About
Welcome to SmallShipTrips.com!
The purpose of this website is to promote and discuss small ship cruising. My hope is that people with an interest in small ship cruising will visit often and look through the information and articles on these pages. I am a travel consultant specializing in small ship and river cruises, and would like to share my love of small ship cruising with you; I hope you will become as enthusiastic about it as I am.
About Me
After working as an independent consultant for a large travel agency, I opened my own agency in 2003. I became interested in small ship and river cruising several years ago and decided to specialize in helping people to plan their small ship or river cruise vacations. A few of years ago I was featured in a national trade magazine as I was then one of very few agents focusing on small ship and river cruising. I hold the Master Cruise Counselor certification (MCC) from the Cruise Lines International Association CLIA). This certification requires the completion of a rigorous curriculum of cruise sales training, personal cruising experience, and inspection of a wide variety of cruise ships. I am also a certified Niche Cruise Specialist, Avalon Waterways Specialist, and Uniworld River Cruise specialist. Each year I try to take at least one small ship cruise and one river cruise in order to keep myself up to date on the latest cruise ships and itineraries.
Although I am now located in the United States, I lived in the UK for 10 years. During that time, I was married to a professional tennis player and spent years traveling with him on the tennis tour. I have traveled extensively around Europe and visited nearly every country there that you can sail through on a river cruise. I don’t profess to have sailed every cruise line or itinerary that I sell – there are more and more new cruise lines and destinations every year, but I do try to experience as many as my bank account and my husband’s vacation time will allow!
My Services
My goal is to help my clients to find a small ship or river cruise which will meet their expectations and provide the best value for their money. What that does that mean? If you are new to small ship cruising I can help you to determine if that type of experience will be a good fit for you. If you have already tried a small ship or river cruise I can help you in your search for your next trip. All Danube river cruises, for example, are not the same; my job is to help you to select the one which will be exactly right for you. As an experienced travel consultant, I can plan a complete itinerary for you, making certain you get all of the trip components which will work best for you: flights, hotels, transfers, special tours, everything you need to have an enjoyable vacation. I also provide some insider hints and tips to all of my clients which will make their journey easier.
I do not charge any fees for planning and booking your travel itinerary; I do however, require a trip consultation deposit which will be refunded to you after the completion of your vacation. This covers the time which I will spend putting together your itinerary before you commit to the purchase. The deposit amount may vary depending upon the length and complexity of your trip. Every trip is special, to me as well as to you; I want to make sure that you have the best time possible, so that you’ll ask me to start planning your next trip as soon as you’ve unpacked from the last one.
Cruises and Pricing
I only sell reputable cruise lines; I don’t want to rely on the quality of an unknown product and I will not risk your vacation time or money. I sell many more cruise lines than are shown on this website; it’s hard to keep up sometimes! If you have seen something elsewhere that interests you, by all means fill out a contact form or send me an email; I’ll be happy to let you know what I think.
Once you have selected your cruise, I will work hard to find the best pricing available. SmallShipTrips.com has access to special pricing from two travel marketing groups and we are always up to date on cruise line specials. In some cases, we can obtain lower rates by booking a cruise through a reliable tour operator rather than directly through the cruise line. Because prices change rapidly I try not to put any on the website although you may see some of the specials distributed through my marketing groups; pricing is not fixed until you have made and put a deposit on your cruise reservation.
