Frequently Asked Questions

Booking a cruise takes about twenty minutes. The real work is everything that comes after — designing the experience around you, timing every reservation to the exact window it opens, monitoring your flights live from my phone, and sending you the right information at the right moment. If something goes wrong at any point, I am already working on it.

Small ship ocean, expedition and river, and custom land travel. Ocean: Regent Seven Seas, Silversea, Oceania, Explora Journeys, and Ponant. River: Viking, Uniworld, AmaWaterways, and Scenic. I have sailed on small ships for nearly 14 years as a paying passenger, and as a result, I understand exactly the kind of experience you expect — both in the planning and on the water.

TICO is the Travel Industry Council of Ontario — the regulatory body governing registered travel agencies in Ontario, Canada. As a TICO-registered practice (number 5003172), we operate under a mandatory code of ethics, carry errors and omissions insurance, and give every client access to consumer protection mechanisms that do not exist when booking directly. You can verify our registration independently at tico.ca.

No advisor fee for cruise bookings. My compensation comes from a commission paid by the cruise line once your travel is complete. You never pay more working with me than booking direct — and often you pay less.

No. The commission I earn is already built into the price of every cruise. When you book directly, the supplier keeps it. You pay the same price either way. What changes is the confidence that having an expert manage your cruise booking brings you.

Never. All bookings are charged directly to your own credit card. Every point, every benefit, every reward stays with you.

No. High-volume agencies that rebate commission trade personalized service for volume. Booking through us means you are getting personalized service, real cruise expertise, access, advocacy, and someone watching your flights and managing anything that does not go as planned. Agencies that rebate are typically “bookers”. Our strength is in the complete management of your trip, from the first call until you return home, resulting in the kind of vacation experience that you deserve.

Reach out and we will schedule a discovery call — 45 to 60 minutes, one-on-one, where I get to know you and what you want this experience to feel like. Once we agree to move forward, I send you a client profile form so I can get to know you in more detail. From there I get to work.

As early as possible. Most small ship cruise lines are booking one to three years in advance. The first release of any sailing is almost always the best price. Waiting almost always means paying more, or losing the opportunity to book altogether because the sailing is completely sold out.

Yes, if the booking was made within the last 14 days. After that, the cruise line's transfer window closes permanently.

The very first release of any sailing is almost always the best price. Cruise lines increase from there. Early booking also secures the best suite selection and access to reduced deposit promotions that disappear as the sailing fills.

River ships dock in the heart of the city — you walk off and you are already there. Ocean cruising at the small ship level offers greater reach and more space and comfort on board. An ocean cruise will travel greater distances, giving you the opportunity to explore many countries in a single voyage. A river cruise tends to cover a shorter distance, allowing you to slow down and truly immerse yourself in a particular region. Both are exceptional. The right one depends entirely on you — and that is exactly the conversation we have on a discovery call.

Those platforms deliver a booking confirmation. What they do not deliver is someone who pre-booked your shore excursions, timed your dining reservations, and answered the phone on a Sunday night when your flight was cancelled. A $500 Costco gift card does not compensate you for having to manage all of the complexities of a $60,000 cruise booking yourself — and it certainly does not compensate you if something goes wrong during your vacation.

Contact me via WhatsApp. I am monitoring your flights from the moment you leave, so if there is a disruption I am usually aware at the same time you are — or before. I stay present until the problem is fully resolved.

This is exactly when having someone in your corner matters most. I work to get you on the next available routing to join the cruise at the embarkation port or the next available port. I am already working on it before you have finished processing what happened.