First of all, if you have money to burn, Marquetta is your gal. We used her on a recommendation…read more We wanted a trip to Italy for two weeks. Her first quote was 30K. Yes, THIRTY THOUSAND DOLLARS. Then she got it down to 25K. That's when I started doing my research. I used several reputable companies for tours and hotels and my costs (with the EXACT same flights, hotels, tours) came in at TEN THOUSAND LESS. When I sent her the info and asked if she could look at it, because maybe I was doing something wrong, she wrote me a very interesting email. She said I wasn't comparing correctly because I used different hotels with different class ratings (uh, no, I used the EXACT same hotels). She also said I hadn't included transportation. I did - I went page by page of her quote and priced everything she included. She even went so far as to say she wasn't sure what company I used for a tour (even though I noted it on the spreadsheet). She said they were "some unknown company - good luck!" I've used Viator for dozens of tours, had a customer service issue once, and they have been fantastic. Her quote, "You cannot compare a high-end tour company with the likes of Viator." I did suggest a different hotel in my email but did not include it in my cost comparison. She told me it wasn't suitable and that it was a party hotel. Well she clearly didn't know her stuff there because that hotel came as a recommendation from a friend with two children! They loved it! Direct quote: "I can tell that the price point for the level of arrangements we do is not where you are comfortable spending. But I cannot delve into using random services of unvetted tour companies (Viator) and just booking the cheapest of everything- it never works out for our clients and in my experience only causes issues when in travel." Another, "In the end, I do want my clients' travels to be an unforgettable and memorable experience, and therefore, I cannot cut corners just to make it happen price wise." As a travel agent are you not supposed to get the best deal for your clients? You may warn them with your experiences but you don't make fun of them and tell your customer to basically F off! I asked her specifically if there was any markup because I was OK with something reasonable for her. She swore up-and-down there was no markup. Yes there is, it comes in kickbacks from the companies she uses. And again I am OK with a little something but not $10,000 and an F you attitude. Honestly if she had said so upfront - that she only uses certain companies - then I probably wouldn't have even engaged her for $400. But she never said that. And I POLITELY asked her to let me know why I was so far off. She could've told me all the same things - that she used more reputable companies and worked with the hotels themselves, without the attitude. Snotty and condescending. Unbelievable.

We recently completed a fabulous trip to Ireland and Scotland arranged by Marquetta Chambers. It…read morewas truly a very enjoyable, adventurous, informative and memorable experience. Marquetta began the planning process by interviewing us and listening very well to our desires and budget, allowing her to tailor a perfect match. She provided great input including pushing us to extend our trip a few days given our stated list of objectives. Her advice, which we followed, turned out to be very insightful. Marquetta also proved her flexibility and resourcefulness when she responded to a mid-trip request for another private tour addition on our last full day in Scotland. She responded quickly and fulfilled our request for what turned out to be a true highlight of our trip. All of the hotels recommended and booked were very good and all of the arranged tour guides were excellent. We also enjoyed several additional perks from our hotels given Marquetta's relationships with them. Another great tool provided by Marquetta was a phone app that captured our entire trip and also provided easy one-click access to important phone numbers and a variety of easily accessible resources describing our destinations, maps, tipping hints, etc. It was an excellent resource that also included an easy path to communicate with her during our trip. We are so glad that we utilized the very professional services of Marquetta Chambers of Hill Barrett Travel for our recent vacation. We are already thinking about the options for our next journey and look forward to using Marquetta's assistance again.

Brought a Groupon for a day 10 day trip to South Africa and Dubai. 2 days in Johannesburg, 4 days…read morein Cape Town and 2 days in Dubai. My bf and I were literally the first people to buy the deal and we were excited. Called Africa Answers two days later so we can ensure we got the dates we wanted. We called we were connected to Dina. We told her the date range we wanted and she said she would get back to us. The next couple of days she asked for our passport info. Great, we are making moves. Then the communication stopped. We were left wondering what the flight plan would be and if the plane tickets have been booked, the dates. I began to call and email her repeatedly to try to get to give us an update. Finally we received the itinerary and it is different we originally agreed. She has us arriving in Dubai at 11:45pm then there for one day and leaving the next day. So much for two days in that city. I'm pissed because she is cutting our trip short. My bf called and spoke to her and acting as if she couldn't understand what he was saying. I decide to call the main line and speak to someone else, Rowan. I explain the situation. He speaks to Dina and she gives me a call and tries to apologize and explain. In order to make things right she offers to get out accommodations in Johannesburg upgraded to the sister lodge. Fine. Months later, almost time for the trip and I asked for the final documentations. Was told we would receive it 2 weeks before the trip. Two weeks come still no email. Send another email and receive the same thing saying 2 weeks before even though it's two weeks now. Final get the documentation about 10 days before the trip and there is missing and incorrect information. For one the lodge we were to stay was incorrect. Emailed and called Dina several times, no answer. Called the main line and learned that she wasn't responding because she was in South Africa. Nice of her to let us know she wouldn't be around in case we needed assistance. Didn't leave a note as to who to contact during her absence. This whole experience was so aggravating. We aired out our grievances and was promised it would be made up to us. Ugh. They did at least get us an upgrade at our Dubai hotel. Luckily our trip was great but I can not recommend Africa Answers. Communication for the company is extremely lacking. The experience will give you a headache.

We also purchased an Africa Answers Groupon deal (Cape Town vacation package). We worked with Anne…read moreof AA, who did a fabulous job answering our questions and booking our travel for us. Africa Answers partnered with Thompsons tour company to transport us and get us situated. They offered a variety of wonderful tours which we took full advantage of (Inverdoorn Safari, trips to Table Mountain and Robben Island, and a coastal tour that ended in wine tasting in the Stellenbosch region). The only glitch was that Thompsons had a different airport departure time than we had on our African Answers itinerary (African Answers itinerary was correct) so I'm not sure where the break down was there. But luckily we noticed it and got it quickly resolved. We left on time, no issues. I've done some international travel before, but this was definitely the best trip I've been on. Everything was just very well organized and went so smoothly. Cape Town is a gorgeous city and I would recommend it to anyone looking for somewhere to travel beyond the typical. I will be looking to Down Under Answers when we decide to go to Australia!

My fiancé and I were exploring travel options at a Bridal Expo this past week and ended up meeting…read morewith Kade, who is so genuine and easy to talk to. We met over a video call, and from start to finish they were incredibly kind, genuine, and knowledgeable. They took the time to get to know us, asked about the kind of honeymoon we were dreaming of, and put together personalized travel options that fit our interests. They also walked us through their website, showed us how everything worked, explained the travel deals and perks, and broke down their membership pricing in a way that was easy to understand. At no point did we feel pressured or uncomfortable. They were patient with all of our questions and truly seemed to care about helping us, whether we signed up or not. That level of customer service is hard to find these days. We left the meeting with nothing but positive things to say and will be moving forward with them in the near future! If you're considering using a travel agency and want to work with people who are honest, welcoming, and genuinely invested in helping you plan an amazing trip, I would absolutely recommend giving them a chance. We hope to work with them in the future when the timing is right! And most of all we are recommending them to every family member and friend we have!

We had a wonderful experience with MEI & Mouse Fan Travel on our recent Spring Break trip to…read moreDisneyland. We were very late in our planning and worried we missed out on Lightning Lanes or staying on-site but Heather Grodin was super helpful and responsive. She was actually on vacation when we first reached out and responded to us within a few hours! i had lots of questions along the way about which room was best for our family, which ticket package was best and what entertainment was not to be missed and she was super helpful. The rates she quoted were exactly the same was what was available on the Disneyland website and provided excellent service far beyond what you'd get booking with Disneyland directly. Highly recommend Heather and the team at MEI-Mouse Fan!

Very inexperienced traveler here and was intimidated by the whole booking process. I emailed MEI…read moreand was very fortunate to be immediately contacted by Fox Forlenza. He was amazing, patient and took care of everything, soup to nuts. He spent two hours on the phone with me and was extremely patient. He guided me to the right cruise, air and ground transportation and hotel bookings. I will always be grateful and he will be my go to for all future travel.

Lake City Travel staff has been the most helpful and knowledgeable travel agents I have met! They…read morehave helped us navigate through the tour maze and made fabulous suggestions to make our travels the best and most memorable. We have experienced several trips to Hawaii through them and they have made our trips seamless; from hotel reservations to air destinations to excursions, they have lead the way for us. They are always professional and their experience with traveling is just what us novices needed. David Seattle

Tucked away in this unsuspecting stretch of Lake City is the best travel agent in Seattle! We…read morebooked our honeymoon through Lake City Travel, and are so happy to have found Josie, our go-to agent there. She is a gem; the best travel agent I've ever worked with in all my years of traveling, actually. She has been able to help us find the right travel opportunities for our style and helps us navigate the logistics. Josie was always a step ahead of us on our last trip to Australia and New Zealand, and right now she's helping us plan a trip to Myanmar (formerly Burma). She is thoughtful with our questions, quick with responses, and pays attention to the details (she even told us a shortcut to spare us the agony of going through TSA 2x at LAX). Josie's level of service and insight has made us big fans. I have a feeling we'll see more of the world because of having her on our side! If you're looking for a Seattle travel agent (or a travel agent anywhere, actually), you're in luck. And you're welcome! ;)

I wanted to wait until I returned from the trip before rating them a full 5 stars, but everything…read morewent swimmingly and they certainly deserve it : ) Tell your friends!

Camille with the Travel Team went above and beyond our expectations. We had booked a trip to…read moreAustralia and New Zealand and left everything to Camille to plan everything for us and we were very pleased with the quality of tours and the timings of everything including the flights. Camille was always available to answer my emails before, during and even after travel. Can't wait to book our next trip with the Travel Team!

Overall, not a great experience. Dan is difficult to get ahold of and doesn't keep information…read morewe've given him. We booked our trip to Sandals back in February for a November trip. We booked our flights before we booked with Dan so he could book the same days. He was unable to reserve any tours with Sandals, I had to do them through the website. For being a Sandals representative, he wasn't able to work with Sandals Resort. I'd recommend dealing with Sandals directly.

My wife and I have used Travel by Dan 2 times now and found his expertise and advise to be very…read morehelpful. Our Sandals vacation could not have been a better experience and we would never have found St Lucia without him. We would highly recommend his services and we are so happy we scheduled an entire group of 12 couples thru him to go to Mexico next year. Two thumbs up.

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