The Flagg Agency

We are ready to be of service for all of your cruise planning needs. We have been using this blog to share our knowledge of ports, our trips and cruise and travel information with you in the hopes that you will find them useful and grow to trust our knowledge, expertise and reputation. We ask if you are ready to book a cruise, then give our service a try.

Chuck with the President and Vice President of AMAWaterways

One of the benefits of working with us is that you get not only our knowledge of particular cruise lines, ships and destinations, you also get the benefits of the relationships we have forged with suppliers over the years. In addition, we have taken the same cruises; visited the same ports; stayed at the same resorts that we recommend. We often take many trips not as travel agents, but as consumers. While there are perks to our business and offers of reduced rates trips and tours of a destination at the supplier’s expense, you don’t get a sense of what our customers will experience unless you have done it yourself. We make it our goal to experience at least one trip a year without identifying ourselves as travel agents.

Happy Monday to you. I have a question today. How much is your comfort worth?

I ask this because I flew home from Fort Lauderdale on Saturday morning from my dad and daughter Holland America cruise. On this particular Saturday morning there were eight ships at Port Everglades:  Navigator Of The Seas, Carnival Freedom, Constellation, Eurodam, Noordam, Crown Princess, Emerald Princess, and Oasis Of The Seas holding 25047 passengers. This meant that around 25,000 cruise passengers passed through the two main airports for south Florida when you consider nearly half of those passengers were from Florida or had driven themselves to Port Everglades. (Remember to double the numbers because just as many got ON the ships as got off of them.)

It is time for a look at 2010 – a cruising year in review. 2010 has been a great year for new cruise ships, with several new ships continuing trends toward multiple dining venues, new types of staterooms and spectacular entertainment.

Celebrity Eclipse, the third ship in Celebrity Cruises’ Solstice Class, launched with signature features like the grass-covered Lawn Club. A new feature, the alternative restaurant Qzine, offers a unique menu and make-your-own guacamole. Seabourn Odyssey, like its sister the Sojourn, has the one of the largest spas on any luxury cruise ship. There are indoor and outdoor treatment rooms and a Kinesis wall that combines cardio, strength and flexibility training. The indoor/outdoor concept is also featured in the Colonnade restaurant, where diners can watch their delicious meals being prepared in the open kitchen.

Why would a travel agent want payment early? I received that question in a recent email. The answer is pretty simple but does need some explanation.

A supplier like a cruise line, tour operator, or all-inclusive resort will require payment in full anytime from 45 days before the beginning of a trip to as much as 90 days for a cruise during a holiday. As a travel consultant one of my duties is to submit payment by a client directly to the supplier in a timely manner. When someone has been planning a dream vacation for as long as two years in some cases, it would be a huge horror to have their trip canceled because of a missed payment deadline.