Episode 193: Nickelodeon Resort Punta Cana

Nickelodeon. What comes to your mind? Dora the Explorer, Spongebob Squarepants and kids. Right? The Nickelodeon Resort in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic has all of that and so much more. Even for couples without kids, the Nickelodeon Resort has something for everyone.

Episode 192: Norwegian Bliss

Norwegian Cruise Line has launched a new ship! The Norwegian Bliss set sail earlier this year and is sailing her maiden season doing Round Trip sailings in Alaska from Seattle. You’ll be able to catch her later this year in the Caribbean or Mexican Riviera. So what’s so special about this new ship you may ask? Well, Aimee of Outlander was recently able to check her out on a 2 night inaugural sailing, and she’s here to tell us all about it. So let’s get started!
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Episode 191: Sandals Weddings

Aimee of Outlander recently had the opportunity to attend a very special training program where she learned all about what goes into a Sandals Wedding. She has graciously agreed to join us for a chat about the logistics involved in bringing your dreams of a an all inclusive destination wedding with Sandals to life.
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Episode 190: See More of Alaska with Royal Caribbean

Elizabeth was recently invited to participate in a familiarization trip with Royal Caribbean international to experience the land portion of their Cruisetour products. We wanted to share her experiences in this episode and also wanted to invite an expert to fill in more details on the portfolio of tours they offer.
Alaska was the 49th state to join the union, and when it did, Texas went from our largest state to our second-largest… by a large margin. Alaska is a bucket list destination for travelers of all ages, but many people choose to only cruise the Inside Passage rather than explore the interior of the state. Although there is a lot to experience in such a vacation, Alaska has so much more to offer, which is why Royal Caribbean and some of their competitors offer Cruisetours, packaging the seven-night, one-way cruise with a land tour and allowing guests to experience so much more of Alaska, including the magnificent and vast Denali National Park. Tonight, we hope to share many many reasons that taking a cruise tour is a far better option for your dream trip to Alaska.To this end, we are excited to introduce our guest for tonight’s podcast, Brendan Halcomb from Royal Caribbean.
Brendan is a 15-year veteran of the Cruise industry and has worked with a broad range of Cruise Lines. For the last 3 years Brendan has overseen the Sales and Marketing for Alaska & Canada Cruisetours. Welcome, Brendan!
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Episode 189: Airfare Secrets

We are also honored and a bit giddy to welcome our special guest tonight, Robbi Hamida! Robbi may not be famous to YOU, but to us, he is a bit of an icon, both for his amazing knowledge of the airline industry and for his colorful and fun themed suits he wears to our national conferences.
Robbi is the Senior Vice President of Nexion®, a fully licensed, bonded and accredited host agency with operations in both the United States and Canada. Nexion, LLC supports more than 4,000 independent, leisure and corporate travel professionals, and is a branch of Tzell Travel Group, a Travel Leaders Group company. Among those 4,000 agents are the agents of Outlander Travel!
Having served the travel industry for more than 20 years, Robbi previously worked in the airline industry before joining Nexion®. As Senior Vice President, he is responsible for overseeing operations within the company, which include customer-facing as well as the behind-the-scenes segments of the business. It’s Robbi’s ultimate vision that all agents – regardless of working location – are able to provide a complete end-to-end travel experience for their customers. And this is exactly why we invited him here today.
Most of the travel we book starts and ends with flights, and this is often one of the most stressful and sometimes expensive part of the trip. With all the fares and restrictions and let’s not forget the mysterious “we just need to complete a bit of paperwork before we can push back…” announcements from the cockpit, we thought it would be fun to invite Robbi to share some of his knowledge, insight, and opinions on air travel and why it is important to work with a travel agent when booking your trip.

Episode 188: Meet Amy!

From a young age Amy was exposed to traveling because of her family’s love of travel.  Her parents were avid travelers and took Amy with them on many an adventure. When she was in her early twenties, Amy became a Flight Attendant so she could travel and experience the world and her travel experiences have been rich and exciting. She joined the Outlander team in September of last year and we thought it was about time you actually met her! So welcome, Amy, and let’s get started!

Episode 187: Planned or Spontaneous Travel?

Travel agents are planners. It’s what we do. That doesn’t, however, mean that we plan every minute of our vacations. Some people like to wing it and we get that. Some people like an outline, some like to know what they’re doing every day, and some have some “must do’s” that are essential. Whatever your travel style, we wanted to talk about the pros and cons of each and make you think about whether you might want to switch it up next time!

Episode 186: Lost Luggage

This is the situation… You get to the airport with plenty of time and while you are waiting for your flight, it gets delayed for whatever reason. Then, you miss your connection. So, the airline reroutes you on another airline to get you to your destination in a reasonable amount of time. However, they warn you that your luggage may not make it there in time. You say, “OK” and expect that your luggage will show up within a day of getting to your destination. What do you do if it doesn’t?  In this episode we discuss some tips and tricks when you don’t have what you packed.
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Episode 185: Independent Travel to Europe

There are many different ways to experience the world around us- this week we thought it would be fun to take a closer look at one of the fastest growing types of travel- independent travel! What is independent travel? Who does it appeal to most? What are some of the mistakes independent travelers make? And, what is the value of using a travel agent? We will explore these topics in the context of Europe as a destination.

Episode 184: Let’s Go on Safari!

The continent of Africa and the countries contained within it are rich in culture, natural beauty, welcoming people, and a diverse offering of cuisine, music, biodiversity and of course its native animals and wildlife. It is a continent that once experienced will open places in your soul you had long forgotten about and offer you moments of great joy and great peace. One of the most wonderful ways to experience this continent when you travel is to journey to South Africa, Tanzania or Uganda and include a safari. Our guest today has brought new meaning to the word “safari” and they are joining us to talk about their native land, South Africa, and to also share some of the newer offerings to Tanzania and Uganda where they are able to include experiencing gorillas in their Natural Habitat. They have so much to share with us…so buckle up ..and keep your eyes peeled for one of the “Big 5!”
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