Saturday Morning Coffee 6/27/09

Good morning everyone. My Saturday started a little earlier than usual for me today for some reason. Maybe because Jaylee, my 5 year old niece, stayed with us last night and slept with her aunt Lindsey in our bed. The other bed in our house is actually the one I grew up with but I must have been a lot tougher back then because it makes my back hurt now. Boy, getting old stinks. Any way we have had a good time playing, making pizza, and lemonade.
Instead of talking about the 3rd cruise line in my little mini-series, Norwegian, I am going to put that off until one day next week. I want to spend today talking about what types of trips you will need to be thinking about now to get the best deals and availability as we head into late summer all the way through next spring. As with every thing I have dealt with so far in the travel business, the earlier you plan the better! I have this question presented to me on an almost weekly basis, "If I wait until right before I travel will I get a better deal?" My answer is always possibly, but I sure wouldn't risk it. Here is the short version, if there are any great last minute deals it is normally within 3 weeks of the travel date. 90% of the people I know have jobs and families, thus ruling out short notice vacations. My goal in life is to be young enough, free enough, and financially stable enough to be that kind of retiree one day. This doesn't even take into consideration that a lot of the most popular forms of travel sell-out. As far as the pricing goes during normal booking periods, it is always cheaper to book early. If possible up to a year in advance will net you the best deals. It is simple economics. Lets just use cruising for an example. The cruise lines look at their capacity 12 months before any sail date and see they have only booked 5% of the cabins on board. Well it only makes sense to put out to the public a rock bottom cruise rate, hoping to attract groups and buzz about the fare in general. It works, and now 8 months from sail date they have 60% of the cabins booked...guess what? Yep now the rates are creeping up, up, and up, all the way until the last couple weeks when they realize there are only 10 cabins left at which they put on that fire-sale that the rich retiree's, mentioned above, gobble up. I have seen this first hand with a large group I have cruising in Jan. 2010. I first held the space in Feb. and rates have gone up three times since then for a total of about $100 per person! Enough of the economics here are some things to think about going forward:

Fall Idea: New England foliage tour! We have several tour companies that have these tours. Most of them start in Boston and are from 7-9 days long. The best time to see the best color is from late Sept thru mid-Oct. Most go into Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine.

Winter Idea: Snow skiing! Anywhere in the Rockies will do. Maybe Utah, Colorado, or Wyoming. The best season is Jan. thru March.

Spring Idea: Since a large majority of you have children and have to work around spring break Disney World is a great choice for our area! Usually in March the weather isn't unbearable yet and the crowds are smaller. One tip, try to avoid the week of Easter, it is one of Disney's busiest weeks of the year.

Summer Idea: Alaskan Cruise!! This is one of my must do before I die trips. I have never heard one bad word from anyone who has taken an Alaskan cruise. The season runs from late May thru early September and the best accommodations sell out quick. If this is a trip you want to take summer of 2010 you seriously need to call me now!

In closing, I will say due to 95% our geographic location the Caribbean and all its forms of travel are open year round. This is a good thing because winter rates are cheaper at resorts and cruise lines. Since we are situated so close to most every cruise port we can really take advantage of some great deals that normally begin after Labor Day weekend and run through mid-May.

Saturday Morning Coffee 6/20/09

Good morning, as most of you already know it had been a wild week here in Dothan for the Lee's. Not to tell this story for the 1000th time I will just say we had to put all 4 of our cats down due to a fight with a rabid raccoon. The good news is that Linds nor me got bitten/scratched in the whole ordeal so we have that to be thankful for. If there any readers out there not living in our area let me tell you that this has been the hottest week I can ever remember this early in the summer. For the last 3-4 days we have hit triple digits with an even higher heat index. I literally walked over to my neighbor's house and back yesterday and had wet my t-shirt when I got back in. It reminds me of a sauna and we are not going to have any relief for a couple more days!
Today we will carry on with our cruise market-segmentation from our last post. I would like to tell you about Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. RC is also considered a first-class cruise line and, in my opinion, along with Carnival the most popular cruise lines out there. Let me preface all the following information by saying that I am Royal Caribbean "cruise-expert" based on tons and tons of online training and reading, however I have never been on a RC ship at all. I do think that I have talked to enough customers, trained, and booked plenty RC cruises to have a firm grip on what they have to offer.
Like Carnival, RC is a very up-beat ship with lots to do on-board. Their slogan is "the nation of why not?". RC is the only cruise line that has both an ice skating rink and a surfing simulator on board some of their ships! They also have a rock climbing wall on all their ships. They use these features heavily in their advertisements asking "why not" ice skate in the middle of the Caribbean? They also, in addition to tons of other eating venues on-board, have a Johnny Rocket's 50's style diner on every ship. One key difference between RC and Carnival is the decorations on-board RC's ships. You may remember I told you in the previous post that Carnival's decorating was very gaudy, almost over bearing in my opinion. That is not the case with RC. RC ships have a more subtle approach that appeals to me much more, but maybe not the kids as much. The closest RC port to the Wiregrass area is Tampa or Pt Canaveral, FL. They also have medium to extremely large ships in their fleet. This November the Oasis will make her maiden voyage coming in at 230,000 tons!! That is 100,000 tons larger than Carnival's newest ship. I can't even get my brain around how huge this thing will be. The cruise we went on in March was a 55,000 ton ship.
The staterooms are about average size as compared to other first class cruise lines, comfortable but not lots of extra space unless you book a suite. The activities and entertainment are top notch and there is plenty to do all day and night. I have people who have never cruised say they would be bored on sea days and my response is only if you choose to be. RC has an extensive kid program that caters to all children up to 18 years old so parents can enjoy a little alone time on sea days. I always like to ask my customers which cruise line they prefer between RC and Carnival and 95% always choose RC. I know one thing for sure, if I ever get the money set aside for it I will definitely be taking a Royal Caribbean cruise.
Jeremy

Saturday Morning Coffee 6/6/9

Good morning to everyone today. Boy, 5:15 A.M. has come entirely too early today. I participated in a charity poker tournament last night in Hartford, my home town. I didn't win, or even get close for that matter, but I did have a great time with some people I haven't seen or been around in a long time. I didn't get in this morning until about 12AM only because I wisely chose to leave them going strong. The reason I had to get up so early is because Linds and I are helping with the Poplar Head Farmer's Market downtown today. Our church, First Baptist, and the Downtown Group and joined together to start this event and it will go on every Saturday in June and July. I really hope everything goes really well for the participating farmers. There are also going to be some arts and crafts there but since they are calling it a "farmers market" I hope that is predominatly the theme. I guess I have, and always will, a soft spot in my heart for farmers since that is what my dad did until I was 18 years old.

What I would like to start today and then continue for the next several post is a more detailed description of each of the most popular cruise lines as a follow up on the market-segmentation blog from a few weeks back. I will start in the "first-class" segment of cruise lines. These are the most recognizable, affordable cruises offered today. Carnival Cruise Lines is a name I am sure all of you recognize. Baring any specials or promotions I have found them to also be the least expensive cruise line. They are retiring their ship currently in Mobile, the Holiday, this year which will put their smallest ship afloat at around 70k tons. That means all of their ships are mid-sized or larger. The trend now in the first-class segment with their new ships is bigger is better! Carnival's newest ship, the Dream (due out in November this year), is going to be 130,000 tons! Also a good piece of information is she will be docked in Port Canaveral so we will have easy access from the Wiregrass area.

Carnival's theme is "fun for all, all for fun"! That is a very true statment. I have not actually been on a Carnival cruise but I have toured a ship. It is very festive from the time you step onto the ship until the time you get off. The decorations, atmosphere, and overall mood of the ship is always upbeat. If you are looking for a quiet, laid back, relaxing vacation Carnival is not for you. However, if you enjoy a lively good time or have children it may be the perfect match. Carnival really goes all out to make sure the kids have a blast. Like most cruise lines they have activities all day every day just for kids. They also have them divided up by age group and the activities are always age-appropriate.

Carnival's cabins are actually a bit larger than the industry's average and very comfortable. Everyone loves the food and entertainment onboard. I have clients from 21-83 for whom I have booked a Carnival cruise and they love it! I have a huge group going on a high school reunion cruise next Janurary and most of them are older than 65, been on Carnival before, and can't wait to get back on. I could go on and on but due to the fact we have to leave in 20 minutes to head downtown I will stop here. I hope I have shed some light on Carnival for those of you who have not cruised with them. For those of you who have but it has been a long time or on one of their older, smaller ships I highly recommend considering giving them another try...they are doing some really exciting new things these days.
Thank you,
Jeremy

Saturday Morning Coffee 5/30/09

Good morning, good morning! I apologize to any of you who may be regular readers out there for the long delay in posts. Last weekend I just couldn't motivate myself to sit down and do it. I figured most people were out of town for the holiday all the same. I am glad to be back in the chair with my coffee today, I guess I needed a blog vacation and it worked.
May has been a decent month for me business wise. It certainly could have been better but considering I am still only 6 months into this I am very thankful for what I do have. My problem is, and always has been, I have to be the best at whatever I do immediately. I know, I know, most of you are saying what is wrong with that? Well I will tell you. While it is good to strive to be the best, you also have to realize Bill Gates didn't become a billionaire in 6 months...a concept I can't wrap my brain around. My brain knows the slow, steady way a business should grow and knew it very well going in, but some other part of me(emotions I guess) drives me nuts about it. I sat down yesterday afternoon with my spreadsheets and kind of did my own "state of the union" for the first half of the year. Great news, I am exceeding my goals so far for the first year! I know break out the champagne right? Wrong, the last two months have fell short of what I feel I need to average for bookings and I can't stand it. It doesn't matter to me that Jan.-Mar. I absolutely blew the doors off, that just proves I can do more and set a higher standard for myself. It also doesn't matter that my home office calls me to tell me how amazed they are for a guy who knew nothing about the travel industry in November is # 70 out of over 900 agents for the entire company as of mid-April. Sure that made me feel really good at the time, but now two ho-hum months later and I am sitting here whining. Why has business slowed down so much? If I worked harder I bet I could be #1 by December. Then I tell myself "wake up you idiot, if you would have been told back in October where you would be today you would have been pure giddy."
When I woke up this morning I had something totally different I planned on blogging about(it's time to start planning winter travel). Most likely it would have been far more interesting. However, when I sat down my mind went WAY off into left field and you get what you get. The good news is there are three facts to take away from this blog. Fact #1 I told you in my very first blog I would sit down on Sat. mornings and post what ever was on my mind...well you got it today. Fact #2 It is almost like self therapy telling the world about your inner demons because you realize how silly they are and how blessed you are to have what you have. Fact #3 I absolutely love what I do, probably more so than I even thought I would, and will continue to do it for a very, very long time.
Thank you,
Jeremy

NYC Customer Review.

Jeremy,

I wanted to thank you for all of your help and your wonderful service! When we first decided to go to New York City I looked online to find a room. I discovered two things very quickly: 1. The city is absolutely huge and I had NO CLUE where to stay and 2. The rooms are not inexpensive. I needed help so I called you. Can I just say you made this the most pleasurable travel experience I have ever booked? The hotel you booked for us was so perfect!

From the time we got out of the car from the airport until the time we left, the staff at the hotel were wonderful. The hotel itself was extremely impressive. The décor was very modern and chic. We even spotted a celebrity staying there! The location couldn’t have been better. We were right in the heart of Times Square. There was a metro station right on the corner so transportation around the city was no problem at all. We were also literally right next to the place to buy tickets for all of the Broadway shows and we were located where most of the New York City tours originated. We just walked out the door and were ready to see many of the things New York has to offer.

This was the most effortless trip I have ever taken. Not only did you get us a room in the most perfect location for us based on what we like, you got a better deal than I could have ever gotten trying to book the room myself. Wiregrass Travel / Cruise Planners will be the first place I call for all of my future travel needs. I am also going to recommend your services to all of my friends.

Thank you again for all of your help in making this the perfect trip!

Heather and Bo Manry
Locust Grove, Georgia

Saturday Morning Coffee 5/16/09

Good morning. Boy I didn't sleep very much last night at all. Linds and I kept my nephew Tanner, who always sleeps perfectly. Well, that didn't exactly happen . To give you the short version at 2 A.M. he was in here with me playing on the computer. That was the 3rd time he had been up since 9 P.M. He is one of the funniest kids you will ever meet and has a way like I have never seen to "work" his Aunt Lindsey. She came searching for him a few minutes later since he had not returned to the bed from the bathroom...he gave her that mischievous smile and told her we were playing and he wanted to continue to play. He accomplished something that I have never been able to in the 3 years we have been married...a smile at 2 in the morning. Those two have a special bond and even tough I know he loves Uncle Germy I will always be second in this household. That's OK I guess, our oldest niece Jaylee is her Uncle Germy's. Ask anyone in the family and there is no doubt who belongs to who in the special category. For those of you who do not know my family there is also another baby niece named Jenna Kate that will be 1 next month...I have really got to work hard to make sure I secure her love and not her Aunt Lindsey's :) Right now she acts a lot like her daddy and doesn't care if the sun comes up tomorrow, so as of yet she has no favorites. I do know one thing that scares me to death. I am scared to have children of my on because I know how much I love these 3 and can't even imagine what it must feel like when they are your own flesh and blood. I am very much a worrier when it come to the people I love. It drives me nuts if someone in my family is on a road trip and I do not hear from them within the time I think it should have taken to get there.
Anyway, this has had nothing to do with travel, I know. Simple fact is I couldn't think of anything travel related that I felt like getting into today so I went with what was fresh on my mind. What the heck, it's my blog anyway. If nothing else you will know a little more about your travel agent than you did before. As always thank you.
Jeremy

From Someone Else's Prospective

Hello everyone,
A good friend/associate in Texas found this article and I think it is too good not to post the link. It says alot of what I have tried to say in some of my posts, but a whole lot better. I hope you enjoy and as always thank you for reading.
Jeremy

http://www.smartertravel.com/travel-advice/how-to-find-good-cruise-travel-agent.html?id=3164303