What “They” Don’t Want You to Know

I don’t understand why someone would book directly with a cruise line. I just can’t think of any advantage. If I quit being a travel consultant tomorrow, I'd likely book my own cruises for a little while, but once I was removed from the industry for a while, I would search out a relationship with a travel consultant.

I can think of disadvantages for people booking direct. Cruise lines, obviously, want you to book with them and to spend as much as possible doing so. Hey, I don’t blame them at all. It’s just that, as a travel consultant, our “bread and butter” is the client so a good travel consultant is going to look at what’s best for their client. Cruise lines sell a product. Travel consultants sell a service.

To gain and keep your business, we have to look out for what’s best for you. That does not mean pushing you to “buy a cabin on my cruise line and spend as much as possible to do so.” Here are seven things you could hear from a good travel consultant, but are not likely to hear from a cruise line:

1. “In this case, I would not recommend upgrading to a higher category because………”
2. “There’s a third party travel insurance that, in your case, is a better choice than the cruise line’s vacation protection because……”
3. “There’s another option for an excursion in that port that’s offered by a third party that you might want to consider instead of the cruise line’s excursions because……”
4. “I would suggest booking with this other cruise line because…..”
5. “Don’t book this yet. You can save money by waiting until……”
6. “Are you flexible with your date because……”
7. (My favorite) “I’m calling to tell you that we saw that we saw a new promotion that you could qualify for so you are now saving……… “.

The next time you want to book a vacation with a professional who is going to watch your back, contact a good travel agency.  Call Connie George Travel Associates at 610-532-0989 or email us at info@cgta.com.

~ Connie

10 Reasons Why a Professional Travel Consultant Beats a Call Center Agent

Why is a professional travel consultant better than dealing with a call center agent?  Here are our "Top 10" reasons:



10- Consultants may have visited your destination or sailed on your cruise ship.

9- Consultants attend conferences.

8- Consultants attend trade shows.

7- Consultants attend webinars and teleconferences.

6- Consultants read travel trade industry magazines.

5- Consultants have newsgroups and agent-only message boards on which to compare concerns, keep up with news and seek advice.

4- Consultants also can access consumer message boards.

3- Consultants have colleagues with whom they can share information.

2- Consultants work with you from the beginning to end.

1- Consultants have other clients who have given previous feedback about what you’re booking.

And our bonus reason- Consultants want your repeat and referral business.

Book your next vacation with a professional travel consultant from Connie George Travel to see why we enjoy a high repeat and referral business!

~ Connie

Grandparents Day Reflections--- Building Memories While it's Possible

National Grandparents Day is September 12. It always falls on the first Sunday following Labor Day. I had planned to write an article about multi-generational cruise vacations which have become so popular. I even have permission from a client to use their three generation family cruise photo for the blog.


But when I sat down to write this evening, I had a change of mind. (female prerogative! )  I promise to later write the previously planned blog. But today I’m going to instead tell you about my grandparents, “Nanny and Pop Pop Parkin” who passed away years ago. The sun pretty much rose and set on my grandparents as far as my brother, cousins and I were concerned.


Early in their marriage, my grandparents went to London and, when I was very young, they went to Mexico. I remember because they brought back a silver charm bracelet and a pair of maracas for me, all of which I still have. I was fascinated by these exotic gifts from a foreign country! A few years ago, I was amazed to find Nanny and Pop Pop’s on a 1938 ship’s passenger manifest from the s.s. Monarch of Bermuda on Ancestors.com. What a neat find that was among the many incredible family facts I found there!

Mexico was their last overseas trip. I never got the impression that Pop Pop was all that interested in travel. He was happy in his home, work, church and especially when his daughters and their families visited. Frankly, I think being in the Army stationed in Pearl Harbor in 1941 gave him his fill of foreign travel and I believe the international vacations after that were done out of love for my grandmother. But Nanny, well, I think she was a traveler at heart. She loved her home and family, but I can also picture her being in awe of the sites, sounds, smells and tastes of the world.

Pop Pop died in 1982. Nanny and I started talking about us traveling in the future. The look in her eyes would change for a few moments and I knew it was a few minutes’ reprieve from the sadness of her loss. Unfortunately we never got to fulfill those last travel dreams together because Nanny died from a broken heart only a few months after Pop Pop. I’m happy she had those travel dream diversions and know that I would have loved traveling with her. It’s my loss that I never got to have those adventures with her.

Traveling can be an amazing experience. Grab any opportunity you may have to do it with your grandparents or grandchildren. There may be lessons gained.  And memories that will last through generations.

Nanny and Pop Pop…. Thinking of you and loving you as much as ever.

Social Networking for All Ages

“Twitter User Ivy Bean Turns 104 Years Old - http://bit.ly/4iegT.” It caught my attention when I read it on my Twitter account earlier this week.

My curiosity was aroused. I clicked on the link and found a short story and a video about this remarkable woman who lives in a nursing home in England. She celebrated he 104th birthday this past week. The note I read was basically a mini-blog posted (“tweeted”) on Twitter by a member from Mashable. More on Mashable in a moment!

By following their link, I read about Ivy and got to see a video of the local news program visiting with her. Ivy is the oldest member of Facebook and she’s maxed her Facebook account with 5000 “friends” (followers) who enjoy following what she has to say there! Frankly, getting a few hundred friends is hard for an individual wanting to manage that feat!

She is thought to be the unconfirmed oldest member of Twitter. Four days ago Ivy had 37,000 “followers” on Twitter! Thanks in part to the worldwide (and whirlwind!) sharing of the news on her which started with her local news program’s segment of a live interview with her, Ivy now has 44,000 followers! Ivy's notes are fun and give us a glimpse into her life and personality.

Getting back to Mashable, it is the world’s largest blog about all things on the internet and Social Media. They blog about Facebook, Google, You Tube, Twitter and plenty more. Perhaps you’re “not into that stuff” and you are only use the internet to surf for things of interest and that the most “social interacting” you do on that chunk of metal in front of you is read a blog, In that case, you would probably be very surprised at how “cyber” and “real life” are pretty interconnected these days.

Ivy is proof that people of all ages are using the computer to keep up with what’s going on in the world and to have fun, socialize and learn. It’s not just “young people” doing this. It’s also why our office has embraced “social marketing.” It has enabled us to share information with people wh0 have various social networking interests. Wanting to follow Connie George Travel Associates? Here’s where all you can find us these days and each of these sources is free to consumers:

Websites:
http://www.cgta.com
http://www.WheelchairCruising.com

E-newsletter subscription:
Register for our website & agree to receive the newsletter at http://www.cgta.com
Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/cgta.travel

Twitter:
http://www.twitter.com/chicksatsea
http://www.twitter.com/WCCruising

Blogs:
http://www.cgtaconnie.blogspot.com/
http://www.wheelchaircruising.blogspot.com/
http://chicksatsea.blogspot.com/

If you’re interested in keeping up with what’s going on with social networking, be sure to add Mashable as one of your Twitter followers. Not on Twitter yet? You can sign up for a free account in minutes. And do be sure to look up Ivy. You can read her story. Better yet, if you’re on Twitter, you might want to follow her.

Ivy, if you happen to see this blog, “Happy belated birthday to you!”