CleveRocks

Sorry, just saw this comment regarding my comment to you, I know it has been almost a year but I rarely get on here anymore. Too busy cruising and traveling in general I guess.

 

I really didn't mean to be flippant or rude I was just being honest. You say you are targeting an affluent traveler who cruises at least 4 times a year but isn't sure what they want. Well I hate to break it to you but someone who is affluent and cruises 4 times a year (like I do) knows what they want or else they know how to surf the internet really well. That isn't to say they won't use an agent, but if they have been cruising 4 times a year for any time at all they either handle things themselves or already have an agent or travel club or discount agency or go for the most OBC offered, so expect to give up a certain amount of your commission to keep them happy.

 

I read in a later post of yours that your wife is a Physician and you already work in the Health Care Industry. While both the Travel Industry and the Health Care Industry are two of the fastest growing job growth areas, Travel Agents are Not one of them unless you want part time or work from home low income (usually an extra income and for travel discounts).

 

Stay in the Health Care Industry if Job Security and better wages is what you want. Go for the Travel Agent thing if that is your passion and your income isn't needed to support your family. Just some honest advice.

Never said these folks are cruising 4 times a year. Traveling for leisure 4 times a year, yes. Not always the same stuff, not always the same place, not sure where to stay and what to do, not wanting to spend the time doing the research but not wanting to roll the dice and gamble either.

I've already found a good niche, a good market, but effective marketing is not only reaching people who want your service, it's also growing the market by helping people realize they want your service when they never knew they wanted it.

The personalized service, the extreme hand-holding, is what sets me apart. I'll give you an example of how extreme (I'll just leave out identifying details as I don't wish to be indiscreet).

An acquaintance asked for arrangements for herself/husband and their four grown children and their kids to go to a major American city not especially known for leisure travel per se; she had a grandchild who was incredibly eager to see a certain attraction in that city and she wanted to take the entire family for that kid's birthday. I told her I knew nothing about that city but I'd do my homework and put together what she wants. She offered to pay my airfare and one night's hotel to go there myself, check it out personally and come back with my recommendations about quality, walkability, views, eats, etc.

This was a win-win situation. She didn't pay for my time or my meals (nor did I ask), but I got to learn my way around a place I'd never been, spent time talking with managers and concierges to get good local info, saw and walked and tasted things for myself, etc., so that not only could I give her all the info she wanted, I now have all that good familiarization that I'll be able to use in the future for use with others. She was so thrilled that I would take the time to check it all out for her and decide for her exactly what she wanted based upon my listening to her wants and needs and translating it into the real thing.

It's not like the commission on 5 hotel rooms for three nights made me a lot of money. But you can imagine the word of mouth I'm deriving from her incredible feelings of trust, loyalty and love she now feels for me. I wouldn't have gone to that extent for just anyone, but she's a very outspoken, demonstrative and well-liked person in these social circles, and thus making her the most satisfied customer in the world has paid off beyond what I earned directly from her. People are getting to know that I'll go the extra mile for them, no pun intended.

Haven't quit my day job. I'm still growing. Also, I'm still doing this under someone else's aegis. I don't have my own agency number yet. I'm in a set-up similar to being an outside agent, except that I have my own business name and carry my own insurance for errors and omissions. I book and get my commissions through that 3rd party and that third party earns 20% of my commissions. When I'm confident I'm solid and will stay that way, I'll get my own number and be totally on my own.

The major industry in my area is downsizing, and this affects not only those laid off employees but all the businesses those employees (and those businesses) do business with, so there's been a ripple effect through the entire local economy. People are feeling a little iffy about finances in this local area and are traveling less than they had, myself included. (If a few thousand people are laid off at a time, most lose their health insurance, which means they seek health care less often and may also mean they move out of the area completely, which in turn affects my family's primary income, and so on ....)

I'm having fun, learning A LOT, and building the foundation for a successful enterprise.

When we did it 2 months ago, cameras were strictly prohibited. No problem with rings was ever mentioned. And I specifically asked and was permitted to wear my wristwatch.

With shore excursion detail questions, I'd ALWAYS believe the actual operator over the cruise line.

November 8, 2013, less than 2 months ago.

No, we very definitely pre-booked and pre-paid for the Manatee encounter package; we had different color wristbands from the people who booked just the dolphin portion.

Apparently, we were short changed. Luckily, my kids don't come on this website, so they won't know how disappointed they should be.

What are "chicken fingers"?

You must not have any kids under about age 30.

Chicken fingers, also known as chicken tenders, are chicken tenderloin or cut strips of chicken breast that are breaded and deep-fried. They're not chopped and formed, that would be a chicken nugget.

Both times I've been on Allure, honey stung chicken was in the Windjammer ONLY at lunch on embarkation day. At least, that's the only time I ever saw it.

Making RSVP for the Allure.. Biggest we've been on is Voyager class and down... Concerned about crowds, chair hogs by pool, waiting in lines for food. Should we be, or am I overly concerned? We tend to have fun wherever we go, but this ship is HUGE!

 

Please advise and let me know what we SHOULD worry about... thanks in advance!

Sure, the ship is huge, but so are the amenities and the choices.

Other than embarkation/disembarkation, the only times I can remember noticing anything resembling a crowd was when a HUGE show let out, such as from the main theater or from the ice show. But those are the ONLY exceptions.

What SHOULD you worry about?

** Make reservations for shows. Don't just expect there will be a seat for you ... there may not be, and even if there is you'll have to wait in the stand-by line for a while, wasting time while worrying whether or not you'll get in.

** if you do My Time Dining, do make a reservation for each night's dinner. Too many people have the unrealistic expectation that "My Time" means "any time at all." My Time Dining means you don't need to eat only at the traditional first or second seating. It also means ou could eat at a different time every night. But it doesn't mean you can expect to walk in and get a table on a whim. I saw long lines and lots of people waiting in the lounge, all people without reservations. I had a reservation for each night I ate in the main dining room, and once we got to the podium we were immediately shown to our table.

In a different thread, I posted the following a couple of weeks ago (Nov. 10, 2013):

I'm sitting on Allure of the Seas now ... Deck 5, Adagio dining room, awaiting disembarkation. I rented a Nellie's Beach over the water cabana this past Tuesday.

I got EVERYTHING I was entitled to as someone who booked prior to October 4, 2013: the six 1-liter bottles of Evian on ice in a Coleman cooler; two floating mats; ship's blue pool towels for use while there; and yes, access to the buffet at Barefoot Beach (you each get a wristband placed on you that says "CABANAS VIP" which is what the security guard needs to see to allow you into Barefoot Beach).

So all's well that ends well.

But I didn't think it was going to work out that way.

I received an email (as posted earlier) stating that since I booked before October 4 blah blah blah .... One of the statements in the email said we would receive the wristbands in our stateroom. We received the ticket/voucher but no wristbands. I didn't realize this until early Monday (first full day at sea, dat before arrival at Labadee). I asked at Guest Services but they told me I need to take it up with Shore Excursions.

The line at the Shore Excursions desk was prohibitively huge, and I didn't like the idea of having to wait in line because of the cruise line's error. So I phoned Guest Services and they eventually transferred my call to ShoreEx.

They had trouble understanding my situation and they got me to Tiana, Allure's ShoreEx manager. She assured me we would get the wristbands at Labadee itself (and she was correct).

She was eager to see that email because she was concerned I was the first of many to receive that inaccurate information about the wristbands being left for me in my stateroom. She tried to get me a short amount of wi-fi so I could show her the email, but when that didn't work (I got it, but I was unable to forward the email to her) she came to my cabin to take a photo of the email on my iPad screen.

:eek: Yikes! I shudder to think what they're going to charge my sister's family with 4 people doing dolphin, sea lion, and manatee swims...

That was a charge just for the photo CD. It has nothing to do with the activity itself. There aren't different prices for a dolphin photo package versus a dolphin/manatee/sea lion photo package.

We did the dolphin/manatee, by the way, but there were no photos with the manatees, as they stay submerged and therefore not a meaningful photo op.

I enjoyed the dolphins at Chankanaab just a couple of weeks ago. Absolutely no cameras allowed out on the docks where you meet the animals.

The photos they sell are VERY expensive as a total price, but pretty darn cheap as a per-photo price.

Their CDs/zip drives are priced by how many people are in your party. The price for four in our family was 2405 pesos, about US$185. That's a huge chunk of cash, but we had 147 photos taken of us, so that's roughly $1.25 per image. I believe a single print cost something like US$30.

Each small group is assigned a photographer. There are some specific photo op times for each person, when you are instructed to look at the camera and smile (kiss on the mouth, kiss on the cheek, holding hands, holding hand up for them to jump out of water and touch your hand, hug), and then of course when a dolphin pushes you on a boogie board and when you swim with the dolphin (if that's what your encounter includes).

For us, photos are the best souvenirs of all. Paying almost $200 for a CD definitely didn't feel good, but we simply couldn't pass it up. We knew going in it was going to be a lot, so we just resigned ourselves to the idea of paying a lot to have our memories preserved.

We've had a lot of joy as well as some sorrow in our lives. But the tightest hug I've EVER received from my 11-year-old daughter was while we were standing chest-deep on a submerged platform in the ocean just after she kissed a dolphin for the first time. Best hug ever. I know, I know, there was no photo of THAT, but the photos remind us of that special day.

I was just on Allure, Deck 11, 11202 and 11204. Very similar location to yours, just on the port side. If being only two decks down from the pool deck appeals to you, then go for Deck 12. Given the choice, I would go for it.

I turned down a Deck 14 balcony, I didn't want to be the very closest to the pool deck.

On every line we have sailed we have had ports replaced, or port times altered (Disney, Princess, Celebrity, Carnival and RCI)--this is common in the industry. If a one hour two hour change is going to upset you this much, I think you may want to consider that cruising is not the right type of vacation for you.

I'm not sure why you don't understand the point several people have tried to make. Every reasonable cruise passenger understands that changes can happen due to any number of unanticipated reasons (including but not limited to weather, mechanical problem, medical emergency, political/civil issue, etc.). None of those situations can anticipated or controlled for, and therefore everyone understands when changes happen due to these UNFORESEEN events.

But when events are FORESEEN, don't you think it would just be normal and fair for the cruise line to let its passengers know?

Let me try to help you understand it from a totally different perspective ...

Pretend you are a shut-in and you can't really get out of your house without someone's assistance. You arrange for me to pick you up and take you to see a movie you've been dying to see. You've been looking forward to it for a while. But I get to your house late and there's not enough time to see the movie; you decide we can get a pleasant lunch out instead of seeing that movie you've wanted to see more than anything.

When you ask me why I was late (causing you to miss that beloved movie) and I tell you I had a flat tire on the way, you'll understand, you'll realize it just wasn't your lucky day. But if I instead tell you I knew for a long time and I was going to have to work late and I knew I'd make you miss that movie, wouldn't you feel pretty annoyed at me for not letting you know???!!! Maybe you could've made other plans. At least you wouldn't have gotten yours hopes up.

If I was late due to unforeseen circumstances, then so be it. But if I knew well in advance I was going to be late and mess up your plans, aren't I rude for not notifying you?

All just theory I made up from, a comment that came from a waiter. Isn't CC fun:D

We will just have to wait till we hear back from the bartender by the pool for confirmation.:D

I knew I had a reliable source! He wasn't just any waiter, he was a Samba Grill gaucho. I figured if they trust him with a huge knife out in public then they trust him with heretofore non-public information, too. :D

The upgraded (Barefoot Beach) buffet has two items in addition to the usual stuff: steak; and a skewer with shrimp, scallops and salmon.

Two Allure cruises in two years, good experiences with MTD each time. We timed each night's reservations based on show reservations and shore excursions. Had the same waiter and assistant each night; on our second night the maitre d' asked if we wanted the same waiter (we did) and after that she stopped asking us.

We saw lots of people waiting in line on the "no reservations" side and then waiting in the bar/waiting area outside of the dining room. Reservations are a must, in my opinion.

This was all on Deck 5 of the Adagio Dining Room.

Just sailed Allure November 3. Went to Publix the night before and bought a 24-case of good ol' Zephyrhills water. On Sunday morning, in the lobby of the Embassy Suites, I stapled a luggage tag onto the plastic outer wrapper of the case of water.

We checked it with the porter with all the rest of our luggage. A few hours later it was outside our cabin with all the rest of our luggage.

Got the same email for our November 3 Allure sailing. Ignored it. Got to the pier11-ish. No wait for a porter, no wait at check-in. Went upstairs, we were in the 5th row of "gold" Crown & Anchor members. Boarding started at 11:30 a.m. ... not only did we get the email, but someone with a microphone at the port said boarding would be delayed by "a full Coast Guard inspection."

Seated for lunch in the Windjammer just a few minutes before Noon.

Future cruisers, feel free to ignore that email if you get the same one.

I just boarded Allure last Sunday (11/3/13). One of the pieces of "luggage" I checked with the porter was a case of water; I stapled a luggage tag to the plastic outer wrapper. It got delivered to my stateroom with all of my other tagged luggage. It wasn't concealed, it wasn't inside a piece of luggage, it was the actual case of water I bought the night before at Publix.

I happen to prefer the smaller (half-liter) bottles to the 1-liter bottles that you can buy as part of a water package.

RCI has a written policy prohibiting water and soda from being brought onboard. In reality, this is totally ignored by RCI itself to the point where it's done right out in the open, no sneaking and no cheating.

And some of you guys mocked my waiter source. :p:p:p

Just off Allure today. The lobster is served on Thursday evening the second formal night.

I thought you looked familiar! ... lol ....

Our waiter insisted on cutting ours out of the shell for us. He seemed personally insulted when we didn't want any additional lobster tails, so I finally agreed to one, just to make him feel better, or course. :rolleyes:

Just off Allure yesterday. I saw shorts and t-shirts in the MDR at dinners, and here were adults, not kids.

Just off Allure yesterday. Arcade games were $1.45, payable only though the SeaPass card.

I received a bit of a "vague" response, in fact the question was not really answered. The Concierge reiterated that yes, OTW cabana 2 is reserved for us

I was just in OTW 2 six days ago, hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

I was just in Labadee this past Tuesday. I didn't have a suite but I did book a cabana at Nellie's Beach which included access to the buffet at Barefoot.

We got a ride on a golf cart, then when we checked in with the head cabana guy the driver was given four gold wristbands (one for each of us) that said "CABANAS VIP". There was a uniformed security guard at the entrance to Barefoot and she needed to see that each of us had a wristband before we were allowed to enter.

Looking at the web cam , looks like just the two outside pods were working by the wake, no center wake just the outsides?

I just got off Allure this morning. It was like that our entire cruise, whenever I looked back there.