A little-known secret about booking ocean and river cruises.

In this article, I want to share with you a little-known secret about booking ocean and river cruises.

You see, folks have been lulled to sleep thinking that the best ocean and river cruise offers are found and booked online. But with ocean and river cruises, the simple truth of the matter is that this is simply not true.

Did you know that nearly 70% of all ocean and river cruises are booked through a travel agency?  Surprised?  You can read about it here.

Seems counter-intuitive, doesn’t it?

Well, the truth of the matter is that it’s less expensive for the ocean and cruise lines to market their products through the travel agent community as this helps them keep their customer support staff down.  It is significantly more cost effective for our travel agency to do all the booking work, and answer all of your questions, then for them to have expensive staff on their payrolls.  In fact, sometimes, direct calls to cruise lines have been off-loaded to our office because their call volumes were too great for them to handle.

For the same investment as do-it-yourself online, we bring you complimentary VIP Perks!

Here’s the other kicker that weighs in your benefit, because our travel agency is a member of the $15 billion/year Virtuoso Travel Network, we can bring you valuable complimentary benefits that you simply will not get booking an ocean or river cruise on your own.  I’ll say that again, valuable complimentary benefits at the same price as do-it-yourself.

Introducing Virtuoso Voyages

When we book ocean and river cruises for our clients, the first thing we look for is to see if our client’s desired destination might fit into one of the hundreds of sailings around the world that include our Virtuoso Voyages benefits.

Virtuoso Voyages is the premier cruise enhancement program offering exclusive value-added amenities on hundreds of sailings around the world.

With Virtuoso Voyages, you’ll enjoy the friendly camaraderie of like-minded guests, the services of an onboard host, and a private welcome aboard reception.

In addition, you’ll choose either a complimentary exclusive “Virtuoso-only” shore event including a festive dining experience, or a complimentary private shore excursion with the Virtuoso Car & Driver experience.

On top of all of this, when the ocean and river cruise lines need an extra little boost selling a particular sailing, we oftentimes will share un-advertised fares with our clients in our newsletter (see below).

If I may be so bold to attack a well grounded belief: you simply can’t and won’t get a better cruise offer trying to do it yourself on the Internet.

What to do?

• Click the Virtuoso Voyages image above.
• The first few pages will give you information on the complimentary VIP programs we offer our clients.
• Pages 8-27 will share with you the various cruise lines offered in the Virtuoso Voyages program.
• And pages 28 – 111 will share the hundreds of very specific sailings, with click-able links, that are available to you when you book your next cruise with us.

In our Virtuoso Voyages Catalog (click image above) just find a cruise itinerary you like, hover your mouse over the sailing date, and click.  It’s that easy!

Bottom Line?

If you’re thinking about an ocean or river cruise, you simply owe it to yourself to place a simple phone call to our office, or at least drop us an email.  While we’re very excited about our Virtuoso Voyages offering, this is just one of the many benefits we’re likely to have available for you.

To inquire about your next ocean or river cruise, call our office at (480) 550-1235, or use our convenient online information request (click here) and we’ll reach out to you.
 
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