The first conversation.
We start with a phone call or an exchange of messages, whichever is easier for you. I ask what is going on in your life, who is traveling, what you loved and hated about past trips, and what you actually want this one to feel like. It is closer to a good conversation with a friend than an intake form. Most of what I need lives in what people say between the lines, so this step matters more than it looks.
Curation, not a catalog.
I come back to you with one or two recommendations. Not twenty. I tell you which ship, which sailing, which cabin category, and why. If I think two options are genuinely close, I show you both and explain the tradeoff in plain language. If a client asks for something I do not think will land, I say so. My job is to make the decision easy, not to expand the number of decisions you have to make.
Booking and the quiet details.
Once you decide, I handle the booking, the deposits, the payment schedule, insurance options, dining reservations, shore excursions worth reserving early, and the airport pieces if you want them. You get a clean itinerary you can actually read. I keep track of promotions and price drops between deposit and final payment, and I move on them without you having to ask.
Support while you travel.
When flights cancel or weather rearranges an itinerary, you have my cell phone, not an 800 number. I am the one making calls and rebooking on your behalf while you are still standing at the gate or sitting on the ship. That single piece of the relationship is what most clients tell me they did not know they needed until they had it.
What this costs.
Honest answer: in most cases, nothing extra to you. The planning is built into the trip through the cruise line or supplier, the same way it is when you book direct. On the rare occasions when custom land planning warrants a modest planning fee, we discuss it upfront and I explain exactly what it covers. No surprises, no games. You get an advisor working for you at prices that match or beat what you would find booking on your own.