Thursday, December 10, 2009

Travel Insurance is a Great Reassurance

10 December 2009

The regional sales manager for Travel Guard Travel Insurance visited our office yesterday. He reinforced in our minds why the addition of travel insurance should be a “no brainer” when travelling on long trips or in foreign destinations.

Numerous times we’ve seen “unforeseen events” cause a vacation to be cancelled, or curtailed. The peace of mind afforded by an inexpensive travel insurance policy is priceless—when it’s needed! And, if the policy is not used, it at least prevented sleepless night worrying about missing a ship, or getting sick while travelling abroad.

Whether it’s a luxury cruise, a getaway to a wonderful island beach, or any other major travel adventure, we always insist on adding travel insurance. And, now Travel Guard and Access America have amazing concierge services around the world which can be used at no charge to get assistance 24/7 in English. Next time you see a medical emergency in a faraway land, think how you might respond if it happened to you. Good travel insurance is always the best bet.

Cold Weather Spurs Dreams of Warm Getaways

8 December 2009
Cold Canadian air had everybody bundling up to keep warm. For those of us who sell cruises and vacations in warm and wonderful places, the weather was a positive. People start planning their vacations when it’s coooold outside!

We have a few holiday travelers who soon will be departing for their escapes in the Caribbean, Hawaii and Mexico. They can be certain that the temperature will be in the 1980s, and the beach sand will be white and inviting. In their destinations they will find holiday decorations with a tropical flair suitable for Hawaiian shirts and Bermuda shorts.

Tonight we will hear news about the biggest cruise ship ever built—Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas, and get a first-hand account of its debut activities in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. We’ll report more on this tomorrow.

Friday, December 4, 2009

Oasis of the Seas Makes First Caribbean Cruise

4 December 2009

This morning I was looking at the internet story about the first revenue sailing of the world’s largest cruise ship, Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas on Saturday. For some reason they wanted to make comparisons to the Titanic—even though the Oasis if four times larger and packed with 21st century safety equipment.

There’s little doubt the Oasis will have it fans and its detractors. Fans included those who were enamored about the ship’s seven different neighborhoods, it’s full length zip line, its open air aqua theatre and its indoor balconies. The detractors just couldn’t get over its size. They didn’t think it looked attractive, and they were aghast at having to rub shoulders with 6,000 other passengers. However, from the general tone, these were folks who don’t like cruising even if they ever took one!

Remember the introduction of the first 747 when no airport was thought to be able to handle them, nor could they deal with the more than 300 passengers the giant jet could carry. Somehow it all worked out and travel by 747 or its even larger airbus competitor is now routine. The same can be said for the Oasis, because Royal Caribbean has spent more than a billion dollar in building and planning for the ship’s entry into service. Sure they may have a few hiccups, but their plan looks like a good one for handling any potential problem.

Welcome to the Oasis, we’ll be getting a first hand report on introduction activities at the Cruise Holidays of Woodinville store at 6PM on December 8th by the Pacific Northwest Regional Sales director for RCI, Vikki Knudsen. Space is still available for this event.

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Airfares Bewilder Even Travel Professionals

3 December 2009

We had the opportunity to listen in to a webinar this morning about a new international air service program available through Cruise Holidays. Talk about a confusing maze! The airlines change fares an average of 6,000 times a day, how can anyone stay on top of their pricing structure?

A good example was over the recent Thanksgiving holiday. We looked at round trip air from Seattle to Fort Lauderdale to attend the Oasis of the Seas preview. We found that traveling on late Thursday evening on the redeye flight the cost would be $175, but the return on Sunday would be $400—a total price of about $600 with taxes. Usually we can find roundtrip fares on this route at prices below
$350. So, we chose not to pay the super-premium price for the airfare.
We always tell our cruise vacation customers that their air portion of their trip will be the least satisfactory part of their experience--because it always is. Gone are the days of civilized air travel, now we have transportation more like that of the Greyhound Corporation (no affront meant to the hound) than that of refined air travel. Still, air is a great convenience so we all just have to grin and bear and know that the flight will end soon

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Trains, Boats and Planes 2K10

2 December 2009

Yesterday we learned about the 2010 plans for the Rocky Mountaineer Private Train. From either Vancouver or Calgary, this super-luxury train is a fantastic way to experience Canada’s Rocky Mountains. It’s even possible to make the trip a trans-continental trip connecting with Canada’s VIA Rail all the way to Toronto or Montreal.

The Rocky Mountaineer people have recaptured the “golden age” of rail travel with white glove service, vista-domes and gourmet dining on wheels. While quite expensive, this is a special kind of product for the real rail fan who enjoys the best of rail travel.

Actually, very little is new with air, except that Cruise Holidays of Woodinville now has access to air prices and options on international air that could find that great price for a trip across any big pond.

And as far as boats are concerned, with the debut of the Oasis of the Seas from Royal Caribbean as the world’s largest cruise ship, and the pending arrival of Norwegian’s Epic, there’s lots of new excitement in cruising.

The year 2010 or 2K10 as it’s called on the Golf Channel looks to be a much improved year for vacation travel of any kind.

Holidays Time to Recharge

1 December 2009

At today’s Cruise Holidays of Woodinville sales meeting the discussion of the office Christmas Party came into discussion. Apart from setting a date, this is an event which is eagerly anticipated. It’s an occasion when we can celebrate the hard work of a past year with co-workers.

Many of the customers of our business look at their cruise or land vacation as their own time for celebration. Through the celebratory process, personal energy is often recharged. Rest, fun and a little pampering can work miracles in this era of super fast, high stress life styles. We all need a little time for getting our attitudes adjusted by stepping away from the pressures of our day to day existence.

One of the nice things about the Holidays is that most everybody seems to be in good spirits and their attitude is contagious. Whether on a luxury cruise, on an exotic beach or someplace you’ve always wanted to be, it’s almost a certainty you’ll fill up your personal battery reservoir and be ready to smack down whatever challenges might come your way after the holidays end.

Post Thanksgiving Day Thoughts

28 November 2009

Yesterday the games store in our shopping complex was open bright and early to take advantage of “Black Friday” They had all of their Christmas decorations up and even had a few door-buster specials to lure in their customers. And, it looked to me like quite a few customers could be seen in the parking lot with new games under their arms.

It’s funny how the concept of pre-dawn sales has become so much of a magnet in our society. I guess the lure of a 50 inch plasma television, or a 2 karat diamond—or the latest computer game release has appeal to a certain group of consumers. In this economy, value shopping has become king.

In the cruise and vacation business we often find kind of the counter-culture consumer who is more interested in getting away from shopping madness and finding the perfect getaway. All of us need a little recharging from time to time and these folks relish the thought of a sanity break on a fabulous cruise ship or a wonderful beach resort. And, some like to combine shopping with their break, and they have lots of choices to accomplish their mission either onboard or in markets in places far from their local mall.

It’s great to have the Christmas season officially underway—everyone seems to have more twinkles in their attitude, and we like that.

Happy Thanksgiving

25 November 2009

There’s little doubt that 2009 has been a really tough year for nearly everybody. We felt helpless to do much to try and change the mindset of our customers who were intimidated by the avalanche of news that painted nothing but doom and gloom.

We noted a turning point last June when low prices and pent-up demand seemed to reach a tipping point. Instead of folks planning a cruise six to nine months in advance, we saw customers buying cruises six to nine weeks in advance and sometimes even closer in! We saw a rush which was heartening to our business survival. And even better news, for us, consumer booking patterns are looking more like the traditional model as cruise lines and land based-resorts are offering early booking deals to capture early commitment from vacation buyers!

This is a time of the year to dwell on giving thanks. Cruise Holidays of Woodinville was thrilled to be selected as part of the President’s Circle for 2009, giving us top 20 store status for the year. Both Steve and I give thanks that the folks who work at Cruise Holidays of Woodinville are dedicated travel professionals who are committed to delivering great customer service.

It’s our hope that our Thanksgiving thanks for 2009 will be dwarfed by the potential we see for a great 2010, and we wish that for everyone who comes in contact with us.

Optimism Abounds as Cruise Industry Adds Two

24 November 2009

Maybe you caught the hoopla surrounding the arrival of the world’s largest cruise ship, Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas. Holding more than 5,000 passengers this 220,000 ton megaship has seven neighborhoods instead of mundane decks. So far the reviews have been over the top in praise for this innovative new ship.

Royal’s biggest competitor, Carnival also brought its newest ship, the Dream into operation with a New York arrival. And, early reports sound very good about what this ship features for cruise vacationers.

Between them, they represent more than 8,000 passengers a week. The two biggest cruise companies are confident they can fill their new additions. That’s good news for consumers because prices should remain at their current value levels for the foreseeable future.