Sunday, April 7, 2013
Solo Travel: Have You Found A Travel Agent to Work With?
I choose to travel solo and unless a solo traveler is wealthy I expect we all have budgets.
Each trip has a price and a trip has ‘value’ when it is a reasonable cost per day….no matter if it is a resort or a tour or if the cost of transportation, room, food total an amount that I find has a value.
Road trips are manageable n the USA, some city trips can remain within a budget but long distance, long term travel takes skill and planning. Cruises (and I dislike the connotation of the term) offer some of the best Values in travel.
Crusies:
Ship travel has proved to be reasonable IF you sail off season, IF you take the cabin at the bottom of the boat and often you may go to locations you are not really interest in.
I know there are room mate matching services but I do not CHOOSE to spend $5,000 or more for a trip and sleep with a stranger. Get real.
Now I am on my third ‘travel agent’ This year I was told to “search for a cruise myself on their web site”. So I have searched for days and priced over 250 sailings to find something that offers a VALUE for a country I want to visit.
I prefer to travel often and long and therefore must remain within a budget. But if I find an exciting location I will go over budget knowing I shall sacrifice another trip later in the year.
So the search for this trip has taken weeks of entire days on the computer.
Yes travel agents have programs that can search everything, but their goal is to find, sell, and go to the next one. Having been in commission sales I understand the need to ‘turn’ clients. So no agent has been willing to do the searches I need. Last year I was told they had to get off the phone I was asking too many questions. Apparently they have a quota system.
But what they do not realize is the business they are losing from not doing a GREAT job. As part of a very LARGE solo travel group, there are thousands of travelers who would travel if they could find a travel agent.
So, where to go in May? Russia, trans Atlantic, Oz? So many choices, so little travel assistance…… I know it will be a LONG trip and it will be EXCITING and I shall write about all the events, policies and difficulties a solo mature traveler may find.
Thursday, April 4, 2013
More Solo Supplements Waived!
Overseas Adventure Travel Offers Solo Travelers Free Single Supplements on All 2013 Adventures and Trip Extensions
Just saw this on line, MORE good news Note the increase in the number of solo travelrs! We are everywhere!
Overseas Adventure Travel Offers Solo Travelers Free Single Supplements on
All 2013 Adventures and Trip Extensions
Read more about Overseas Adventure Travel Offers Solo Travelers Free Single Supplements on All 2013 Adventures and Trip Extensions - BWWTravelWorld by travel.broadwayworld.com Thursday, Apr, 4, 2013; 8:34 AM; - by Travel News DeskRelated: Press Release, News
To accommodate the growing number of solo travelers aged 50 and older, Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT) is offering free single supplements on all of its adventures and pre-and-post trip extensions. With OAT, single travelers can save $500-$5000 over comparable vacations offered by tour operators that continue to charge single supplement fees. "More than one-third of our travelers book solo these days," said OAT Vice Chair Harriet R. Lewis. "By waiving the single supplement fee, we've made it much more affordable for solo travelers to see the world. Offering free single supplements is just one of several actions we've taken to accommodate a fast-growing segment of older American travelers."
In addition to free single supplements, OAT offers a free matching roommate program, a free online travel companion program, a Lowest Price Guarantee that refunds travelers if a departure is reduced in price after one books it, and a Solo Traveler Challenge that guarantees the best price for solos for a comparable international vacation. OAT also trains all of its Trip Leaders (guides) to welcome, integrate, and assist solo travelers on every trip and departure. Solo travelers today make up 35% of OAT's travelers up from 20% five years ago. In the past two years, 78,766 Americans, aged 50 and older, traveled with OAT. Twenty-five thousand were solo travelers, including 20,000 women. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, an American turns 50 every seven seconds12,500 people a day. By 2015, the 50+ population will make up 45% of the U.S. population (AARP). According to statistics from Bowling Green State University's National Center for Family and Marriage Research, one-third of adults aged 45-63 are unmarried a 50% increase since 1980, when 20 percent of middle-aged Americans were unmarried. OAT offers Americans 50 and older culturally-rich adventures in small groups of 10-16 travelers by land and 14-25 by small ship with per diems that begin as low as $93 a day and eight adventures that begin at less than $150 a day. OAT destinations include more than 30 countries, including Botswana, the Serengeti, India, Burma, China & Tibet, Vietnam, Colombia, the Galapagos, Peru,Costa Rica, Israel, and beyond. For more information, please visit
www.oattravel.com. ABOUT OVERSEAS ADVENTURE TRAVELEstablished in 1978, Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT) is part of Boston-based Grand Circle Corporation's family of travel companies, which also include Grand Circle Cruise Line and Grand Circle Travel. Since 1992, the organization's charitable arm, Grand Circle Foundation, has donated or pledged more than $92M USD to more than 300 humanitarian, educational, and cultural organizations worldwide, including 100 schools, in 50 countries.
Read more about Overseas Adventure Travel Offers Solo Travelers Free Single Supplements on All 2013 Adventures and Trip Extensions - BWWTravelWorld by travel.broadwayworld.com
Monday, April 1, 2013
Crystal Cruises LOW, LOW solo supplements
I heard in a podcast that Crystal Cruises were offering solo supplements on specific sailings at only 10%!
The two ‘solo’ cruise sites on Face Book had no mention of this sale so I sent a message to Crystal directly and received an answer today.
| Crystal Cruises wrote: "Hi Lee, we do indeed have a very special offer now. Please see the details at http://www.crystalcruises.com/OfferDetail.aspx?OG=199&intcmp=10000-OTHMB199&pos=O6&pgid=OFFERMAIN-*" |
Enjoy limited-time special Solo Traveler Book Now Fares from $2,865 per person on select Crystal voyages that sail across the Pacific, the Atlantic, Europe and all the way to Rio. Come and experience the spectacular combination of the World's Best luxury and value including:
- Limited-time special Solo Traveler Book Now Fares for as little as $2,865 if booked by April 30, 2013
- All Inclusive: complimentary specialty restaurants, fine wines, champagne, premium spirits and non-alcoholic beverages
- Complimentary gratuities for housekeeping, bar, dining and Penthouse butler staff
- Award-winning entertainment, innovative enrichment, state-of-the-art fitness facilities and wellness programs plus so much more
- Plus, optional air add-ons also available
Special Solo Traveler Fares: Crystal Symphony
Special Solo Traveler Fares: Crystal Serenity
Technorati Tags: Low solo supplement,crystal cruises
Book your next adventure by April 30 to enjoy the best Solo rates on these spectacular itineraries!
Terms & Conditions
Special Solo Traveler Cruise-Only Fares are per person in U.S. dollars, based on single occupancy and do not include cruise port, security and handling charges of $255-$645. Special Solo Traveler Fares are applicable to new bookings only as of 03/01/2013 and must be booked by 04/30/2013 in category E only on Crystal Symphony and category C only on Crystal Serenity. Featured fare of $2,865 applies to voyage 3216 in category E on Crystal Symphony. Optional air add-ons are available from Crystal Cruises' designated gateway cities in the U.S. and Canada, and include all government fees and taxes. All offers may not be combinable with other promotions, are capacity-controlled, subject to availability, and may be withdrawn or changed at any time without notice. Click here for complete terms & conditions.
Crystal Cruises reserves the right to correct errors or omissions and to change any and all fares, fees, promotions and programs at any time with or without notice.
The Independent Traveler posted this sale today:
Crystal Cruises Sale on Single Supplements
- Provider: Crystal
- Expiration: 04-30-13
- See more Cruise Deals
- Book a Cruise
The Cruise: Crystal Cruises is offering special solo traveler fares on select Crystal voyages, when you book by April 30. Prices start from $2,865, per person, for a seven-night cruise traveling from Istanbul to Rome, this July.
The Deal: Crystal Cruises has added more than a dozen new itineraries to its "Sole Occupancy" savings promotion for 2013. This promotion, ending on April 30, offers opportunities to sail in luxury from ports including Reykjavik to Rio. With single supplements of just 10 percent, single occupancy fares are now available on 26 different Crystal Serenity andCrystal Symphony voyages sailing in 2013, around the globe, from the Mediterranean, Baltic, South America, Caribbean, Western Europe, Black Sea, North Cape, British Isles, eastern Canada and transatlantic. In addition, low single supplements are available on seven- to 18-day cruises from June to December.
To Book: For information and reservations, please contact Crystal Cruises at 888-722-0021. This offer is valid as of March 28, 2013. The booking deadline for this deal is April 30, 2013.
Fine Print: Fares are per person in U.S. dollars, based on single occupancy and do not include cruise port, security and handling charges of $255 - $645. Special solo traveler fares are applicable to new bookings only as of 03/01/2013 and must be booked by 04/30/2013 in category E only on Crystal Symphony and category C only on Crystal Serenity. Featured fare of $2,865 applies to voyage 3216 in category E on Crystal Symphony. Optional air add-ons are available from Crystal Cruises' designated gateway cities in the U.S. and Canada, and include all government fees and taxes. All offers may not be combinable with other promotions, are capacity-controlled, subject to availability, and may be withdrawn or changed at any time without notice.
The Deal: Crystal Cruises has added more than a dozen new itineraries to its "Sole Occupancy" savings promotion for 2013. This promotion, ending on April 30, offers opportunities to sail in luxury from ports including Reykjavik to Rio. With single supplements of just 10 percent, single occupancy fares are now available on 26 different Crystal Serenity and
To Book: For information and reservations, please contact Crystal Cruises at 888-722-0021. This offer is valid as of March 28, 2013. The booking deadline for this deal is April 30, 2013.
Fine Print: Fares are per person in U.S. dollars, based on single occupancy and do not include cruise port, security and handling charges of $255 - $645. Special solo traveler fares are applicable to new bookings only as of 03/01/2013 and must be booked by 04/30/2013 in category E only on Crystal Symphony and category C only on Crystal Serenity. Featured fare of $2,865 applies to voyage 3216 in category E on Crystal Symphony. Optional air add-ons are available from Crystal Cruises' designated gateway cities in the U.S. and Canada, and include all government fees and taxes. All offers may not be combinable with other promotions, are capacity-controlled, subject to availability, and may be withdrawn or changed at any time without notice.
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