The Perfect Honeymoon want to spend precious hours in an airport?
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Consider Travel Insurance
Mike considers travel insurance a must. You can’t control a natural disaster, but you can manage how you deal with one. Hurricane season is June 1 thorough November 30, but especially during the months of September and October, which are also popular matrimonial months. With travel insurance you can cancel or re-book for any reason at any time. Mike had some memorable clients who were thankful for the travel insurance they purchased. “At the reception, the groom cut off his bride’s garter with a pocketknife, then went to put the knife back in his pocket. When he did so, he cut himself in the leg, pretty seriously slicing a major artery, and they had to postpone their honeymoon.” But since they purchased travel insurance, they did so without any extra penalties or cost.
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was overbooked due to a conference being held there. The staff was unsympathetic and the manager never appeared to talk to them. The only alternative offered was a room at a Holiday Inn, downtown and 30 minutes away from the beach. Unfortunately, these stories are not uncommon, says Mike. “If a couple is unhappy, they’re just two customers. The resort staff might think
you’ll be gone soon, so why should they knock themselves out trying to accommodate you?” Mike says. “But if the couple works with a travel agent, and the resort doesn’t make it right, the agency may not send any more guests their way in the future. That gives the resort a lot more incentive to do whatever needs to be done to correct any problems.” It’s also a lot nicer to make a phone call to the travel agent you know
Travel Agents Have Clout
Many couples choose to honeymoon outside of the United States, with Mexico and the Caribbean being the most popular among spots. But what do you do when you arrive, if something goes wrong or is not as promised? This is when having booked your trip with a travel agent is especially helpful. Agents have relationships and personal contacts with the resort staff and can help amend the situation in a timely manner. Even in highly reputable hotels, overbooking is common. It happened to a couple that booked with Travel Haus, and by contacting their travel agent, the situation was quickly resolved. “The couple called me and I talked to the resort staff,” Mike says. “We found them an upgraded room at a nearby resort, and the staff provided the couple with a free dinner, spa treatment and snorkeling trip.” On the other hand, couples that don’t use a travel agent sometimes don’t fare as well when something goes awry. One couple honeymooned at a supposedly five-star resort in Fiji and it was a nightmare. The all-inclusive resort had advertised an endless array of fresh seafood available. The bride recalls: “But we were hardly offered any seafood at all. The food was terrible, there was nothing fresh and the staff used terrible hygiene when handling the food. We saw them wiping their noses and coughing into the food— it was disgusting! Both my husband and I ended up getting sick.” When they complained and referred to what they were promised when the booked the trip, “They basically laughed at us. They had our money and didn’t care at that point,” says the bride. Another couple arrived at their beachside resort in St. Thomas and was told it FALL/WINTER 2014 • www.bridestl.com
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