Why use a Travel Consultant for your Honeymoon?

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?"
​

If you like what you read you can learn what to do for your next trip by downloading my honeymoon planning checklist HERE.

---