Choosing A Travel Advisor Is Usually A Good Idea

Choosing a Travel Advisor

By Charlie & Sherrie Funk

Sherrie Funk started the first cruise-only travel agency in Tennessee in 1988. Her husband, Charlie Funk, joined her full-time in 1993. The pair ran Just Cruisin’ Plus for 40 years. They are nationally known trainers and speakers sharing their travel tips and insights, and were named to the Cruise Line International Association Hall of Fame in 2012. Today they operate CSF Travel Consulting.

Almost certainly, those reading this are well beyond the three-night cruise to Cozumel stage of vacationing, where the poolside hairy-chest-contest and beer-bucket specials are among the highlights. Many may feel confident of selecting that next small-ship cruise on their own, and that may work out well.

On the other hand, small-ship cruises are as varied in features and indulgences as their small-city large ship counterparts.

The result is that as much research as went into choosing that cruise (or more) is likely to be needed.

Not all small-ship cruise ships are bare-bones, nor are they penultimate luxury (although some are). The result is that selecting your next cruise may be a process that should include not only surfing around QuirkyCruise to learn about the many kinds of small-ship cruises out there, but also working with a knowledgeable professional who can save you time and assure the best overall value.

Some of the main advantages of booking your next small-ship cruise with a professional travel advisor include:

Myriad Choices — how hard can this be, actually? It turns out finding and booking just the right cruise is sometimes daunting. Take river cruising as an example. There are seven brands catering to North American tastes plying the rivers of Europe alone, and that doesn’t include another half-dozen or so focused on Europe-sourced passengers.
Market Segment – it’s a given that a travel professional is going to be asking if you’d be interested in popular small-ship lines such as Ponant, Lindblad Expeditions, UnCruise, SeaDream, AmaWaterways, Viking River, Silversea and Variety Cruises, among many (feel free to also ask them about other small-ship cruise companies you’ve heard about or read about in QuirkyCruise.com such as St. Lawrence Cruise Lines, Star Clippers, or Gota Canal Steamship Co).
Dozens of Itineraries — not all will have the just-right blend of ports of call, time in port, and length of cruise that you desire.
Seasonality — a number of cruises and itineraries focus on events occurring over a short period of time (ie Tulip Time in the Netherlands) with some in such demand that they fill quickly.
Research Time — you almost certainly could eventually come up with answers to all the above, but will that really be the best use of your time? Sherrie and I once met with a couple planning a luxury Mediterranean cruise. At one point, the husband remarked “I don’t understand why we need you involved. How hard can this be?” If glares could kill, he would have been dead on the spot as his wife coldly commented, “I have spent over 40 hours on this trip so far and I’m done with it.” An ideal process is to do some research on your own first (start by reading some of the small-ship cruise reviews on QuirkyCruise.com!) and then share your findings and interests with your travel advisor.
Multi-modal Vacations — small ship cruising almost always involves air travel and frequently includes land-based components before, after, or both as a complement to the cruise. Sourcing and coordinating all the elements and components will require detailed, precise coordination of schedules. A professional travel advisor will know the most cost effective and time efficient way to connect all the pieces of the perfect vacation.

A travel professional will know the answers to the above and more

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Choosing a Travel Advisor

The challenge arises in choosing a travel advisor who will be best for you.

Just as there are hallmarks in choosing an attorney or medical professional, travel professionals have identifying qualities and characteristics.

Let’s move ahead to the point where you have selected several travel advisors to call, based on friends’ recommendations, web research, or other methods.

Know in advance that most cruise lines compensate the advisor with a small commission to pay for their time and effort. That said, some lines do not and in those cases the advisor may charge a fee. It’s up to you (the client) to gauge whether the proposed fee is a justifiable trade-off for the time, hassle, and stress to be avoided.

What to Look For in a Travel Advisor

If the advisor immediately begins offering vacation options, get off the call. This is not going to be a productive call because it is not about you and you’re wasting your time.

Instead, consider the following selection criteria when choosing a travel advisor:

Does s/he ask for your full name, date of birth, address, phone number, email address, and other demographic data? Such information is fundamental to getting the process started and shows an interest in you by the advisor. If they aren’t sufficiently detail oriented and thorough at this level, it does not augur well for the rest of the experience.
Do they ask about your personal likes and preferences to include such things as where you would dine to celebrate something really special? Not surprisingly, this one data bit most often eliminates all but two or three options. And remember — there are no right or wrong answers. For some, dining is simply a way to refill the fuel tank with simple foods. For others, special dining includes fine china and place settings, epicurean-level appetizers, elegant main dishes with savory sauces, and a desert that leaves you talking to yourself.
Do they ask about rooming preferences? For some, if the sheets are clean and the door locks, that’s enough. For others, a suite with thousand-count linens, a pillow menu, marble tile, gold fixtures, and a heated towel rack are but starting points.

A travel advisor worth her/his weight in gold, will make an effort to get to know you, your past travel experiences as well as your travel dreams and aspirations.

They should also be asking you:

What was the most enjoyable vacation you ever took? You’re more likely to enjoy your next vacation if it has some of the elements from a past pleasant experience.
What was the least enjoyable vacation you ever took?
What ships have you sailed on before and what were your likes and dislikes of each general type?
Where do you want to go on your next cruise and how long would you like to be gone?
Do you have any small-ship cruise lines or ships in mind?
What is your expectation for your next cruise? Do you want to be up and off the ship every day, or sail leisurely along the countryside, or some of both?
Are you interested in planning some time traveling on land before of after your cruise? If your small-ship cruise is sailing out of Amsterdam, Juneau, Hanoi or one of the many appealing ports of embarkation around the world, a travel advisor can help plan a pre- or post-cruise itinerary.
What is your planned overall budget? The advisor to choose will be the one who works toward using only about 80% or so of your budget for the cruise and transportation to the ship. They know that shore excursions, sightseeing, shopping, and similar are an integral part of the overall vacation and won’t exhaust the budget with just the cruise.

The net result in this exercise will be to put you in well-qualified hands that free you up to do other things beside reinvent the wheel on small-ship cruising.

And so the best part is that using a professional travel advisor not only costs no more than doing all the work yourself, but may indeed cost less or produce a higher value through discounts, amenities, and other add-ons that the advisor has available through their consortium or other marketing channels.

Where Can You Find One of These Superstar Travel Advisors?

Look locally first. While not necessary, someone local may be more reassuring when choosing a travel advisor. Start over at www.vacation.com, and select Find A Travel Agent. You’ll find multitudinous options and choices to find an agent near you that specializes in the criteria you select.

You’ll find the staff at Just Cruisin’ Plus in Brentwood, TN (800 888-0922, www.justcruisinplus.com or www.jcp.travel), and the folks at Cruise Holidays in Kansas City, MO (800 869-6806, www.cruiseholidayskc.com), to be especially helpful.

You owe it to yourself to give it a try.