With Australia’s friendly people, engaging wildlife, pristine beaches, and only one case of COVID-19 reported last week; this is the nation the small luxury ships will visit in December 2021.

In the first half of December 2021 (just a year from now), you’ll have the choice of boarding the Viking Orion, Silversea Silver Muse, Seabourn Ovation, or Crystal Symphony — arguably the finest collection of luxury ships ever assembled anywhere – for 15 or 16 night “all-inclusive” Australian cruises. In this case, “all-inclusive” covers all essential expenses on the ship except for insurance, airfare, and shore excursions. On one ship, in which at least one shore excursion in every port is free, the calculated cost was reduced by 10 percent.

By next December, the ravages of the pandemic will be largely behind us, but we will still have to take precautions and be very cautious. It’s likely that masking, vaccination certificates, and COVID-19 tests will be required to cruise and fly, and certainly to enter largely coronavirus-free Read the rest of this entry »

Over the last ten months, just about everyone I follow on social media seems to have earned a degree in virology. At least that’s the way their social media activity comes across.

They’re using this “degree” to not only make decisions for themselves, but to help make decisions for others. I have fallen into this trap myself at times, thinking that reading studies and staying on top of the latest developments makes me some kind of expert.

Of course, I’m not.

I hope I haven’t led anyone astray with the facts that I have interpreted and the knowledge that I have repeated – especially since so much is on the line for the travel industry, travelers and the general public.

Well, to get level set, I decided to speak to someone in the travel industry who also happens to be a registered nurse, and part of a large family of healthcare professionals.

Nadia Henry has been offering travel services through her company, Travel with Sparkle, since 2007. Read the rest of this entry »

A recent home remodeling project is responsible for today’s message. My example may not be pertinent to you at this exact moment, but I think you will connect with today’s message on your own terms.

One wall in our guest bathroom was recently tiled. It butted up a newly painted adjacent wall. The resulting joint (seam) was not as clean as my wife would have liked, so we resorted to man’s greatest invention… Quarter-round molding.

(Next to the wheel, molding of any type is man’s greatest invention.)

I made a special trip to Lowe’s to purchase two 8-foot sections, which was ample to complete the job. That was easy. I painted each section with the same paint used for the adjacent wall. That was easy. I used “liquid nails” to fasten the molding in place. Once again, easy. Read the rest of this entry »

This may be considered a cop-out as far as crafting daily articles goes, but as Leslie Gore once reminded us back in 1963, “It is my party and I’ll cry if I want to.”

I learned long ago that songs are like speeches (presentations). Everybody interprets the same words differently based on their current mindset and position in life.

These words sung by Tim McGraw strike a chord with me and, rather than conjure up for the umpteenth time a message worth reading according to me, I will just piggy-back off of Timmy boy today and see if this boat floats. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s that time again!  Each year, I take a bit of a break for the final weeks of the year to push a virtual “reset” button.  And boy do we need a reset for 2020. Normally, I’d suggest that no one is thinking about travel leading into the holidays and business is slow until Wave Season. Normally, I’d suggest that you take advantage of the slow time to spend time with your family and rest up for a robust year. But…you are probably tired of your family at this point. And the start of 2021 does not look terribly robust. Right? Read the rest of this entry »

We’re impressed that a few river cruise companies were able to operate during the summer and fall with few or no Covid cases. Last week AmaWaterways’ Kristin Karst told us that her company cruised without incident when it ended its season last month. Listen to our complete interview with Kristin in this podcast.

CroisiEurope, based in Strasbourg, France, operated from mid-July through October, and told us that they were the first to resume cruising on many of the rivers and seas where the company operates.

Astoundingly, at least from our perspective, CroisiEurope carried more than 11,000 guests on 152 cruises Read the rest of this entry »

Something happened this week during my Inner Circle Sales and Marketing Meeting that I wanted to share with you today. It was simple, yet profound. And it just may be an example of the most underutilized marketing tactic used today, with any degree of effectiveness.

I was sharing my experience of placing a cold call to a highly recognized and respected person I wanted to meet, after years of just “thinking about it.” One day, I picked up the phone and made the call. I asked for a lunch date, and was genuinely surprised when the person agreed to meet with me. That person was Vicki Freed from Royal Caribbean. Read the rest of this entry »

The phones already were ringing, travel advisors say, when the promise of a vaccine set off a new kind of WAVE season in December. And suddenly, 2022 is looking to be the year we all have been hoping for—where unspent travel budgets, great promotions from suppliers, and visions of Covid-free travel finally meet.

“Of course everyone has been hearing about the vaccine for months, but now there is a tangible date—and that has made people comfortable enough to make concrete plans to travel again,” says Laurel Brunvoll, owner of Unforgettable Trips in Gaithersburg, MD, who sold eight guests on a Silversea Baltic cruise within 45 minutes of emailing them last week. “A lot more people are ready to plan new trips. They feel it actually could happen.” Read the rest of this entry »

If you’re a frequent reader of my Agent’s Perspectives, you’ll know that I’m a great believer in creating itineraries that enable your clients to travel less and see more. This week, I’m introducing a five-night, on-location masterpiece centred on Bath and Oxford with three nights in London at the end. It includes places used in the filming of the new Netflix period drama Bridgerton, The Secret Garden, Wolf Hall, Poldark, Harry Potter, and Downton Abbey. This rich blend is further enhanced with visits to treasure-filled Blenheim Palace and an unforgettable English afternoon tea. Read on and then ask me for the itinerary which includes other must-see On Location visits. Read the rest of this entry »

During my daily walk, I often listen to audible books I have downloaded over the past few months. The most recent title I have been listening to is a book called Essentialism by author Greg McKeown. In a nutshell, this book reminds us to eliminate all but what is essential in our daily lives.

I’m not sure in what chapter I picked up the following three letter reminder, but it struck a chord with me and I thought I would share it with you today. Read the rest of this entry »

Perillo Tours has had a quiet year. As a specialist in travel to Italy for three generations, the company was paying close attention when Italy became the first country outside of Asia to get hit hard with COVID-19. The devastation in Italy was terrifying, and one of the early windows into what was coming to America.

Steve Perillo, president and CEO of Perillo Tours, realized early on that he was going to be forced to cancel some tours. No one knew how long the siege would go on. It just kept getting worse.

“On March 1, we canceled to May 1,” he told me. “On May 1, we canceled to July 1. On July 1, we canceled August. On August 1, we canceled September and October. On September 1, we canceled the balance of the year Read the rest of this entry »

For travel advisors, 2021 will be divided into two seasons: Pre-Vaccine (Pre-Vac) and Post-Vaccine (Post-Vac). The Pre-Vac season starts immediately and will extend until (as Dr. Anthony Fauci says) about 75% of the people in the United States, and in the nations that we visit on cruises, are vaccinated. The Post-Vac season extends from then through the rest of the year.

Let’s assume that the dividing line will be at the start of the Memorial Day Weekend, May 29, 2021. Selling cruises that leave before and after that date will be entirely different. Read the rest of this entry »

I met my stepson when he was seven. Brian is 45 today. As hard as that is to believe, I consider that thought to be a HUGE wake-up call. “Time waits for no man.”

You are probably wondering what does this have to do with you, and why am I sharing this useless statistic with you. Maybe nothing. Maybe today’s message is for me.

As many of my loyal readers have come to understand, I am a big fan of “repetition.” At the risk of repeating myself for the umpteenth time, here comes a reminder that is worth remembering. I am sure you have heard it before.

Today’s message is being taken from a sign I have hanging over my desk. It simply reads: “WORK HARD TODAY TO AVOID DISAPPOINTMENT TOMORROW.” Read the rest of this entry »

During one of the last phone conversations I had with Jim Smith before he passed away earlier this year, he and I were speaking confidentially about my desire to lead change in the travel industry. It was mid-March and I was expressing my frustration with the industry’s approach to travel advisors.

I was telling Jim how I felt too many suppliers paid little more than lip service to the value advisors deliver. I was saying that given what I had experienced, advisors were seen more as just another sales channel, not as professional salespeople who could create new business for their supplier partners and upsell clients to higher margin purchases.

I also expressed to Jim that this wasn’t solely my opinion; that I had lost count of the number of tenured travel advisors who had told me they feel this way too. Read the rest of this entry »

 

“The look in your eye, the sound of your voice, and the energy that comes off of you affects everybody.”

I came across this quote while reviewing a few of my past articles on a Saturday morning.  A recent experience came to mind, and I believe it carries a message worth repeating. Let me set the stage.

I am beginning to train for a 70.3 Ironman Triathlon which is scheduled to take place in the northern panhandle of Florida in May.

A significant training snag is preventing me from preparing properly for the bike portion of the race. My bike is in upstate New York, and I am writing this article in southern Florida. Read the rest of this entry »

Most people know what a football looks like. Many others actually know how the game is played and how the scoring works. Kicks, passes, blocks, runs, and punts all come into play and most people “get it.”

But as good as you may be at watching a football game, what is “really” going on between the lines on both Saturday and Sunday afternoons may have you scratching your head in wonderment faster than a “quick slant on a silent count.”

Having a little experience at the college level, I know a little bit about today’s message. In fact, the University of Massachusetts thought enough of my quarterbacking skills to agree to pay for my education. (The older I get, the better I was!) Read the rest of this entry »

Business sucks. I get it. But the good news is we are all here and there is a light at the end of the tunnel.  We are all sick and tired of working from home, not seeing people on a regular basis and we are all sick and tired of not traveling as freely as before.  But you know what?  So are your clients and prospects. So, reach out! Read the rest of this entry »

“We promise according to our hopes, and perform according to our fears.”  ~Francois duc de la Rochefoucauld

We are quickly approaching that time of year where we make resolutions about the year to come. A resolution is essentially a promise we make to ourselves. How easy is it to make such promises? Far too easy.  We make promises continually to ourselves and others.  Sometimes they take the form of solemn oaths (“I do”) and other times they take the form of appointments and deliverables. We easily assure our business partners we will “be right back with you” and then let far too much time slip away.  Suddenly our promise has gone stale and we are working not to hit our deadline, but to not be terribly late in our performance. While we are sharpening our tool set during our travel hiatus, let’s think a bit about promises.

Read the rest of this entry »

This week I had the pleasure of interviewing Kristin Karst for my podcast, Avid Travel With Britton Frost. Karst is the executive vice president and co-founder of AmaWaterways. We spoke to many facets of the AmaWaterways’ experience – especially about the company’s philosophy to under-promise and over-deliver – but we also spoke about what is coming for AmaWaterways in the future.

Ama had a very busy 2019 with three new ships joining its fleet including the double-wide river ship, AmaMagna. Though 2020 was quiet for most of the cruise industry, AmaWaterways was able to operate sailings in Germany between July and November. With plans to introduce more new ships and itineraries in 2021, Ama has no intention of slowing down. Read the rest of this entry »

When asked for a “four-letter-word” that begins with the letter “f”, most responses would rhyme with luck, buck, duck and Chuck. I personally think this is one of the nastiest words used today, and it seems it is being uttered by more and more people daily. Quite honestly, I am appalled. If it were up to me I would ban this word from the dictionary permanently.

The four letter word I am talking about that begins with the letter “f” is… Read the rest of this entry »

I have attended the United States Tour Operators Association’s Annual Conference and Marketplace every year since the mid-‘90s. This is the first time since then that I have not closed out the year with a warm gathering of friendly people, in some beautiful hotel in a delightful location, with a concentrated schedule of events designed to promote productive engagement among diverse players in the travel industry from around the world. It is a highlight of the year.

It’s not a huge conference. It’s fewer than a thousand people, but it’s one of the most diverse gatherings of people I’ve been fortunate enough to experience. And they are high quality people from all over the world. The companies and organizations send some of their best people to that conference.

The attendance is based around the core membership of the association, its Active Members. Read the rest of this entry »