations, day trips and guided tours all over Europe. If you would like to see the entire tour, you can click here. It even has pictures and lots of great places you can visit if you are in any of these cities.

barcelona-spainIf this is the kind of vacation you are looking for, we’re the people to talk to. I love planning stuff like this. BTW: This is not the kind of plan you are going to get from an online or big box travel agency where you talk to a different person every time you call. And believe me, this planning took about two months and countless e-mails, phone calls and texts getting things reserved and set up. For me, it was just fun. For the clients it was a great time…at least that’s what they told me when they got back.

Traveling expands the mind rarely. —Hans Christian Andersen