So after being in travel now for coming up to over 13 years, I know the excitement that comes with booking your holiday, I find it exciting and so rewarding even just booking the trips for my customers this is why I have stayed in the business for so long.
Along with the excitement, however, comes a very important part of any holiday, hotel stay, cruise, a package with hotel stay and cruise and more! The nitty gritty bits as I like to call them which can make a huge difference to your enjoyment of your cruise and the cost!
- Passports need to have at least 6 months left on them from the return date to the UK. This is so important for various reasons all depending on where you are travelling to also where Visas may be required, this is always best to check straight away as your cruise/holiday will soon come round! How many times in our busy lives now do we say “I will do that tomorrow”
- Travel Insurance – This is a huge one for me and a big one that Martin Lewis (I am sure you all know who he is) goes on about constantly and most recently so told a customer off on his programme live at Warwick Castle. Did you know that once you have paid your deposit for your cruise, you are entered into a contract straight away with that tour operator / Agent? Your travel insurance plays a huge part in this! Would you buy a Sofa / new Apple Laptop/ mobile phone and not look into the guarantee/insurance they provide?? SO … Why do we think for a holiday it is any different?! We always recommend you have your insurance in place or will do as this covers you from the date you add this not the date of your departure on your trip! With Cruises now out so far in advance we just never know what will crop up!
- Dietary Requirements – This helps you in advance and also lets the ship / hotel know so when you get on board you can make yourself known to the staff BUT they would have been expecting you!
- Medical / Mobility / Pregnancy – This is so important as you may need a specific cabin. assistance at the port or airport, specific requirements in the room to make your stay more comfortable and these may need to be advised of prior to your arrival and with pregnancy you can only travel up to so many weeks!
These are just to name a few important parts of booking your holiday that I have come across recently! We spend so much money that is a lot to us individually on something we wait for all year round sometimes longer than this so why run any risk of not making sure this as enjoyable as possible!