Adam in San Diego
5/5
We have used Regency for all our travel the past 9 years. We have had many special and memorable experiences that we would not have had without Kathleen's expertise and suggestions. Helene has also been a big help, also suggesting interesting things she experienced when visiting the destination where we were headed.
I have always been an "I'd rather do it myself guy." I admit, it is because I usually like the things I plan/pick. I learned my lesson one time when I used Costco travel. I was blinded by what I thought was a great deal cost wise. I'm not bad mouthing Costco Travel, I just wanted to share the lesson I learned in not having a personal travel agent handle our trip.
Things seemed to be going well, until there was a snag in our journey. While in the airport after long hold times for Costco Travel, I talked with several people who didn't really know how to assist me/get to the bottom of the problem, and our need. I was left to hammer out the new details by myself.
While we usually have no issues or troubles traveling, life happens. One time, our inbound flight to New Zealand was late due to a rain delay on the outbound flight in L.A. Just after arriving New Zealand, we found we had missed the one and only daily connection flight to the neighboring Island. Kathleen handled everything for us. She arranged a last minute hotel for that night, so that we could resume our planned trip the next day. Hoewever, our luggage didn't make the flight with us. Not only did we not have luggage, but we were leaving the next morning to keep on our planned itinerary. We didn't want to miss out on any more of our trip by staying behind to receive our luggage. Kathleen told us exactly what to do, and we followed her advice. Turns out...our luggage didn't arrive to us on the North Island for three days. Kathleen reminded us that we had purchased travel insurance through her and that we could shop for items we needed to 'live' for the few days until our luggage caught up with us. She advised us to keep the receipts of all things purchased. We bought toiletries, clothes and didn't miss a beat. When we got home, she helped us file the claim with the travel insurance company and we were reimbursed for the purchases, and reimbursed hundreds of dollars for the actual luggage delay/trip interruption.
These are the kinds of things that one doesn't think of when thinking it is easy to plan travel. It is not easy. I learned my lesson and we use only Kathleen when planning our trips. I'm not being negative, but 'bummer' things happen while traveling. When they do, I want someone who truly cares about me, stepping up to assist. You don't get that with clearing house travel arrangers.
There is no premium to use a professional/personal travel agent. In fact, you often save money being in the know of things that only your personal agent knows and shares with you! i.e., helping you choose a good cruise ship room that is not under a busy staff stairwell etc.
I urge you to experience the gift of using Kathleen at Regency to arrange your trips. You will not regret it.
With Gratitude...thank you Kathleen.
Adam Affleck-Worthy
