Master Cruise Counsellor

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Here I am, a year and a half later, excited to be sharing my news of advancing from an Accredited Cruise Counsellor to a Master Cruise Counsellor.  Yay!!   It was both a personal and a professional goal to move forward through the CLIA Academy.  I received the MCC designation by completion of a comprehensive program of cruise sales training and product instruction, delivered through a combination of extensive classroom training, personal cruise experience and visiting several ships.  This is both fun and rewarding for me, to make a business out of doing something so fun!

A special thanks to my husband Jason for his support (both technical and emotional) along the way.  I have been able to combine my love of cruising with the small business world to help family, friends and new clients experience a great way to vacation – on board a cruise ship!  Thank you to all who have trusted me with your cruise vacations.

I also want to thank those of you who refer me to their friends and family.  As I have said before, this is truly the best compliment.  I look forward to planning many more!

Next goal……..Elite Cruise Counsellor!

Happy Sailing 🙂

 

I Love Good Surprises!

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Guess what?  I just saved six of my clients an average of $250 each for their upcoming cruises!

I had the pleasure of telling several of my clients that I was able to take advantage of new lower cruise pricing for their already booked summer cruise vacations, yay!!  I love delivering good news, especially when it involves saving my clients some hard earned vacation money.

One of the things I do for my clients is keep an eye on their cruise rates after they book in case there is a price drop.   The biggest savings so far happened this week for my clients in Tennessee.

A family of four, Mom and Dad in one stateroom, and the kids across the hall, a whopping $620 for the two staterooms.  They are sailing in July, so final payment hasn’t been made yet and the cruise line adjusted the rate when I called to ask.  Fun!

I was also able to save a co-worker over $300 for her stateroom and over $400 for her cousin’s stateroom, wow!!  This isn’t something that happens every day, so to make it happen for several of my clients all at once is really awesome!

A lot of this depends on the time of year and the itinerary.  Sometimes there is a need for a sale to fill the ship.  I’m just happy it happens once in a while, I love to surprise my clients!

Happy Sailing 🙂

Best Compliment? Your Referrals!

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As my business grows, I am constantly amazed by the great clients that I get to work with.   One of the best parts of my business is when I get a call or email from someone I don’t know, but they have been given my name by a client or friend of mine to help them plan their cruise vacation.   Wow!  I love the trust that this involves.  It warms my heart and makes me smile.  This truly is the best compliment I could receive.

One of my favorite referral stories started with my first client that I had absolutely no connection with, other than the fact that we both live in the Kansas City area.  As an experienced cruiser, Natalie wanted to find a travel consultant that specialized in cruising.

She found my LinkedIn profile by searching for CLIA certified cruise counselors and contacted me.   Not only has she turned out to be a great client, but she has recommended me to friends and family members to help them with their cruise vacations.  The end result is several more clients for me, which I appreciate so much.  Best of all, she is someone I have really enjoyed getting to know :)  Thank you Natalie!

Thanks to all of you that have passed along my name.  I am so fortunate to have a business that I love and clients that are fun to work with.  It is going to be a great year!

Happy Sailing!  🙂

The Queen Mary 2 Rocks…….Literally

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The Queen Mary 2 had her chance to shine as we sailed out of New York City on October 28, 2012… right as super storm Sandy was making her way into the harbor.  Despite the fact that we had 90 mph winds and 30-40 foot swells, the Queen Mary 2 took it all in stride, taking us across the North Atlantic to England right on time 7 days later.  There were moments where we thought to ourselves, “this is the roughest sailing we have EVER been on” and at the same time we were so thankful for the people that designed the QM2 to be able to handle such rough seas.

Moving on to the positives, the QM2 had so many great things to offer:

The only Planetarium at Sea.  The problem was that it was hard to stay awake when watching the presentation while reclined on a rocking ship.

Lecture Series – Cunard Insights.  This is something we have never really experienced before.  The majority of the cruises that we choose to go on have ports of call and family friendly activities going, so this was something new.  And surprisingly AWESOME.  We particularly liked Professor Thurber who talked about the American political system and how it works, specifically related to the 2012 Presidential Election.  Might sound boring, but it was surprisingly interesting and engaging.  There were 3 or 4 other speakers offering lectures on topics such as film history, the Concorde (pilot Tim Orchard) and Mark Butterworth from the Royal Astronomical Society.

 Largest Ballroom and Library at Sea.  I had afternoon tea in the ballroom a.k.a. the Queen’s Room.  It was elegant and obviously very English traditional.  I even got asked to dance!  Should have taken some of the available ballroom dance lessons prior.  :)  The library was always busy and people were checking books out right and left.  There was a bookstore right next to it that had all kinds of items for purchase.

Other than the crazy weather causing really rough seas, we had a great time.  We particularly like the relaxation of no ports of call, we were completely on our own schedule.  There were so many activities that we were never left wanting for something to do.  We especially liked the movies at sea including Arbitrage, Men in Black 3 and Step Up Revolution 3D!

Many other bar/lounge venues to check out on board.  The Golden Lion Pub for fish and chips and live music, the Chart Room for nightly jazz, the Commodore Club for a beautiful view and a pre-dinner drink, a Champagne bar, Sir Samuel’s for coffee, latte or hot cocoa made any way you like it and of course, the Casino.

The Queen Mary 2 offered us a lifetime experience and stories to tell.  Would I do it again, knowing what I know now?  Yes.  Would I sail through another hurricane if I had the choice?  Probably not.  🙂

Happy Sailing!