Norwegian Firsts

Norwegian cruise lines continues to be a pioneer of cruise industry's firsts. check out some new firsts featured on the new EPIC ship.

. The cruise industry’s 1st squash court at sea!

· The cruise industry’s largest chandelier at sea!

· The cruise industry’s 1st purpose-built accommodations for singles at sea!

· The cruise industry’s 1st Blue Man Group at sea!

· The cruise industry’s 1st ‘Big Top’ at sea!

· The cruise industry’s 1st Ice Bar at sea!

· The cruise industry’s 1st Tube Slide and largest bowl slide at sea!

· The cruise industry’s 1st rappelling wall at sea!

· The cruise industry’s largest amount of bowling alleys at sea!

· The cruise industry’s 1st rock climbing wall WITH a water slide going
through it at sea!

· The cruise industry’s 1st curved staterooms at sea!

Dreamworks is coming to the high seas!

Your favorite Dreamworks characters are coming to Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas December 2010. Shrek, Donkey, the Penguins of Madagascar, and more are ready to welcome you and make your cruise experience even more entertaining than ever before!

Some activities available are:

● Aqua Theater show featuring the characters from Madagascar® (As of December 12, 2010)
● Ice skating show featuring characters from How to Train Your Dragon™
● Character Meals
● DreamWorks characters parade
● Photo opportunities with the characters
● 3-D Movie Theater
● First-run Dreamworks films onboard
● Special DreamWorks programming in your stateroom TV
● Adventure Ocean activities with your favorite characters

Activities vary based on ship. See Royal Caribbean's Dreamworks informational page here: http://www.royalcaribbean.com/contentSitelet.do?pagename=dreamworks_main

MSC Cruises

Take a look at how MSC cruises is helping the environment.

See the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6l7V5XE_wIo

Sales, do you really buy more with them?

When you see a sale on any form of travel, does it make you rush to your wallet to pull out the credit or debit card? It should! I wonder which sales are enticing enough to prompt my future clients to make their purchases. Every five minutes we are being bombarded with sales. Just when one is over, if you wait patiently enough, another comes. However, when you wait, your 1st choice is usually gone and sometimes the next sale is not as great as the one you first saw. I have people say all the time they rather book things themselves. Why would you? Travel agents are free. Why would you spend all that time searching for the latest promotions and sales when we get them first thing in the morning in our inboxes and sometimes even sooner than that. It may literally take you hrs or days to do what we do in 20 mins. Did I mention that our services are FREE. You have people that will pay a valet to park their vehicle in an open lot that is right next to the self parking lot, but won’t use an agent. Does that make sense? Sure it does because it is what they want. However, it makes even better sense to use a free service that may help you get some extras you otherwise would know nothing about. Most of us have pricing that either matches the cruise line’s website prices or is lower so there is no harm in contacting us and finding out about the latest sales. Cruise Planners provides on board credit and extra amenities for our clients on dozens of sailings. We don’t call you all the time or harass you about the trip either. We get you booked and send you reminders about when your payments are due. We only contact you concerning any add- ons you may want, tours, flights, transfers, etc. Don’t worry we don’t call you about every single sale that comes out becomes there are too many of them. We won’t call to chat about your day or bother you at your job. We just want to assist you in planning the vacation or cruise you desire. So the next time you are going to book online, call your travel agent first to make sure you aren’t missing out on a great deal! Remember it’s FREE!!!

MSC Theme Cruises

MSC has a couple of theme cruises that allow you to mingle with those who share your same interests. A baseball greats cruise is available for Nov – Feb with various past players in attendance. A culinary and wine cruise is available for those who want to tantalize their taste buds with new flavors. Bridge players can compete and new players can take lessons on the Bridge players sailing. Astrology lovers can exchange ideas and thoughts on the Astral cruise. So many theme cruise are available from multiple cruise and Cruise Planners will help you create your own.

You can’t wait for the wedding to be over. Not because you aren’t in love, you’re just tired of the hassle. The planning is so exhausting that you have not even had a moment to plan your honeymoon. The wedding is less than a few months away and you are trying to decide whether to stay at an all inclusive resort or take cruise. Time is of the essence, but you are just too busy. That is where we come in! Using our services is FREE and we do all the leg work for you. Cruise Planners has a ton of resort options that are offered to our honeymoon clients. Sandals Resorts seems to be one of the most popular choices along with boutique hotels, Palace resorts, and any place recommended by a friend, family member, or trip advisor. You and your fiancee’ are trying to decide where to go and how long your want to stay, but you can’t make up your mind. Then it hits you . . . if I want the Cayman Islands and my fiancee’ wants Jamaica, why not do both on a cruise! Don’t get me wrong, resorts are great, but cruising allows you to sample multiple destinations instead of just one. Most of my clients have asked me for the most popular lines of Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and Norwegian. No one seems to know much about the other major lines available and even the other types of sailing. As a honeymooner, you want the best of the best to commemorate your special occasion and Cruise Planners is here to help. We advise on the different cruise lines, what costs to expect, the types of amenities available, stateroom choices, and the types of cruising to choose from. You can see all the detailed photos and links by going to: www.facebook.com/stokestrips. Don’t forget to “Like” us so you can also see when deals and specials are available as well as current travel news. The information you receive will let you see the benefits of being a Cruise Planners’ client and decide if want an resort stay or the experience of a cruise for your honeymoon.

Oh did I forget to mention the best part . . . you can register your honeymoon as a wedding present! Any Cruise Planners client can give their family and friends the option of paying a portion of their honeymoon as a present.

See us under Wedding Planning and Unique Services on Weddingwire, Martha Stewart Weddings, Wedding Bee, and more!

Princess

Why Princess cruise line? I have a lot of clients who have cruised before and do not know about Princess cruise line. I had the pleasure of touring the Crown Princess with a group of agents. The food was really good and the ship had an elegance all its own. It was nicely decorated with cool tones and an inviting atmosphere. The ship had a certain warmth about it. The host was very nice and made sure we got a chance to see the staterooms and and the different areas of the ship. The personal choice features details the many reasons to make this ship on your "to do" list. It is not the same experience as you would get on a mass market ship like Carnival. The guests are more relaxed on board, but still get to enjoy the best in entertainment and fun. When you have moment, be sure to check out www.princess.com.

The true cost of cruising

I get customers each day who want the best cruise deals around. Great idea to be economical. Bad idea to compromise value in doing so. What a dilemma. How then do we get great value at a good price? Plan Ahead and Go Ahead! Who says you can't have a balcony or a suite? If you want to cruise around the world for your 50th wedding anniversary, then do it! No one is stopping you, but you. I am going to simply show you how you can enjoy the best in life and afford it! Right now Royal Caribbean has a suite for $899 on a 4 night Caribbean cruise. Sure you could opt for the interior stateroom, but you deserve better. If each person had put away $100 a month for a year, they could travel and have money left over to shop or enjoy a shore excursion while staying in a suite. If you only travel once a year, make it the best experience it could be! Some cruise lines reward those staying in higher category stateroom by giving double sailing credit. Holland America has such a program. If you sail for a number of days in a suite for example 30 days, then you get credit for sailing for 60 days. The frequent cruiser program will automatically give you the rewards that go along with those who have sailed for 60 days. They even have a benefit that allows a 3rd and 4th guest to sail free on select sailings. If grandparents are sailing during the summer months, the grandkids can come along too!

Cougars vs Swingers and Alternative Lifestyles

As some of you may already know, Carnival Cruise Lines has announced that it will no longer have Cougar cruises at this time. Royal Caribbean and Norwegian however, have decided to continue with the idea. Carnival is now allowing a swingers cruise on board. No details as to why the decision was made, but it must have been in the best interest of the cruise line to do so. Makes you wonder what in the world could have happened that they were not allowed back on board. The new swingers cruise has a list of rules and regulations that each passenger must comply with. It is a full charter cruise ship so there is no risk of anyone not wanting to engage in such activities to stumble upon a playful adult oriented romp. No children are allowed of course. Certain areas will be designated for playful activities as well as nudity allowed at the pool. This is not a cruise for the faint at heart. Make sure that if you decide to go on such a cruise that your agent provides you with a list of rules in writing to read before even taking payment. Breaking the rules is grounds for disembarkation form the ship at the next port of call. Full details are provided at Cruise Log. This Cruise Planners location is not able to book into this swingers cruise group because it is put together by a different company, but we can plan one upon request. We also book all inclusive resorts that cater to adults who like alternative and adult lifestyles such as Hedonism II and III in Jamaica and Desire in the Mayan Riviera, Mexico. We do not want to put anyone in any environment that makes them uncomfortable, therefore, customers will be required to sign a form that lists the rules in writing to verify that they have read and understand the nature of the resorts before booking.

World Cruising

The trip of a lifetime is a world cruise. So many cruise lines have adopted these type itineraries. You can do over 100 days or you can do a segment of it. One exciting choice is on Princess Cruise Lines. You can also choose from Cunard, Holland America, and more. You definitely should consult an agency for a world cruise. A world cruise is full of various ports with rules and regulations for different countries. As cruise agents, we have on going training that allows us to get the latest information about local government and worldwide changes in the travel industry. It is very hard to gather this information on your own due to time constraints. If you are a working professional with a family, then you already have priorities. Using us as your agency is free of charge so why wouldn't you let us have the opportunity to help you plan the vacation of your dreams. We do all the work based on what you desire. Some destinations require visas and passports. Other destinations have rules about public behavior and dress codes. Exotic destinations often require vaccinations. Some vaccinations are administered over a few months in a series. We are the best resource to get you all the information you need. Here are the 4 easy steps required on your part to book a World Cruise with us.

1. Call the office or email us your information and what you desire through our website: www.stokestrips.com.

2. You choose your itinerary.

3. We get information on passports, visas, vaccines, rules and regulations, activities, and pricing.

4. You agree to fulfill all the requirements and purchase your world cruise.

During the time between purchase and sailing we follow up with you to make sure all your questions are answered, all your needs are met, and all requirements are understood.

Cruise Planners relationship building stories

I am the owner of a Cruise Planners franchise and love learning about various places in the world. We have to go through extensive training to learn about places and make sure we are taking care of our clients' needs. I started this blog to keep people informed on the benefit of travel agents, information about the travel industry, and thorough destination information. Anyone who is reading this can feel free to contact me and ask any questions or use the agency for making travel arrangements. Of course the point is for the agency to make money, but we value the relationships we build with our clients. I booked a client and her husband on Holland America for an Alaska itinerary recently. She was so excited and had a lot of questions because it was a new destination for her. I noticed that she was concerned about parking after the cruise because they wanted to stay longer. I made sure they had the parking information, but more importantly were aware of the activities they could enjoy while cruising. I was able to answer her questions and give her added value as well. Hopefully she will tell her friends and I'll be able to help them too!