CRUISE PLANNING
Most people board still
wondering if they chose right.
You won't.
I plan cruises for a small number of clients a year, with the same care I gave the operation for fifteen. If you're weighing a voyage that matters, tell me a little about it, and I'll come back to you personally to see if it's a fit.
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Twice around the world
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15 years running guest operations
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96.3% Onboard guest approval record
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Author, The Discerning Voyager
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Ask the Officer, EuroWeekly News
WHO IS THIS FOR
You've done the research.
Now you want to get it right.
The milestone trip
A significant anniversary, a retirement voyage, a once-in-a-decade sailing. Something you cannot redo if it goes wrong.
First time at this level
Moving up from mainstream to premium or luxury for the first time and not sure which line, which ship, or whether the price difference is real.
Organizing for others
Planning travel for others, where getting it wrong affects more than just you.
Burned before
A previous cruise didn't deliver what was promised. You need to understand what went wrong before you commit to another significant booking.
I work with a small number of clients at a time. If the session dates showing are limited, that's accurate, not a tactic. You'll board that ship knowing exactly what to expect.
HOW IT WORKS
Simple. One step at a time.
01
You tell me about your voyage
A short form on this page. Five minutes, no more. Enough for me to understand what you're weighing.
02
We speak briefly to see if it's a fit
If it's a good match, I'll come back to you and suggest a short call, about 20 minutes, to meet each other. There's no fee, and no commitment. If it isn't a fit, I'll tell you honestly and, where I can, point you somewhere better.
03
If we're right for each other, the planning begins
I'll send you a detailed intake. It takes time, and asks questions most people never think to ask, because those are the questions the answer depends on. When you send it back, we schedule the planning session.
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You move forward with certainty
The session, the reasoning, the written notes, the ship-specific operational detail, the booking, and my care through the voyage itself, all of it. This is the service.
HOW THE SERVICE IS PRICED
One fee, from the cruise line.
My planning work is paid through the booking. When I book your voyage, the cruise line pays me a commission at the same fare you would pay booking direct. There is no separate consultation fee, and no fee added to your booking. Nothing changes on your end.
The honest question that raises is whether commissions shape recommendations. They can. Different lines pay different rates. That's the industry.
But here's what most agents haven't seen, and why I do this work: I've stood on the pier during a chaotic boarding and had to deny embarkation to a family whose agent hadn't warned them about visa requirements. I've dealt with the passenger, red-faced and shouting, who took it out on me because their agent had put them on entirely the wrong ship. I've read thousands of guest complaints and watched the same patterns repeat, sailing after sailing, because someone made a booking decision without knowing what happens after the sale. I wrote The Discerning Voyager about that, because it kept happening and no one on the guest-facing side of the industry was talking about it.
That is why I plan cruises. I love seeing guests happy on a ship, and but because I've seen what happens when it's done badly, and I know what it takes to do it well. It is one of several things I do, as the rest of this site shows, and it is the one that puts fifteen years of standing on the other side of the booking to its most direct use.