Why Use a Travel Consultant for your Honeymoon?
By Jen Campbell Honeymoon Specialist of Escape Destinations Travel

Why use a travel consultant for your honeymoon?     “My fiancé and I are keeping it simple.” “We just go online.” "We’re on a budget.” “We’re on Twitter.” “I know what I’m doing.”

Believe me, I’ve heard it all. Maybe you’ve heard the “Where you book matters” brand campaign. And Yes, I couldn’t agree more. Regardless of destination you choose, you more than want a professional on your side. You need one on your side.

Yes, your honeymoon should be a very special trip that you will always remember, forever. You only get one chance to get the Romantic Honeymoon Perfect!  But hopefully it's memorable for the right reasons!

Consider these TOP 10 REASONS to Use a Travel Consultant when Booking your Honeymoon Dream Vacation:

1. Neither of you have ever traveled to the Big Apple, but you think a romantic city trip to see the touristy sites would be perfect. So you check with your friends on Facebook for their suggestions. Your maid-of-honor’s sister went to the top New York film school and recommends three different “affordable” places to stay. It wasn't until after you arrive that you realize you’re honeymooning at a hostel nowhere near midtown Manhattan.

2. You've heard a cruise makes a great honeymoon. What could be more romantic than the two of you sailing away to start your new life together? You pored over the internet and booked with a discounted cruise site; the price and pictures were fantastic. Except when you got onboard, you realized your inside cabin means no window and was located directly below the noisy kids pool area. Not the experience you were expecting.

3. You think you have the perfect cabin on the perfect post-wedding cruise. You have studied the deck plans, mapped out the “quiet areas,” and have thoroughly researched it all online. Not a pitfall in sight. After all, you have cruised with your parents before and know what you’re getting into. Only you weren’t the one paying when you went with your family. And turns out cruising isn’t the “all-inclusive” honeymoon you thought it would be. You’re more than a little embarrassed when you spend the first days of your new marriage racking up credit card charges to pay for fruity drinks and shore excursions you didn’t realize weren’t included.

4. You know you can’t go wrong with a Caribbean all-inclusive for your honeymoon. You find one online that really includes everything and the photos look great. The price is right—it comes in under your budget so you stretch the trip to 8 days. Such a deal! Turns out a week of mediocre buffets, hard beds and below-average “entertainment” was not the atmosphere you envisioned.

5. You book the Caribbean all-inclusive you’ve had your eye on and the package sure looks like a winner. Finally the romantic trip you have been wanting, just the two of you. Turns out you booked during Spring Break and the resort is booked solid with families, so the downtime is spent avoiding the pools, kids club at the beach and pirate theme nights at dinner.

6. Okay, you've figured out that adults-only is the way to go. Online, you spot an “ideal” all-inclusive in Jamaica with romantic rooms for two. Sure it’s the lowest room category, but you’re happy just to go. When you get there, you discover all the upgraded perks of the other rooms while you are hoofing it across the highway to the (gasp – public?) beach half a mile away! The internet never mentioned anything about this.

7. You decide on a honeymoon in Vegas! (Hey, it's where I got married...so I understand completely) You check out all the options online and go with a top-end luxury property mid-strip. You prepay the rate with the cheaper, non-refundable fee…nothing more to worry about, right? Imagine your surprise when not only do they want a credit card at check-in, but there are various “hotel resort fees” you knew nothing about nor needed (why am I being charged for bottled water daily?).

8. This is the first time you and your future spouse are traveling, and you think the big cruise ships you see on TV are an appealing way to get away from it all. But not too far—neither of you have passports so you think this is a perfect option. You're just going to fly to Florida, right? Well the unexpected happens horseback-riding in Mexico on day two and you need to fly home. Uh-oh. . .no passport! You’re stuck at sea: after hobbling to the ship’s infirmary, you’re forced to remain in your cabin on bed rest for the rest of the cruise...so not romantic!

9. Exotic Central America – a combination trip of both the beach and the country’s interior with awesome sites and ancient history. The “rustic” cabins look ideal for a really romantic honeymoon. But little did you know, there was no air-conditioning in your secluded jungle lodge, and no preparing yourself for dry season in the tropics.

10. Last but not least, you try to head off most of the above with an ounce of prevention: travel insurance! Surely now you’re protected, right? Well, depends on what you bought. The unthinkable happens and the trip is off. Can you cancel your trip? You may not be covered after all, and your hard-earned deposit (or worse – more!) could be gone. Wish you had a travel agent to make sense of your coverage and advise?

Don’t let and of these happen to you. There are many more reasons than mentioned here. Not to mention travel consultants can secure the best value for your money – with special access to finding all sorts of deals (many unpublished) ranging from flights to hotels to dinner recommendations.

Travel consultants offer that “personal touch” to your travel planning experience, and they do it every day. Travel consultants are experts in helping travelers get where they need to go and in helping to create possibilities most people never would have dreamed were realistic.

They offer help, suggestions, knowledge and advice that the internet simply cannot provide. And they often do it for FREE.

Bottom line, the question is not "Should you use a travel consultant for your honeymoon?" It's "Can you afford not to?"
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If you like what you read you can learn what to do for your next trip by downloading my honeymoon planning checklist HERE.

I love the idea of creating and checking off a Bucket List!

Some of my “Bucket List” picks are the following:
1.  Go skydiving
2.  See the Great Wall of China
3.  Backpack all over Europe
4.  Live (once again) in Europe
5.  Retire on a tropical island
6.  Go Parasailing
7.  Take a summer off to travel
8.  Cruise around the world
9.  Live on the beach (in retirement)
10.  Seeing/visiting every single state in the US
11.  Travel to every continent
12.  Selling and/or renting our home & living out of a backpack for awhile
13.  Seeing the US and Europe on rail
14.  Write a book
15.  Serve/minister in a 3rd world country
16.  Take both our children on a mission trip
17.  Celebrate our 50th Wedding Anniversary
18. Celebrate an Anniversary in Germany
19.  See the top of the ZugSpitze
20.  Create a family foundation
21.  Leave a good inheritance for our children
22.  Celebrate our family reunion on a cruise ship
23.  Teach a college course
24.  Build a vacation home at the beach
25.  Go paragliding
26.  Go cliff jumping
27.  Learn how to snowboard
28.  Learn how to surf
29.  Take a rafting trip through the Grand Canyon
30.  Take a 3 month sabbatical
31.  Do a silent retreat at a monastery
32.  Go on an overnight canoe/kayak trip with my family
33.  Drive a race car
34.  Take a hot air balloon ride with my honey
35.  Go horseback riding as a family
36.  Spend a night in a tree house hotel
37.  Spend the night in an underwater hotel
38.  Run with the bulls in Pamplona
39.  Wear a Scottish kilt in Scotland
40.  Take a mission trip to a different continent
41.  Run a triathlon in my sixties
42.  Run a half-marathon
43.  Be debt free by age 50
44.  Live off 30% and give 70% away by the time we retire
45.  Take an RV vacation as a family
46.  Ride all the top roller coasters in the world
47.  Go on an African Safari
48.  Snorkel the Great Barrier Reef in Australia
49.  Ride the world’s tallest water slide at Atlantis with the sharks
50.  Kiss my honey on top of the Eiffel Tower in France
51.  Visit Provence, Italy
52.  Visit London, England
53.  Give extravagantly to someone in need
54.  Go kayaking in Alaska
55.  Stay in a German Castle Hotel
56.  Visit the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany
57.  Take a boat cruise down the Rhine River for several days
58.  Learn to sail a yacht
59.  Live on a deserted island for at least a week
60.  Ride a gondola in Venice
61.  Hike trails in Hawaii
62.  Straddle the equator
63.  Visit the Parthenon in Athens, Greece
64.  Visit the Holy Land
65.  Re-trace Jesus’ footsteps
66.  Ride a segway in a new destination
67.  Take a carriage ride through Central Park in New York City
68.  Ride on a motor scooter through a Caribbean island with my honey
69.  Take a train ride through the mountains in the fall
70.  Go island hopping with no destination in mind, simply go where the wind takes me

So what do you think, do any of these interest you? Please share your own Top Picks in the COMMENTS below:

Ladies, yes I’m talking to you...why you say, well, because I'm the same way!

Sick of lugging that 28-inch HUGE bag through endless airports? Plus don't forget your carry-on, your purse, documents, phone, etc.

Do you want to downsize but aren't sure how? Think about it this way:

If you pick just 1 color scheme and choose accents to vary your routine every day, you can probably eliminate at least one pair of shoes and a jacket or two. Try navy blue or black as your base color (less chance of showing signs of wear.) A skirt, a pair of pants/shorts and a dress can take you a long way, with a simple mix and match approach. Scarves, a sweater or two, inexpensive jewelry, and other accessories can really help vary your look so you can ROCK IT with Style!

You’d be amazed at how efficiently you can use the same few articles of clothing. Then add another pair of pants/shorts or a skirt (and some warm weather options if it’s summer), some informal tops for daywear and there you are. If you can make the additional items also work with the basic set, all the better (and lighter).
 
Rather than trying to pack enough “unmentionables” for 2 weeks, plan on a morning visit to a drop-off laundry service on day 8. Every town has one. Pick-up in the late afternoon and you’re ready for your second week of FUN. Or (for the adventurous types) bring some detergent (get those in a trial size) and wash these in your bathroom sink, then dry on your shower rod.

We've just gotten back (hubby and I) from a really wonderful 7 night cruise on the Italian cruise line MSC on board their ship called The Divina, who sails in the lovely Caribbean now. We docked out of Miami, and WOW, what an incredible port!

MY QUICK REVIEW:
It was a great ship overall, we had a terrific time. If you love authentic fresh Italian pasta and pizza and top of the line Broadway style shows-then this ship is for you! You must realize that MSC is a European Cruise Line, so the ship definitely has a European Flair and European Style of doing things. If you can understand this going on the ship, you'll have a fabulous time!!

OUR AMAZING BALCONY ROOM-
We had a balcony stateroom, that was so fabulous!!  The views were stunning, and we truly spent tons of time on it. I loved having coffee on the balcony in the a.m. and a glass of wine on the balcony in the evening. Then arriving into ports, I was able to take some incredible pictures! The room was plenty big enough for 2 people, the bathroom was pretty standard (as compared to most cruise lines).

THE SHIP'S AMENITIES-
MSC Divina had pretty decent amenities. It had plenty of shops, many lounges, a water slide and 4 pools. We noticed several hot tubs (not always packed which was nice) and lots of areas to walk. We spent a lot of time walking the ship and it was easy to see how a full ship didn't feel full at all when we were going places (which was pleasant). The only real lines were the first and last days on the ship (embarkation and final debarkation). Otherwise it truly didn't feel crowded or miserable. I didn't feel like I was "herded along".

The wine bar on board was really wonderful, we spent a lot of time in here, with a fabulous, exhaustive list of wine from all over the world. We did a few small wine tastings that were well worth the $9 price which included 3 wines and some appetizers to complement these. I recommend purchasing the drink tickets, their is a real money value in doing so. They were great prices for drinks! 

My favorite place on the ship was the Infinity Pool area. It was quiet, the pool was beautiful and felt like it was on the edge of the ship. It had shallow areas where you could sit (or lay) and get the cool water running over you, yet not be submerged in a large body of water. The "lounge chair issue" also seemed to be prevalent on the ship, it was always a challenge on sea days to find 2 chairs together. The last sea day we ended up getting one chair, and dragging another close to it, in order to be able to sit together. I don't think many people on the ship realized this little bit of heaven existing on this ship....so shhhh......don't tell people about this "secret spot"!

We enjoyed the Serenity Area (top deck) that was nice, but beware there is sometimes a charge to be up here. We had a discussion with one of the staff regarding allowing us one day up there for free and then the next day, wanting to charge us a fee, plus asking for tips. It's a nice area with pods to lay in, lounge chairs and a hot tub. This area is very quiet and serene, and worth being in! Just beware, it's the top deck and topless bathing is a common-place here!

The music was very nice and relaxing on the ship, we checked out several lounges, they had dance lessons (which were a lot of fun) some crafts, and then of course, the normal poolside contests. There was some variety for people to enjoy.

I didn't feel like it was overbooked (the schedule) and wished they had a few more activities to pass the time. If you wanted to simply relax and not have pushy wait staff on top of you 24/7, then this is the ship for you! The Broadway style shows were very much TOP NOTCH!  The costumes were gorgeous, the staff was really fantastic and didn't miss a beat. You will definitely want to check out a show or 2. What is nice is they have the shows twice each evening, so both dining times can catch a show. So, don't miss the last night's show: the Michael Jackson Tribute, was unbelievable!!!

If you enjoy very leisurely (time wise) dining, then this is the ship for you. It took about an hour and a half to get through all of dinner (to include dessert and coffee). The food was wonderful on the ship, and we took advantage of as much time eating in the dining room (go there on sea days for lunch and breakfast too) as possible. While the buffet was good overall, it did get old after 7 days of eating it. Good varieties and lots of cultural food to choose from.

The staff is very international, as well as the passengers. The one part that got old, close to the last day, was hearing the announcements being repeated in like 6 languages. I wish (since the ship is based in the US right now for sailings) that English would have been the main language.

The MSC Divina was a real treat to sail on, I'd recommend this ship time and time again. I hope to sail on her again real soon, as well as bring a big group on board, this could be my new favorite ship to sail on!!