Female named as cruise ship captain!

Silversea Cruises has broken a persistent maritime glass ceiling by naming its first female captain to the helm of a ship.

Margrith Ettlin took over command of the 132-passenger Silver Explorer on Aug. 7 in Reykjavik, Iceland. Her tour of duty as captain will extend into October.

For more information on a cruise vacation contact your cruise sales specialist! 

Cruise Sales Stay Strong

American Express recently surveyed 250 travel agencies about the state of their cruise sales.

85 % responded that business was strong and had not been impacted by recent negative cruise news.

This year the popular cruise destinations are the Mediterrean-37%, European rivers 28%, Caribbean 22 % and Alaska 11%. 

The biggest challenge-40% of the respondents are still waiting for future price drops!

Regardless there are some great prices many at all time lows! 

My advice-find a rate that fits your pricing points and go vacationing at sea! 

Lack of competition causing airfares to soar

Have you checked out air fares recently? Sure fuel costs are up! How about the lack of competition? 

This is what really drives up prices! I tried to get a small group of 12 to Las Vegas out of Columbus OH…air choices were American, Delta, Southwest/Air Tran, United and USAir.

What will be the results of the proposed merger of  American & USAir? Less flights to choose from and higher prices on all carriers. 

The US government has raised objections to the merger citing at least 1700 city pair markets that see reduced flight. I am not a fan of big government but maybe they’ve got a point here! 

Airfares are a major price component in a tour or cruise getaway!

 

Do you agree or disagree? 

Cruising America's Rivers

River cruising in just not limited to Europe. There are some great American rivers too! 

In future posts I’ll share more 

information about America's best rivers for cruising and the companies that sail on them!

Sailing these waterways is a carefree and enjoyable way to experience the country's rich heritage and scenic beauty. 

Calls Travel LLC has access to the best offers on the widest variety of itineraries along every major river in the USA. There are boatloads of discounts, deals and special promotions available.

Just give me an idea of where and when & we’ll go from there! Bon Voyage!

Georgia on my mind!

I received an invitation to participate in a study tour to Georgia. Not sure if I going but it’s a maybe! Anyone want to tag along??

As most professionals I’m tuned into groups like LinkedIn and other travel agent industry specific groups. I was shocked by the lack of geographic knowledge on the part of my peers. The bulk of the discussions focused on how far where the sites from Atlanta GA USA. These folks are not even on the right continent!
 

So I guess if you can’t teach become a travel agent! Then you’ll get paid to tell people where to go, right or wrong! As long as it’s Charleston if doesn’t matter if it is WV or SC!

We have classes at Ohio University Southern to help prepare you for the world!

Passengers continuing to vacation at sea

Stranded cruise ship passengers, ship fires and the fallout from last year’s Costa Concordia disaster have had cruise executives and cruise-selling travel agents concerned about just how customers view cruising these days.

But a new American Express Travel survey released week reports that 85 percent of the 250 American Express travel counselors surveyed report their sales have not been impacted by the recent events within cruise industry.

Low cruise fares and other promotions have helped sell cabins! There are still plenty of bargains to be had! 

Alaska Cruises On Sale!

Cruising Glacier Bay on Princess Cruise Lines

It's not too late to squeeze in a last-minute cruise tour of Alaska this year before the 2013 season closes at the end of September. 

As their seasons wind down the cruise lines have some of the lowest Alaska cruise and cruise/tour prices that I’ve ever seen. 

Choose to Cruise! Contact your cruisespecialist today!