Logistical disasters abounded! Went on a "luxury wine and food tour" that was 50% luxury and 50%…read moremotel six. The five day stretch in the middle was a bumbling mix of terrible winery, a jolly tour guide who knew nothing about food or wine, a moldy hotel bathroom and endless hours on a small bus. Had to pay extra for a suite and then had our suite given away to another couple on the tour - with no offering of a refund until we called it to their attention. Fortunately the first hotel was lovely and the last three days saved the whole trip. I paid way too much money for such mediocre service and accommodations and transportation. Trust level with this agency is 0. Never again

My experience was with one agent only so I can't say how the rest of the agents are. She was…read moreunprofessional and unfriendly so I decided to take my business elsewhere.

The email address on website bounces back The voicemail…read moresystem is a nightmare. There is no directory. You need to know who you're calling. As a new customer I have tried entering random numbers until I hit a box. No one calls back. Ever. Imagine: you are stranded and flight is canceled. You call your travel agent for assistance. Well, SCAN EAST WEST doesn't answer the phone. There is no working email address Looks like a 100% SCAM. DO NOT USE

I was originally very excited when I found a local travel agency that "specialized" in Scandinavian…read moretravel, as I was planning a 3 week trip with my child and didn't know much about those areas. The agent I worked with was prompt to respond to my emails at first and seemed very knowledgable and helpful in getting an itinerary together. I was under the impression that travel agents get paid by the companies they work with for the travel arrangements, so I was surprised by the agent requesting $100 from me to book our plane tickets and for the time she had spent up front. But I felt her expertise had been worth it, so I paid AND wrote a check for the air ticket as she couldn't book it with a credit card due to some "special" fare she had found. The airfare she found us was not any less than I was able to find myself online, and the way she booked it meant I couldn't make any changes online OR with the airline itself. The agent did not mention to the airline that my daughter was 6 so the airline had placed us in seats that were not next to each other. It took me several phone calls to straighten this out. I wasn't expecting the use of a travel agent to cause me MORE work and stress. When I asked her to help with train tickets, airport transportation and other side trips we might like to make, she said she would need more money to do this. She sent some links to where I could book those things myself (thanks, I can Google too) but offered no help on airport transportation or how to get from point A to B. I ended up booking most of the train and boat travel myself online after extensive research, plus a gorgeous hotel for a side trip and it was fairly easy *once I knew where I needed to go*. Sometime in the middle of our "planning", she had some sort of email issue and stopped responding to my emails and questions. Responses became spotty and slow and she "lost" or never received some of my emails. I'm not sure what value a travel agent provides - I was hoping she could handle the details since I work full time. Her random requests for more money to make more arrangements seemed very unprofessional. She half-made a reservation with a company called Rail Europe that ended up being a total waste of money - they booked me a train connection that wasn't possible to make and I had to drop another $100 mid-journey to make sure we got to Stockholm. I'm still arguing with Rail Europe for a refund. On the positive side, the three hotels she had recommended and booked for us were *excellent* - really nice, great with kids, and amazing food. The bookings were as expected when I confirmed them, and we had no surprises. The overall itinerary she proposed worked well for our schedule and requirements. So it wasn't a complete loss. But next time, I'll just book the trip myself online.

They were SO helpful! My family want to go on a cruise so I decided based on good reviews to call…read morethem. They were so helpful and friendly. I got to talk to someone who gas been thete for a long lo g time and she fave me some good advice and I was so shocked it didn't cost me money and also she didn't push me to go with them abd for that I really recommend them and will use them in The future . When I called customer service at carnival cruse they pushed me SO SO much to book right them and I didn't want to

Definitely aptly named. It was our first cruise and a bucket list cruise. Our TA, Gayle Takashima,…read morestepped us through the entire process with recommendations and suggestions and made decision making painless and simple. It was a seven day Alaskan cruise and Gayle showed great patience in working with us and some, sort of, incessant questioning. I would highly recommend Cruise Specialists, and Gayle, for any cruise you might be considering

This was my first time working with a travel agent, and David did not disappoint. He helped us…read morebuild an unforgettable, three week excursion through Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia. As the scope and duration of our itinerary grew beyond any trip we had previously taken, it quickly became overwhelming to plan it all ourselves. David worked hard to accommodate our wish list, and coordinated with multiple entities to ensure we had a seamless experience. I highly recommend DesignedTravel!

I was hesitant to work with a travel agent, but I am SO glad I found David! After spending several…read morehours trying to piece together a family trip to Japan on my own, I knew I was in over my head. This was our first trip to Japan and my Japanese is limited and this was a special occasion, so I felt a lot of pressure in planning this trip and opted for his fee-based planning services, which I'm so glad I did! What I appreciated most about David: 1) he offered a meet and greet before I committed to his paid services and he spent the time to learn about what we were hoping for in our trip, what were our concerns, fears, etc., and answer any question I had; 2) he truly listened and designed an itinerary that fit us perfectly and took into account specific needs we had; 3) he gave honest and candid tips about what we could reasonably expect within our budget; 4) he worked with us to find options that made the most sense (we had some wriggle room on cost but still had a budget); 5) he met with me before the trip to answer any questions and planning tips; 6) he met with me after our trip to talk about how it went and he invited my feedback. He had a local travel agent partner who helped design the trip, which I really appreciated because she had great local insight. She was also one of our guides for a food tour in Osaka and it was one of our highlights of the trip, she was delightful! It was a good mix of guided tours and free time, and all three tour guides were excellent! I would absolutely recommend him and hope to work with him again!

I liked everything about LIH Law. I came here from a reference. They told me to see Lesley…read more Lesley is a very good lawyer. I am very happy.

From the owner: L.I.H. Law is Seattle's trusted immigration law firm that exclusively practices immigration law. We…read morehandle diverse topics: asylum, deferred action for childhood arrivals (DACA), detention cases, fiancé visas (K-1 visas), green cards, immigration status for victims of domestic violence or other crimes, naturalization applications, and much more. The immigration attorneys and professional staff at L.I.H. Law are dedicated to providing the right solutions to meet our clients' immigration needs. Our entire staff is fluent in Spanish and has served clientele from around the world. Nuestros muy respetados abogados practican exclusivamente la ley de inmigración, cubriendo diversos tópicos: asilo, acción diferida (DACA), casos de detención, visas para fiancé, tarjeta verde, estatus de inmigración para víctimas de violencia doméstica y otros crímenes...

What a wonderful way to learn about the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the issues they're…read moretackling. Everyone working there was so friendly and welcoming. The exhibits are interactive and fun for both adults and children. I attended one of their scheduled talks on the toilets and it was eye opening to learn about the issue and also the prototypes that have been built. Definitely worth a stop if you're in the area! Pro tip: If you're making a quick-ish visit, you can park at the QFC a block away after you do your groceries ;)

Small visitor center that is free and open to the public. It is staffed by very knowledgeable…read morepersonnel (take the tour) and offers interesting insight into the history and efforts of the foundation. It is interesting to see what causes they have chosen to focus on, and the strides that they've been able to make. There is some debate as to whether a private citizen should be dictating global policy, but there's a lot worse things that the Gates could be doing with all their money. I enjoyed the visit and thought it was worth the education.

Who wouldn't want to take a fast ferry to another country? Start your morning in Seattle and end up…read morehaving an early lunch in the Victoria harbor with on the Victoria Clipper. We just did one upgrade to get window seats in the economy area, which was totally worth it. The boat was less than half full - if it had been fuller I would have gone for more of an upgrade as the seating in economy is a bit narrow if someone is near you. Staff were friendly and on and off boarding was easy. Food looked edible and it was nice to have servers come through the cabin - they also passed out motion sickness pills - although our ride was smooth. Nice views of the water and mountains all the way there and back. I wouldn't recommend parking in the Bell Street Garage. Although it was ten bucks a day we ended up locked in the garage upon return for more than an hour due to a broken machine and limited staffing. Clipper was not responsive or helpful when we offered feedback on this partnership, which makes me dock a star.

If you can, this is the way to go to Victoria B.C. from Seattle. It's so convenient and not…read moreexpensive, relatively speaking. They have great package tours or you can just get the boat trip. You do pass the into Canada and have to go through customs. Also the leave time in the A.M. can be quite early if you're not a morning person. In the terminal they do have plenty of seating as well as food and beverages while you are waiting to board. You get off in a fairly convenient location in Victoria, pretty walkable to most spots and to hotels. Why not five stars? The experience just wasn't as "nautical" as I was hoping. I felt like I was on a bus - the interior of the vessel gives that impression.

Awesome 12-day Bergen to Bergen trip in December. I booked on the MS Trollfjord. Outside cabin with…read morean obstructed view on Deck 6. If you are looking to experience the polar nights and the Northern Lights, in a casual cruise experience, this is one fabulous way to do it. TIP #1: Don't expect night-time entertainment...no movies no dancing no casino no live musical acts. JUST MAGNIFICENT VISTAS and QUAINT TOWNS, many stops (about 67 total), but only short opportunities to get out on land. This is a trip focused on taking outdoor excursions and hikes, and seeing the dancing lights. BRING YOUR OLD SLR or download a cell phone APP that lets you take nighttime photos at a slow shutter speed....this trip, for me, was about experiencing the AURORA BOREALIS. TIP #1: Upgraded to the window at the last minute while checking in at the Hurtigruten Terminal in Bergen at a great discount! Only $200 USD. Even with the bottoms of the lifeboats in the line-of-sight, I was still able to see out to shore. The view might be more problematic on Dec 7, but on Deck 6, no worries. FOOD: Local sourced foods, so you eat like Norwegians. Dinners are the usual seatings just like on other cruises, but dress is casual. Except for the Captain's Farewell Dinner...though only the crew seemed to be dressed fancy for the occasion. Otherwise, it's a lovely buffet at breakfast and lunch also highlighting local ingredients. The chefs are very inventive and all the meals are beautifully presented. The desserts are inspired and pretty to look at, especially the wide variety of mousse; loved the smoothie shots at breakfasts, the bread is amazing, and there's a wide variety of it and crackers, and while I normally don't slather butter on anything, don't miss out on the butter, it's amazing; there IS fresh fruit but don't expect a wide variety. I changed my dinner meals to VEGETARIAN, and was pleased, as I wasn't so keen on reindeer and steak and cod or lamb. But I tried bites of them, and they were all good. Vegetarians/Vegans can find plenty to eat and the kitchen often offered a vegetarian entree at the buffet. No ice sculptures, just great food. SUGGESTION TO HURTIGRUTEN: The Asian passengers I met really missed their white rice...and, to be honest, me too. Maybe add some Asian flair to your buffet, because even I missed white and/or brown rice. EXCURSIONS: They are for the hearty because the hikes are a fast pace due to the time constraints. But ALL the excursions I took -- The Arctic Coastal Walk, the dogsledding in Tromso, the Russian Border trip in Kirkenes, the Marble Mine near Kristiansund, the Vesteralen Trondenes Church bus and ferry trip were all amazing and worth your time and your dime. TIP#3: Don't miss out on Lofoten By Horse in Gimsoy, Lofoten. Riding Icelandic horses with a view of the Northern Lights on a sandy beach AND on great trails under a mountain (and apparently alongside a links golf course...it was dark!)...JUST WAS MAGICAL!!! Highly recommend the horseback riding...beautiful horses...lovely clean stables, beautiful barn turned restaurant!!! SUGGESTION TO HURTIGRUTEN: Offer year-round golf excursion at Lofoten Links!!! OVERALL: As long as you don't expect a fancy dressy cruise experience, you will LOVE the nice people on the ships of the Hurtigruten....it used to be a boat delivering mail, and it still acts as a ferry for the locals (and their cars). But that's part of the charm. You get to meet locals going about their commute. The food is great. The excursions are too. I had intended to visit Iceland, but when I found the Hurtigruten cruise, I changed my mind and took a chance on Norway. It didn't disappoint. HIGHLY RECOMMEND.

We have a trip planned for this October. So far this group has been great to work with.read more

Rude rude rude…read more Girl that was working the counter and taking bags on 10/10 is plain rude. When we dropped our bags off, she yelled over and told us that she can't carry the bags herself and we needed to help her bring the bags to the area they store it. Mind you, not once did she inform us of this when we were checking our bags in. It wouldn't have been a problem- just ask for help. Not yell it. When we returned to pick up our bags, I was taking off the paper tags. I put one on the shelf as I proceeded to remove another. She rushed over, grabbed the old tag and said "this is NOT a trash can!" then stormed off, turned around and then yelled "now do you have more trash??" It was absurd. Will never use them again. There are other luggage storage services in the area.

We found this service online. I didn't even know this kind of thing existed. It's probably one of…read morethe smartest things ever thought of and gives you a freedom. Our plain left at 6 and check out was at 11. We dropped off our luggage and were able to enjoy the city a lot more. Definitely 5 star.

Very knowledgeable professional and excellent customer service that will benefit everyone who needs…read morehelp with travel booking and insurance services. Highly recommend this business.

I can't begin to say how horrible the customer service is. I applied for a visa for my daughter,…read moreits taking a little more than expected time. This isn't a big deal. I called to ask what process they have in place in case we run out of time. At which point, the person on the other end just became upset and scold me that she doesn't know and its not her problem. That is, she's done all she can. That is not how you offer customer service. You don't (a) get upset at customer for asking for contingency plans (b) you don't say it's all you can do and (3) you don't hang up on the customer multiple times. I'm sure that in most cases there isn't anything you can do, but you run a business, there's so many ways you can answer that question.