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Ok. I admit I am a spoiled vacationer. I blame Magical Journeys. They always do what they say and respond promptly to any emails I send them. :fresh:
Anyway, I am having trouble finding a travel agent of that caliber for trips outside of Disney. Does anyone have any recommendations?
I'm not sure I'm allowed to post links and info here but I will send you a private message for who I use for cruises and all-inclusives!
We do more than just Disney. We do universal, all cruises (river and ocean) All Inclusives and offsite Disney.
Where are you looking to go?
Nanc
Thank you. I PM'd you back.Quote:
Originally Posted by JanetMegan
Hi Nanci,Quote:
Originally Posted by Tink1
I actually travel a lot to a lot of places. Major trips that are brewing - Going to Japan next year with a probable one week stay in Hawaii either before or after. A family reunion Alaskan cruise in the planning stages (but I like Royal Caribbean and not Disney *I can hear all the gasps now*) which I want to add on a stay in Victoria BC before the cruise and a stay in Denali after. A short Caribbean cruise added on at the end of our WDW trip in October of this year with Royal Caribbean. Those are the sources of my frustration right now.
Cruises we can help definitely help with. Not all agents do all things so we may have to switch you to one who does what you would like.
When I did Alaska twice, I did Celebrity (my fav LOL) I always say that Alaska and Europe are cruises you do for ports not the ship. While I too love a good Disney cruise, I am more concerned about what glaciers and ports I will see over all else.
ABD announced they are doing a Japan Tour next year. I Have not yet seen the itinerary, no one has, but if it is like their Europe trips it will be amazing. I did Japan 10 years ago when my son was a rotary exchange student. We stayed primarily in the Tokyo area since that was where he was, and then spent a few nights at Tokyo Disneyland. Japan was one of the most efficient countries to get around in.
Nanc
I also LOVE Celebrity for Alaska, just a little step above RCCL.
Hmm, maybe I should give Celebrity a shot for our Caribbean cruise and see what you guys like about it.
What is ABD? I'm going to Japan to see my brother who is stationed over there. I want to go during the cherry blossom season. I saw the cherry blossoms in DC and they were amazing. I can only imagine what it is like in Japan. Of course, I won't be able to go over there without hitting Tokyo Disney. Does Magical Journeys do Tokyo Disney? I looked on the website, but I didn't see anything about it on there.
Alaska is the only cruise that I tell people they REALLY need a balcony. It is so beautiful. Nothing like seeing bald eagles diving for their breakfast just outside of your room.
ABD is Adventures by Disney. It is a high end, escorted tour.
I did it to London/Paris, Grand Canyon/Sedona/Moab and Rome/Florence/Venice. While it is costly, we did things I would never have had access to without them. For example, we had a private night time viewing of the Sistine Chapel, just us and our guides and a Sistine Chapel expert. It was amazing. In Paris, the line to climb the bell Tower at Notre-Dame Cathedral wrapped around the block. We passed them by and they opened the rope and we entered with our guides and local art history experts.
I have been to Tokyo Disneyland, but have found that staying at a monorail hotel was just as convenient and cheaper than staying at one of the official hotels. I can personally recommend the Sheraton Tokyo Bay (we book it) it had the best bathroom ever. Since Tokyo Disney is not owned by Disney, we don't promote it as much.
Cherry Blossom time in Japan can vary, this years predication are March 24 in Tokyo, March 26 in Kyoto, March 23 in Fukuoka, and March 27 in Osaka. (Osaka has Universal Japan which is on my list of things to do)
Where is your brother stationed?
Nanc
He is in Yokosuka (guessing at the spelling).
I have never done an escorted tour. When I look at them, I just feel like I would be exhausted with all the shuttling around and stuff that they cram in. Did you feel like you had a reasonable amount of downtime? If there is a day you don't want to do, are you allowed to skip it?
Logistics wise for visiting Tokyo and the parks, Yokosuka is soo much easier than Okinawa!
Yes, there is a great mix of tour and solo time, and there are many escorted companies whose itineraries I do not like. For the most part, with ABD you spend at least 2 nights in a locale, so you never get the feeling of "It's tuesday it must be Belgium". I always look for tours that have a minimum of 2 nights each stop.
You can do whatever you like during an ABD. While we were in Paris and the days plans called for a visit to Montmartre, one of the moms skipped it and took her daughter to some of the fashion houses.
I almost had to skip Versailles due to my son breaking a toe the night before, but the guides arranged special accommodations for him and we were both able to see it. (They golf carted him down to the gardens where he sat along the water and the guide took pictures of him with every girl that walked by, while I toured the buildings LOL)
They also offer different things in the same location- one being more active and one being less. On the SW trip, in Arches National Park, there were 2 options, Hike up the Delicate Arch, or a guided tour via shuttle of a bunch of the formations. So there are always options for easy walkers.
There are often separate activities for the junior adventurers as well, and for some stuff you can choose to do that instead of the adult activities (I skipped wine tasting and went and made seasoned vinegar)
I never felt that anything was crammed.
Nanc
This is all great information. Thank you so much. I didn't realize tours could be so flexible. I love the story about your son's pictures with the girls. Lol. He must have been loving it and a bit embarrassed at the same time.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tink1