Take Me Away Africa Experience

Embark on a Virtual Vacation Experience
and Explore African Safaris and Tours!

• We're here to provide vacation inspiration! Join our virtual vacation experience from the comfort of your home.
• Get access to EXCLUSIVE OFFERS for your next African Travel Safari bucket-list vacation.
• Register for our live event today and you'll be entered to win a TUMI Backpack and Passport Case (a $765 value!)

African Travel offers an unforgettable vacation experience. Enjoy incredible wildlife encounters and discover the rich biodiversity of Africa. Get ready for the ultimate African dream vacation, where every detail of our safari tour is taken care of seamlessly!

Contact us to start planning your next bucket-list vacation!   Contact us to start planning your next vacation!  Vacations are what bring us together. #LetsGetTraveling

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I recently completed extensive training and have become Travel Safety Verified. As your dedicated Travel Advisor, your safety is our priority, and it's our job to ensure you have the necessary information you need to give you confidence and peace of mind when making your future travel plans. Click the link to review our Travel Safety program with valuable resources that will answer many of your questions.

Where have you explored? 

Gather your travel and food pics and join us every Wednesday for the latest installment of #FoodTravelChat

Starting July 7, 2021 our new time will be 4 PM Eastern

Announcing National Plan a Cruise Month

October is National 
Plan a Cruise Month

Explore the World of Cruise Vacationing
October 1 - 31, 2020
 

If you've ever thought about going on your first cruise, October is the time to begin that journey.



Fall is the Perfect Time for Vacationers to Plan a Trip at Sea  


We're joining with member travel agencies from the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) across the US and Canada to host National Plan a Cruise Month. Through a multi-dimensional campaign, the cruise industry has come together to help everyone fall in love with cruising by featuring unprecedented cruise vacation offers - from discovering new cruises and destinations to receiving the best cruise deals and promotions.  Visit CLIA Plan a Cruise Month for additional details. This year's theme is #ChooseCruise.

Cruising is all about you. You can find adventure, culture and education or, relax the day away. Dine on fine cuisine. Indulge at the spa. Reconnect with family. Share romantic moments. All this, in the destination of your choice, for a few days, a week or more, on a cruise that's right for you.

In the digital age, some believe travel agents to be an unnecessary and outdated step in planning a cruise vacation, but this simply isn’t the case. To uncover the truth, here are three common travel agent myths, and the real facts.




Cruise Planning Resources

Dreaming about a cruise or land vacation?  Why wait for the postman to deliver a brochure?

Browse through "My Brochure Rack" on our website for current online eBrochures.


We have a special page with Cruise Line Videos for you to explore. Just click the cruise ship of your choice and watch the video for behind the scenes tours.  We'll also be featuring articles about cruising all month long in addition to our normal blog posts, so be sure to come back often to explore.

As the world continues to address challenges regarding COVID-19, the top priority for the entire cruise community—including cruise lines, travel agents, ports, destinations, suppliers and beyond—continues to be the health and safety of passengers, crew and the communities in the places we visit.     ~Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA)

 

Click the banner above for the latest cruise promotions

 

Cruise lines are offering special promotions and pricing on popular cruises to encourage consumers to plan their next cruise vacation now. We'll be featuring promotions on our website and social media.

Choose Cruise Month (click for mini-series)

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Where have you explored? 

Gather your travel and food pics and join us every Wednesday night for the latest installment of #FoodTravelChat 

Planning a Cruise Vacation

You Haven't Lived Until You've Cruised...

You've heard friends talk about their cruise vacations and how great a time they had, and you wonder what's it all about. More and more people are discovering the all-inclusive pleasures of a cruise vacation.   This month, in conjunction with CLIA's National Plan a Cruise Month, we are writing a series of articles to help you become more familiar with cruise vacations.

Planning Your First / Next Cruise

The diagram above shows some of the decision points that factor into your final selection of a particular cruise sailing.   At first glance, it may seem to be a bit daunting, and perhaps that is what has kept you away from taking a cruise up to now.  We can work with you to demystify the process.

We highly recommend that you work with a professional travel agent, that specializes in cruises, to plan your vacation.   As a CLIA certified Master Cruise Counselor (MCC), we've taken the time to learn about the industry, the cruise lines, the destinations, all the changes that occur year after year, and through our personal experiences, can ask the right questions to find the cruise that best meets your desires.  The MCC certification isn't a one-time event, it is an ongoing commitment, of our expertise, which we need to renew year after year, much like your family doctor.


Asking the Right Questions

Think about other travel that you have done ...  When planning those trips, you had certain criteria in mind that ultimately factored into what became your vacation or business trip.

Who's Going, What are their Ages, When Can you Go

In many cases, you are locked into a specific date or period of time (such as when the other travelers can get off of work, or when the kids are out of school).  Once a date is selected, the pool of possible cruise destinations may shrink.   For example, if you wanted to cruise in December, you won't be going to Alaska, as that season goes from May - September.

Are Certain Ports a Must, Are you Driving or Flying to Port

We'll look at destinations in more detail in another post, but that is one of the key determining factors in planning the actual sailing.   Let's assume that you want to meet a long lost relative in a foreign country...   that would become a must-see port of call and could become your primary deciding factor.

If you are fortunate enough to be within driving distance to a cruise port, departing from that port may dictate the length of cruise and destination(s) possible.  Even if you are flying, each port has certain destinations that are within sailing distance for a given length of a cruise.

Do you Have any Preferences

You may have some cruise lines, that you are familiar with, and want to sail on.   This may be a trip with the family who loves Disney characters or Dreamworks characters and the cruise line becomes the most important factor in your planning.

Finding the Right Cruise at the Right Price

After discussing all the options within the framework of your wants, the final decision will most likely involve what's available within my budget.   Our goal as your agent is to find you the best value for your vacation dollar.  Note that doesn't necessarily equate to the lowest price.   If the lowest priced cruise doesn't have any of your top requirements, then that cruise isn't for you.  You wouldn't buy a car that you didn't like, and you shouldn't purchase a cruise vacation that you won't like either.

Starting the Planning

We have many tools for you to begin your cruise research.   We are highlighting them throughout the month as we look at cruising, which we fell in love with personally some 30+ years ago.  This blog, our Facebook page, and our website are your building blocks.   We have a cruise finder on all these sites which can give you an idea about the destinations that are possible within the desired time frame.  The best tool that you have at  your disposal is the phone.  An interactive conversation is the best way to uncover your wants and desires and funnel them down to possible candidate cruise sailings.

Are you new to cruising?   Start by reading our Cruise Rookies page.  We'll be posting several more articles this month, but if you can't wait, we suggest searching our Blog for past articles.  Check out our Cruise Diaries for some of our featured cruises.

Follow us on Twitter: @ChrisPappinMCC  Pinterest: CruiseWithChris Pappin and Facebook: CruiseWithChris Pappin Cruises Inc for more ideas.  Sign up for our eNewsletter to get updates.

National Plan A Cruise Month Promotions 

Cruise lines are offering special promotions and pricing on popular cruises to encourage consumers to plan their next cruise vacation now.

We'll be featuring promotions on our website and social media.  Click here to see current offers.

Choose Cruise Month (click for mini-series)

Follow Us On

        

Sign-up for Exclusive Email Offers

Where have you explored? 

Gather your travel and food pics and join us every Wednesday night for the latest installment of #FoodTravelChat 

Announcing National Plan a Cruise Month

October is National 
Plan a Cruise Month

Explore the World of Cruise Vacationing
October 1 - 31, 2019
 

If you've ever thought about going on your first cruise, October is the time to begin that journey.



Fall is the Perfect Time for Vacationers to Plan a Trip at Sea  


We're joining with member travel agencies from the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) across the US and Canada to host National Plan a Cruise Month. Through a multi-dimensional campaign, the cruise industry has come together to help everyone fall in love with cruising by featuring unprecedented cruise vacation offers - from discovering new cruises and destinations to receiving the best cruise deals and promotions.  Visit CLIA Plan a Cruise Month for additional details. This year's theme is #ChooseCruise.

Cruising is all about you. You can find adventure, culture and education or, relax the day away. Dine on fine cuisine. Indulge at the spa. Reconnect with family. Share romantic moments. All this, in the destination of your choice, for a few days, a week or more, on a cruise that's right for you.

In the digital age, some believe travel agents to be an unnecessary and outdated step in planning a cruise vacation, but this simply isn’t the case. To uncover the truth, here are three common travel agent myths, and the real facts.




Cruise Planning Resources

Dreaming about a cruise or land vacation?  Why wait for the postman to deliver a brochure?

Browse through "My Brochure Rack" on our website for current online eBrochures.


We have a special page with Cruise Line Videos for you to explore. Just click the cruise ship of your choice and watch the video for behind the scenes tours.  We'll also be featuring articles about cruising all month long in addition to our normal blog posts, so be sure to come back often to explore.

National Plan A Cruise Month Promotions 

Cruise lines are offering special promotions and pricing on popular cruises to encourage consumers to plan their next cruise vacation now. We'll be featuring promotions on our website and social media.

Choose Cruise Month (click for 2019 mini-series)

Follow Us On

        

Sign-up for Exclusive Email Offers

Where have you explored? 

Gather your travel and food pics and join us every Wednesday night for the latest installment of #FoodTravelChat