Recommend Jan 2018 - 11

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unexpected. It's the perfect hybrid of land,
sea, and cultural adventures. This is how
experiential travel was meant to be."
When it comes to value, Adolfo Perez,
Carnival's v.p. of trade sales and marketing,
talks about onboard amenities added over
time. "From culinary like Guy's Burger to
entertainment like Hasbro, plus the massive
WaterWorks aqua parks and the Seuss-aPalooza Parade-all are offered at no charge,
enhancing the value of the cruise experience.
All of these options represent an investment
of millions of dollars and provide travel
agents with wonderful selling points for
marketing us to their clients."
"Part of the value of a Disney vacation
is that Disney thinks of all the details for
everyone in the family," says Claire Bilby,
senior v.p., sales and services. "There's
Broadway-caliber entertainment, like the
new "Beauty and the Beast" show, themed
deck parties, and dining for every taste.
Young cruisers enjoy kids' clubs while adults
unwind in their own exclusive spaces. And
our private island, Castaway Cay, is fun for
everyone. All these things, and so much
more, are included in the price of the cruise."
From Viking comes a new program that
will allow your clients to fly overseas once
and enjoy two different sailings. Says Richard
Marnell, senior v.p. of marketing, "Our new
Ocean & River Voyages gives travelers the
opportunity to experience both of our cruise
products with only one international flight,
saving them time and money. It provides a
destination-focused voyage that marries the
river and the sea in one seamless experience."
Saving travel dollars, in fact, has to be high
on the popularity list of any client. Suggest
they take a look at Holland America.
"We continue to bring back our View and
Verandah promotion each year because guests
appreciate added premiums like upgrades
and a credit to spend on board," mentions
Orlando Ashford, the line's president.
"We're extending the offer well into 2019
so that those who like to plan early have
incentives to book now and take advantage
of the benefits." Depending on cruise length
and stateroom category, clients can receive
onboard spending money up to $400 per
stateroom and $500 per suite, along with
savings on excursions booked by March 15.
Crystal's Carmen Roig, senior v.p. of
marketing & sales, urges the line's travel
partners to "highlight complimentary features

such as unlimited WiFi and Michelininspired dining, and leverage Crystal Clear
Choices, which allows clients a choice of
one of three additional amenities on select
voyages." Included in the incentives trio
are cruise fare savings, an air credit, and a
shipboard credit of up to $600 pp.

TRAVEL
ADVISOR
CORNER

AmaWaterways: amawaterways.com
Avalon Waterways: avalonwaterways.com
Carnival Cruise Line: carnival.com
Crystal Cruises: crystalcruises.com
Disney Cruise Line: disneycruise.disney.go.com
Holland America Line: hollandamerica.com
Hurtigruten: hurtigruten.us
Ponant: ponant.com
Silversea Cruises: silversea.com
UnCruise Adventures: uncruise.com
Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection: uniworld.com
Viking Cruises: viking.com
Windstar Cruises: windstarcruises.com

Travel Mistakes
Smart People Make
Susan Farewell

One of my clients is the editor of a top
U.S. metropolitan area newspaper. Wicked
smart. Fast thinking. Super resourceful. Very
well traveled.
But inevitably, when he volunteers to
handle parts of his family vacation on his own,
he winds up telling me horror stories of
what happened.
Here are the most common travel mistakes
we've seen smart people make.
Plan too late: A month before the holidays
is no time to start making travel arrangements.
While there may be the chance cancellation
(and in some cases, great savings), the more
common scenario is the client winds up
overpaying for accommodations ("Only the
penthouse is available") and taking unpleasant
connecting flights (four hours in the Miami
airport) or worse, sitting in a back row seat in
economy for an 8-hour flight.
Book complicated flights for savings:
Booking that inexpensive flight to and from
Rome may at first seem to be a great savings.
But how are you going to get to FCO by 7
a.m. if you are staying on the Amalfi Coast?
Inevitably, we have to book airport hotels for
these do-it-yourself bookings, bringing the
price up and adding the inconvenience of
another hotel check-in/check-out.
Waste time shopping for best hotel deal:
We've all had the client who got caught up
in trying to find the cheapest price for their
room. In the end, they may save $14 a night,
but they've spent five evenings of their own
time doing so.
Go through security motions mindlessly:
That moment of going through security is a
vulnerable one. One in which you need to
be on high alert at all times. All too often,
travelers toss passports, phones and wallets in
the security bins. Then they stand on line for

the machine, get patted down and the next
thing they know-no sign of their lose items.
Take a taxi from the airport: While it's
cheaper to take a taxi from the airport to your
hotel than have a driver meet you, the price
one may pay in aggravation is just not worth it
(and can more than double the fare). The ripoffs come in all varieties-the broken meter,
the round-about route that doubles the time
and distance, the language barrier resulting in
the wrong hotel or the wrong side of town.
Fall for free guides and other street
"sales": All over Prague, you see young adults
(maybe students, maybe not) with signs that
say "Free Tours." Follow along and not only
will you learn all sorts of fictional stories about
the city, but in the end, feel obligated to give
the self-proclaimed, non-licensed "tour guide"
5 or 10 Euros. Not a bad profit for an hour's
walk with 20 people.
Not learning from mistakes: With all of
the above experiences, you would think a
smart traveler would change their ways. Not
necessarily. Time tends to dull the memories
and we've seen people time again make the
same mistakes.
Thinking they can do it all: Your clients
may be able to do a lot of exceptional things
themselves. Maybe they're able to teach their
kids the piano or build a treehouse that sleeps
four. But the really smart ones are those who
have figured out the best way to have things
done right and in a timely fashion is to bring
in the pros. Nowhere does this apply more
than in organizing travel. Handle your client's
trip plans well and they'll never be tempted to
do it themselves again.
Susan Farewell is the owner of Farewell Travels
LLC (FarewellTravels.com), a travel design firm
based in Westport, CT. Follow her on Twitter
and Instagram @FarewellTravels.
january 2018 11
http://www.amawaterways.com http://www.avalonwaterways.com http://www.carnival.com http://www.crystalcruises.com http://disneycruise.disney.go.com http://www.hollandamerica.com http://www.hurtigruten.us http://www.ponant.com http://www.silversea.com http://www.uncruise.com http://www.uniworld.com http://www.viking.com http://www.windstarcruises.com http://www.FarewellTravels.com
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recommend Jan 2018
