Just wanted to say thank you so much for a awesome wedding/moon! You were wonderful with all the planning from beginning to end. I was so impressed with you from the first moment we spoke. You were the only travel agent who responded immediately and had information to me within a hour to start planning my "destination wedding"!
At times I know it was a bit challenging trying to get my guest to pay. I thank you so much for your patience with my group. Some of them even stated you were on them like a bill collector(LOL). I feel as though we are family now and all our trips will be planned through About Going Places.
I just wanted to tell you what an absolutely wonderful cruise we had. It was the best vacation ever! Everyone who worked on the ship was so polite and helpful and genuinely nice. All the excursions were perfect. On the whale watching tour, we saw a pod of at least ten hump back whales. They were jumping out of the water, almost like they were putting on a show for us. It was amazing! Even the tour workers were amazed. And thank you for the shipboard credits you gave us. We had such a great time. It was the perfect way to celebrate mty parents' 50th anniversary. We will definitely go on another cruise someday. It was the best.
Flying with a 3 month old is a daunting task. Especially for a first time parent. Well it was for us, anyway. We arrived to Turks and Caicos without a hitch. The airplane had plenty of kids on it, so we didn’t feel like all eyes were on us. “Oh, man, I hope they aren’t sitting behind us”
The transfer to the resort is supposed to be 20 minutes. Well, for the first time in history a time estimate in the Caribbean was long. We were at the resort in like 10-12 minutes. Our butler greeted us. Yes, I said butler. We had a suite that had butler service included. Anyway, our butler greeted us with bottles of water and took us to our room. We unpacked all of our bags and got Joshua settled in.
The resort is broken up into three villages. The Caribbean, the French and the Italian. The Italian village is very new and absolutely beautiful. Even the base level room is wonderfully appointed. You walk into the room and there is a “kids” area. The whole thing is built-ins. Bunk beds with a trundle, sink, and flat screen TV with a video game system. Then you get to the closet, bathroom and the parent’s room with a cute little balcony. It was a very well thought out design. Pretty impressive for an all inclusive resort.
The French village is great. This is where the water parks and slides are. We all tried out the body surf pool. My first try was successful. Not so much on the second one. I chose a smaller board and hit the bottom. So I am sitting there with this rushing river of water going up my nose. That was my last time on the body surf pool. The village has a place to get a great cup of espresso and pastries. There is also a stage that they did talent and fashion shows for the kids.
The Caribbean village is set up with the main reception and a few restaurants. The Sesame Street kid’s camp is located there, as well. The pool at the Caribbean village is more of the “party” pool. Swim up bar, water volleyball and music playing.
I have to say I was very pleased with the food. All of the restaurants did a great job. When I ordered the Jerk Chicken from the grill I was very pleased to see the grill man pull the chicken out of a smoker. Normally at resorts in the islands places will just slap on a “Jerk Sauce” and bake it in an oven. Not even close to the real Jerk technique. Well, it was just great. Fun menu items like ostrich in a blueberry sauce, seafood risotto, and calzones stuffed with chocolate and bananas were at the restaurants. They have Southwest cuisine, island, Italian, seafood, sushi, Japanese steakhouse, pub food, BBQ and even a 50’s style diner open 24 hours.
Having the butler was an amenity that took our vacation to the next level. We never had to worry about getting a table at the more popular restaurants or a seat by the pool. When we wanted lunch in our cabana by the pool, we just called on our cell phone that was given to us at check in and ordered whatever we wanted. It was brought to us quickly and with a true smile. The service was over the top. It wasn’t a situation where we felt like we were asking too much. Our butlers kept suggesting different things that they could do for us. They also would just show up unannounced with a plate of fresh fruit or a pizza, just in case. Dacia over heard that my birthday was coming up and the next thing we know I had a beautiful birthday cake brought to our table at dinner.
The beach and ocean at Turks and Caicos is really wonderful. Soft powder white sand and turquoise crystal clear water. The gym at the spa had current well placed equipment and a really nice outdoor calisthenics area.
Overall, I was very impressed with the entire resort. It really was the perfect location for our multi generational family vacation. We will be back.
I had looked forward to my trip to Australia and New Zealand for as long as I remember. It was always too long of a flight or too expensive or a hundred other reasons to put off traveling to these amazing destinations. When you love to travel as much as I do, you find a way. So, after saving vacation time and money we were off to 3 wonderful weeks in heaven.
Flying to Los Angeles and then Melbourne was by far my longest trip ever. Melbourne is a cultural melting pot. Victoria’s capital city delights with an abundance of sights steeped in history and charm. I was overwhelmed with the St Patrick’s Cathedral, Victoria’s Market and the Royal Botanical Gardens. Having dinner about at the Colonial Tram Car Restaurant ended our stay in Melbourne.
The Aboriginal experience was one of my most unexpected highlights of this trip. The up close and personal interaction with them was a delight to my senses. I found I could not stop staring at them. They have the most prominent facial features. The color of their skin is dark, but that is from living everyday of their lives outdoors.
Onto Ayer Rock…..and what a rock! It is located in Uluru and it took us two days to explore all of the mazes and crevasses. Late in the afternoon we took chairs and dined on wine and cheese. As the sun set below the rocks all of the colors changed and it was quite a beautiful sight.
Our next stop was the Great Barrier Reef and a day aboard the high-tech catamaran to swim and snorkel. We stayed on the Tree House Resort the next day and did the nature trails in this wonderful rain forest.
Finally we arrived in Sydney. I had set up two personal goals: 1. To take a balloon ride over the cutback which we did when we were in Alice Springs, and 2. To climb the Sydney Bridge. It took as much courage as I could muster, but low and behold, I did it! The experience taught me that I can do anything I set my mind to; I just have to do it. We saw the most fabulous show, Billy Elliot, at the Opera House. Sydney is by far one of my favorite cities.
On to New Zealand and Auckland. We stayed at the Langham and I love that chain. Waiheke Island is paradise for nature lovers with sugar sand beaches and some of the country’s top wineries. The next day we drove to Rotorua which is set on the edge of one of the most volcanic areas in the world. We ended our 3 week trip in my favorite town in New Zealand, Queenstown. This fairytale like city is surrounded by water and snow capped mountains. A perfect ending to an amazing vacation.
(CNN) -- If you've booked travel online, you may have been there.
Online travel sites flooded with overwhelming options, all claiming the best deals. Extra fees nestled into the fine print amid blaring advertisements. Pounding 16 digits into the telephone after you've booked the wrong flight before finally getting a human voice.
A few weeks ago, Darin Kaplan, a tech-savvy 27-year-old California restaurant manager, clicked his mouse hundreds of times, surfing the vast choices offered by online travel booking Web sites like Expedia.com and Orbitz.com to plan his 28th birthday cruise to Mexico before he gave up in frustration.
"It's a cut-and-paste experience when you're booking online. None of these sites are going to tell me what I can do with different options," said Kaplan, who uses the Internet for many purchases, including his basketball shorts and music tickets. "Travel agents know what they are talking about. It's more comforting to hand my money to someone who has the knowledge and experience."
Some travelers like Kaplan are finding themselves defecting from travel booking sites like Travelocity.com or airline sites like Delta.com. They are going back the travel agent, an industry that many industry experts once thought to be passé with the advent of online booking.
Fewer travelers are enjoying using the Web to plan and buy trips, according to a study last week by Forrester Research, a market research company. About 46 percent of U.S. leisure travelers enjoyed using the Internet to book travel this year, down from 53 percent in 2007.
Difficult site navigation and presentation on travel company sites and hotel and airline sites are causing a growing number of travelers to shift away from the Web and consider using alternative methods of booking travel.
"People are saying 'I don't understand my options, and I would like to talk to someone who can do all the searching and tell me what's available,' " said Henry Hartevelt, the analyst who wrote the Forrester study. "Major travel agencies have absolutely failed in their responsibility to innovate and think of creative new ways to help their customers shop."
In the brick-and-mortar travel agent model, a trained agent meets with the traveler in person or establishes a relationship over the phone. For a fee, they discuss the travel options they have researched.
These travel agencies began losing their monopoly on the industry during the late 1990s, when airlines began to sell tickets online and travel giants like Expedia.com exploded onto the scene, quickly gobbling market share by introducing the quick, do-it- yourself model.
In 1995, there were 37,000 brick-and-mortar travel agencies, according to the American Society of Travel Agents. Now, only 18,000 exist after many merged or folded.
"What the Internet has done is given us a nation that knows the price of everything and the value of nothing," said Bill Maloney, CEO of the American Society of Travel Agents. "How do you know if a hotel is actually a good value or if it's overpriced? You have these online generalists and these individual specialists."
Travel agent Nancy Cutter of Court Travel Ltd. in Charlotte, North Carolina, and a half-dozen other agencies across the country say they have experienced a surge in returning clients, who said travel Web sites were confusing and unhelpful.
In several instances, brick-and-mortar agents say they were able to offer deals at the same price as, and even undercut, the travel agent models, dispelling the belief that the cheapest rate is online.
Travel agents have deals with suppliers that can sometimes enable them to offer lower prices than on the Web. They also have time to cancel tickets for free, compared with some non-refundable tickets sold on the Web. Expedia.com said it recently waived the fee for travelers changing certain flights.
"Just because you can go out and buy Turbo Tax doesn't mean it's the best answer for everyone," Cutter said. "Some people will still go to an accountant. Booking travel can get complicated, and it's just not as easy as it looks."
Travel agents don't discount the value of online travel agencies, which can be useful for booking simple, short trips, but they say complex itineraries require more expertise from a professional. Many online travel companies agree that an agent may be valuable in planning a detailed honeymoon that includes a tour of vineyards in France or a family excursion to top snorkeling and kangaroo-watching destinations in Australia.
"If you're the type of traveler who needs hand-holding up front, then sure, a travel agent would be great, but you can usually find that same information on the Web," said Brian Ek, a spokesman for Priceline.com, a travel company famous for letting bidders set their own price. He said the agents available by phone at his company can help facilitate a sale and customize cruises for travelers.
Online travel companies say they have made functionality improvements on their sites in recent years. For example, Expedia.com, the world's largest online travel agency, offers a tool that can let customers compare seats on an airplane, with ratings on how comfortable a seat is and how much leg room is available. They also have hotel reviews and even Web tours of rooms to help travelers decide.
Our trip to St Lucia was part fact-finding, part vacation.We went to check on some properties/resorts and also do a bit of lounging, as well.We started the trip at the Discovery at Marigot Bay a small resort on Marigot Bay.Discovery is a Small Leading Hotel, so it is very well appointed.The grounds are very lush and well done. We took a snorkeling trip straight from the resort.Our boat trip took us around the exquisite Pitons and put us down in front of a small resort.The snorkeling was great.If you are skittish about being in the ocean don’t sweat it.The reef was right off of the beach and full of fish and coral.Discovery is located on an incline so this gives wonderful views of the bay area.This also leads to some good hill walking.If you have difficulty walking this might not be the best place for you.I am sure the hotel would be glad to help with their many golf carts, though.
I loved the rooms.We aren’t the type of people who need massive hotel rooms, but we do like well-appointed rooms.The rooms were sleek and slightly modern in design with rich woods and each room had a Nespresso Coffeemaker in it.I like my coffee right when I wake up. The pool area is very nice, great lounge chairs, enough umbrellas and a separate children’s area.The resort isn’t on a beach, but you can take a 2-minute shuttle to the other side of the bay to their private beach.We only stayed a couple of nights here.It rained on us pretty good most of the time while we were at Discovery.I had phoned ahead and requested nice weather, but you just can’t get good service anymore.The food was nice and the service was up to par with the Leading Hotels of the World.
In between resorts we toured the Landings, a very large resort property where you can purchase homes or just book a vacation.The rooms are very large and very well appointed.Full Miele kitchens, nice bathrooms, the whole shebang!The Landings has many pools, restaurants and lots of space.
The last leg of our trip was at the Sandals Regency St Lucia, the largest of the three Sandals resorts on St Lucia.One of the great things about Sandals’ properties is the ability to visit all of the local properties and still enjoy the all-inclusive amenities.Everything is very easy there.Check-in was no problem (not the norm for me), so we were by the pool within minutes of arriving.It took us a day to have the whole place scoped out.We found a private sitting area by the pool and chilled out there all day.We dined at Gordon’s restaurant at the Grande St Lucian.It is on a pier over the water, very romantical.The food and service were on the high end for an all-inclusive resort.
When Lauren and I go to a beach vacation we embody the relaxed atmosphere in full.Lazy mornings flow into even lazier afternoons.Sandals really assisted us in not having to run around chasing quick restaurant opening and closing times.Even when we did miss a lunch at a specific place we wanted to eat there is always somewhere to dine.We got a table at the Japanese steakhouse and sat with a group of Canadians.I usually don’t like the Canadians* (they are WAY too nice, what is with that?), but this group was hilarious.Holy crap did we laugh a lot.The St Lucian Japanese Steak house chef guy didn’t really know what to do with us.
*This is a joke; I don’t want to hear from the Canadian Anti-Defamation League.
My second China experience was vastly different than it was in 1996. We encountered vast cities of almost inexplicable complexities. Not to mention markets, breathtaking landscapes and temples, shrines, museums, palaces and of course The Great Wall Of China. The Yangtze River Cruise is a once in a lifetime journey. Remember The Three Georges Dam is going to change forever and I wanted to see it in the building stage.
We flew into Beijing right when the swine flu hit China. We had our temperature checked at every airport on all arrivals and departures. We did take flu medication just in case we needed it when visiting one of the tiny towns on the river. Talking about tiny towns--- in China that is over a million people .Our first tour took us to Tiananmen Square and as in 1996 I still got goose bumps just remembering all the students that gave up their lives to further the cause of freedom---on to the Forbidden City and the story of the last emperor. On our drive through the city we saw the Birds Nest—home of the 2008 Olympics. That evening we went to experience Peking Duck Dinner and than the Beijing Opera. The Opera was much more digestible than the duck. The next day we visited the “Temple Of Haven” and witnessed the senior citizens in all their glory. They are out in masses, dancing, exercising, playing all kinds of card games and having concerts with all seniors playing the instrument that they grew up loving----what a joy to see.
Next stop on the itinerary was Xian and the Terra Cotta Warriors. These life size soldiers have been unearthed and are the size of 3 football fields, and they are still in the process of excavating more. This evening we had a special Tang Dynasty Dinner and Theater Performance. The talent was unbelievable and customs were by far more extravagant than any Broadway show I have seen----on to the Yangtze River and a little relaxation. Going through the locks is very interesting and seeing the Three Gorges Dam is a site I will never forget. I feel 3 nights on the river was all I needed to experience the Yangtze and was ready to return to our land journey.
I had been in Shanghai in 1996 and what I experienced in 2009 was unbelievable. The skyscrapers and international companies just blow your mind. We drove miles to our hotel in Shanghai and the skyscrapers went on and on. The next day we went sightseeing that included The Bund Waterfront, Nanjing Road, The Yu Yuan Garden and the Children’s Palace. We had been looking forward to a free day to get body and foot massages and experience China on our own.
We get up early the next day for our plane ride to Guilin. On my previous trip this was my favorite city and I was not surprised that it lived up to my expectations. We had an all day excursion to the Old Town Of Daxu to walk among the minority people. We took a night cruise down the river in Guilin and it is lit up like a Christmas Wonderland. We also experienced the Cormorant Fisherman. I had been looking forward to our final day in Guilin with a cruise down the Li River. I guess no matter how many times I see it my eyes will be overwhelmed with the magnificent landscapes.
Finally our last stop---Hong Kong. This is the most westernized of the cities in China. All the buildings are built along the waterfront and we took a boat to the Floating Village. Our guide drove us to see our last site. Repluse Bay and shopping at Stanley Market. We rested up that night for our flight home. I loved my experience---- “Of East Meets West”---See you soon.
AGP Travel Blog
