ADVERTISED PACKAGES - THINGS TO KNOW:
WHY ARE THE RULES SO STRICT ON MY ADVERTISED PACKAGES?
I work very closely with the airlines, hotels and cruise lines and have negotiated some very special deals and then packaged them. In order to deliver pricing as we do, we have to keep things as simple as possible and this means you cannot deviate in any way unless you are willing to pay considerably more. Bottom line is our margins are small and we usually have to sell all air seats, hotel rooms and cruise staterooms we commit to. Past experience has proven that if we deliver exceptional value and clients clearly understand up front exactly what is included, we have very happy passengers who know they have a terrific deal on their vacation without compromising quality.
WHAT IS A STATEROOM GUARANTEE?
The staterooms offered are often “guarantees”, which means they can be assigned totally at the discretion of the cruise line but will be in the category offered or better. So, as example you may see a promotion that says “VH guarantee”. What this means is that at minimum you will receive a VH balcony category and you may be lucky to be upgraded at no charge to higher category staterooms – but please be clear: upgrades are totally at the discretion of the cruise line and no matter how often you may have sailed with that cruise line you may still not be given any special consideration. With this promotion you simply have to accept the stateroom you end up with as you are usually paying much less than 90+% of the other passengers. You will never receive a lower stateroom category than what have you booked.
WILL WE ALWAYS GET THE DINING WE REQUEST?
No, but we will always ask for you. If a sailing is almost full when you book, dining that you may prefer may not be available, and we cannot guarantee that you will get exactly what you want – but the same holds true if you paid much more for your cruise. With many cruise lines offering open seating as one of the dining choices, odds are actually pretty good you will be able to arrange what you want onboard, but at times your dining choice is unavailable.
CAN WE PICK OUR AIR SCHEDULE OR AIRLINE?
No. Air is totally at our discretion as we often will make group bookings to match the number of staterooms we have in our inventory and cannot deviate. If you insist on specific flights and airlines, do not book any of these packages. We will work with you to find what you want, but please be prepared for a price increase.
WHY DO WE NEED TO FLY TO THE PORT EARLY?
We usually will provide 2 nights accommodations in the package. We try and offer two nights pre cruise. There may be situations where we offer one night pre and one night post. We rarely will fly you in on the same day of your cruise, no matter how close you are to the cruise ship terminal just to be sure if your flight is cancelled or delayed. More international destinations (like Europe , South America , Australia/New Zealand, etc.) may include longer hotel stays. This takes a lot of stress out of your vacation and allows you to adjust for time zone changes and see a lot more of the port city.
ARE WE GOING TO BE STUCK IN ONE OR TWO STAR HOTELS?
No. While the hotel choice is at our discretion they will always be rated 3 star or higher. Again, we generally book as a group and is one of the reasons our bundles are such great value.
ARE THERE TRANSFERS INCLUDED?
No. In most port cities it is much more efficient for you to get off a plane and into a taxi or an airport shuttle. We have sent thousands of people on pre-packaged tours and to be honest, the most difficult thing to coordinate is trying to get a group of people all on pre-arranged transfers. 9 out of 10 times 95% of the passengers are waiting far too long for the last 5% and the cost of doing your transfer yourself is usually very close to group transfers and you'll save a lot of time waiting for others! That one person who didn't get their luggage can hold up the departure of your transfer.
Saying this, some of our hotel contracts include transfers (but if too many people show up at the same time there can be delays, so a taxi may still be worth it). Be prepared to be on your own and if a free transfer happens to be available and is convenient, then call it a bonus!
Some cities that have airports or cruise terminals quite far away may warrant a pre-arranged cruise line or local tour operator transfer. Please ask about suggestions.
WHAT ARE THE CANCELLLATION POLICIES?
These vary depending on the package and whether or not air had to be bought right at the time of booking amongst other factors. Generally you have less time to cancel without full penalty than normal inventory cruises. As example, a 7 day Alaska cruise normally may allow you to cancel without cruise line penalty (still have to pay the $100 cancellation fee from us) at 76 days out, but if this was our “risk” space, it may be at 91 days. The reason is quite simple – most agencies take no risk when selling you a cruise. Our packages require us to write a cheque and buy the space and we cannot give it back to the cruise line. If you cancel, we now must re-sell it – which requires additional advertising let alone time and effort. Bottom line, is that we give you better value but have tougher cancellation policies on these sailings.
WHEN DO I GET MY FLIGHT SCHEDULE?
As soon as we know! If we have group space on specific flights we can tell you when you book, but there are times where we wait to determine how many passengers we have from which gateways before we make the bookings. More often than not you'll get plenty of advance notification of your flight times. Seat selection is something you may have to do on your own and at times they are predetermined by the airline.
ARE THESE HOSTED?
No. These are not hosted tours, rather are travel bundles. There will not be someone there to hold your hand. If you are uncomfortable traveling without a tour host, we can offer you alternatives (and expect the pricing to be significantly more). You simply have to realize that you are traveling independently – the only thing is there are likely to be many others doing exactly the same thing you are with potentially the same flights and hotel. If you wish, and authorize us, we will give your name and telephone number(s) to others booked on the same package as you are. Between you, you can perhaps arrange to meet and save money sharing transfers, etc. Let us know if you'd like us to do this for you.
WHAT ARE THE EXTRAS?
Any on board spending, extra tours, non specified transportation, items of a personal nature, non specified meals, etc. are not included in the package. Gratuities are also not included and should be budgeted at $10 - $12 per day per person US and will be added to your onboard account for most cruise lines. Some of the 6 star cruise lines include gratuities in the price of the cruise. Also, in the event that oil prices rise, the cruise lines and the airlines have the right to add fuel surcharges at their discretion – even at the last minute. You would be responsible for those extra fuel charges if they are implemented and if they are (and even if you're not happy about it) you cannot use these extra charges as an excuse to cancel your booking. Bottom line is that you must pay these charges if levied by the travel supplier.
WHY SHOULD YOU BOOK ONE OF THESE DEALS?
Tremendous value. If you are comfortable arranging your own transportation to and from the hotel, the piers or the airports, you simply get a lot more for your money. Most of our offers are for very decent category staterooms and hotels, yet the price is usually less than what you'd pay for lesser accommodations. Experience over the years has proven that there are plenty of people that will give up a transfer or two to save a lot (especially in today's economy) – and that's what these packaged deals are all about.
CAN WE BUY JUST THE CRUISE?
Yes, most of the time. If we are down to the last stateroom or two and have air or hotel committed space that we cannot release back to the supplier, then the answer would be no. Our “cruise only” pricing will include all taxes and fuel surcharges (if applicable) and will also have excellent market value.