I currently specialize in curated premium travel experiences, helping busy and curious travelers like yourself by allowing you to skip the tedious process of knowing which online reviews to believe. I bring my extensive years of experience, site visits, and international travels to present you with options for your desired vacation that fit your wish-list perfectly. I provide experienced advice and highly specialized planning for the following destinations:
Caribbean & Mexico resorts
South Pacific
New Zealand & Australia
Africa
Japan
Small ship and/or luxury cruises
River cruises
Upscale train travel
Please note I do not book stand-alone air.
Here are just some of my current credentials:
Rocky Mountaineer Certified Specialist
AMA Waterways River Cruise Specialist
UniWorld River Cruise Specialist
Princess Cruises Commodore Certified Expert
Alaska Specialist (Princess Cruiselines)
“100% Pure New Zealand” Bronze Specialist
The Process
Once you reach out, I’ll schedule a discovery call with you to find out more about your trip, your travel style, your wishlist, your concerns, and anything else that will help me advise you correctly. This conversation could take place over email as well.
Once we’ve both ascertained that we’re the right fit for each other, you’ll fill out my client demographic forms, as well as my terms and conditions and any relevant fee disclosure documents.
Once I’ve received all necessary signatures, I’ll get to work on using my expertise to either present you with options that meet your criteria such as a river cruise itinerary for your selected dates, a comparison between two tour providers, or a perfect Alaska cruise. If you have requested a customized itinerary (most often for independent travelers who do not wish to be with a tour group) I will start on designing the itinerary from scratch and will send you a complete proposal with hotels, transfers, activities, rail, or anything else you requested.
How does a travel advisor work?
Travel advisors put years and resources into become experts. We invest money into visiting hotels and other sites so that we can see if they are good fits for clients.
Most of all, one of the key components of a good travel agent is to become a client expert. That means I am not necessarily a destination specialist for all countries. I have key vetted partners that I use for certain areas of the world – but I need to be able to accurately tell them what type of travelers I’m working with. This is why I place a lot of emphasis on getting to know you and making sure we are a right fit. Our partnership between you, myself, and the supplier only works when there is clear and honest communication. It’s my job to be able to accurately describe you to some of the on-the-ground partners so that together, we can put together a fantastic trip for you, the client.
For the most part, a travel advisor only gets paid by the tour/cruise/hotel once the client has traveled. This means we can spend months giving away our knowledge without being compensated for it, especially if a client does not book, since we were relying on future commissions. For that reason, requesting a fee in advance from the traveler is sometimes necessary (please see the fee section below).
My travel philosophy:
Use a travel agent who travels
I have currently visited over 75 countries, lived and/or worked in five continents, and have been a travel agent since 2010. Every year I invest in my continued education, whether it’s spending several months overseas to better visit my partner hotels and on the ground suppliers, or taking extensive trainings and seeking new supplier partnerships to better my travelers’ experience. Read my longer biography here.
Fees
Itineraries designed from scratch require a $200 non-refundable planning fee. *Certain destinations only
Requests within 30 days of departure require $150 non-refundable rush planning fee.
Cruises, escorted tours, or all-inclusive resorts will have their planning fee waived. Excessive proposal revisions may require a plan-to-go fee.
Note: Portugal Itineraries & Select Other Destinations
I offer extremely thoughtful customized itineraries for Portugal. I have lived extensively in Portugal and Portuguese trips are one of my specialties. For certain travelers, the best lodging or activity options in Portugal do not pay commission to travel agents. For that reason, certain Portugal requests may require a flat consulting fee, which gives you access to my insider knowledge and direct booking links to make your reservations on your own (or I can still assist with the reservations if you wish).
If you’re ready to start the process of working together, reach out to me by Direct Message, email, or through my website: https://travelobservations.com/contact-me/
