Luxury Travel is Value Travel
Hank Schrader, USMA '71, Europe Destination & Europe River Cruise Expert
Anne Schrader, Certified Travel Counselor & Certified Luxury Cruise Specialist
Luxury travel means different things to different people. I think most folks would opt for more luxury in their vacations but worry about the costs. While being able to afford a trip is important, it should not be your only consideration.
According to the L.E.K. 2017 Luxury Travel Study, only 10% of the respondents considered themselves luxury travelers, but 85% reported they indulge in travel luxuries sometimes in their travels.
We think the key is value, not an abstract term like luxury.
To me, this raises a couple of questions.
How do you know what luxury features you would like to add to your trip to enhance your experience?
How can you enhance your travels without blowing your budget?
So, let’s explore these topics together.
Life Enhancing Experiences
We are in the life enhancing business. To help you get your life enhancing trip experiences, there are 4 items necessary for us to help you plan your travel.
There are:
Some idea of a trip you would like to take,
a realistic budget,
dates when you want to go, and
your trip is a good fit to the services we offer
Perhaps these 4 items need a little clarification.
First, where do you want to go—Europe, Alaska, or another city in the US? How do you want to travel—air, car, ship, or train? What do you want to experience or see? What are your must visit places?
Second, you can’t expect to take some types of trips on an unrealistic budget. For example, a trip like a European river cruise for $1,000 a person for a week trip is not possible—the product and services require a bigger budget. One of the items we always ask is the budget. It really helps us both understand what is possible based on the financial resources you are willing to commit to the vacation you desire.
Fortunately, most who contact us do have some idea of the cost of a typical 7-day river cruise, but sometimes, sticker shock happens. I do want to make point here—the internet can tell you the price, but it can’t tell you the value of the trip you desire—that’s where we come in. We can explain the value which helps you understand why the price might be higher than you anticipated.
The date often makes a difference—do you have flexibility or is this a trip to see a precise event at a precise time. Are you arranging your trip around other events? Do the travelers have only certain days off for school or vacation?
You might be surprised by the last point—is your desired trip a good fit for our services? While we plan trips to many destinations, our best value to you is our extensive knowledge of cruising, especially river cruising and Europe travel.
We like to say we are a low volume, high touch travel advisors and this has many benefits to you—we really can spend a lot of time learning exactly what you want for your trip and the desired outcomes, so it enhances every aspect of the travel experience.
So, let’s see how we accomplish these tasks.
We Make It Easy to Start Once You Find Us
Many of our clients find us by researching the internet. We are proud to rank first in Google searches for both Europe River Cruise Comparisons 2022-2023 (as of 19 May 2022, 5,296 have visited this page on our website this year) and Best European River Cruise Routes Guide (2,674 visits this year to this page).
We also have many referrals by happy clients, who share their great experiences with their friends. Most our clients also are repeat travelers.
Based on this, some decide we are the folks to help them get a luxury vacation on a river cruise, or another trip, and take the next step by sending us a Trip Request.
We are humbled so many trust us and grateful they found us and we welcome them with open arms—we are delighted to help them. It doesn’t really matter how they found us, but now it is action time—so, here is the next step, should you decide to use us.
To get started on your trip, we make it easy for you to communicate your desire to start thinking about a trip. Please visit www.dreamdestinations.com, select Send Us Your Travel Request and contact us. This short form will start you on the road to a great travel location.
After this start, we ask a lot of questions, and start to look for ways we can make the trip exceed your expectations.
How Do You Know What Luxury Features You Would Like to Add to Your Trip to Enhance Your Experience?
Chances are you really do not know all the options available for your trip. Everyone wants to get the most for their money but if you are fixated on price alone, chances are you will get a subpar experience.
How do I know this? In my 50+ years of traveling to Europe, every time I cut a corner to save a buck or two, the results were usually wasted time and a poor experience.
Would you like an example? —I once refused to pay 5 Marks in 1989 to go see a fabulous 500 year old wood carved church alter in Rothenburg, Germany (the Jacobskirke altarpiece carved by Riemenschneider0—something I really wanted to see. I had spent well over $6000 for this trip and balked at 5 Marks—it just doesn’t make sense!
Rothenburg au Taber from our visit in 1989. This is the best intact walled city in Germany.
Someday I will get to visit the church again (hopefully this summer during an AmaWaterways cruise we plan to take in July—33 years later to correct this mistake)—it was a poor decision. What is the reason for this story? —we are here to save you from yourself. I learned the hard way and regret my decision back then.
It is very hard for us to keep up with all that is happening in Europe, or on river cruises or on ocean cruises, so how can you be expected to know what features you need to add to get that special feature or luxury experience? Let us help guide you through the process and the outcome will be a better trip.
They key to adding luxury features is to know what your desired outcome of the trip is for you. The most important thing for us to understand is why you are going on the trip.
What do you want to experience and what type of treatment do you expect? Do you want down time in a luxurious spa? How about a skip the line entrance to the Vatican Museum?
What is the right mix of seeing the sights at the right pace? What level of comfort are do you expect on your trip? What type of hotel do you want to stay in? Those are just a few of the questions we will ask to get you the trip you desire.
How Can You Enhance Your Trip without Blowing Your Budget?
There are many ways that expensive trips can become a better value and may cost less but still deliver the experience you desire.
For example, traveling when less people travel is a good way to get a luxury trip at a better price. Spring, fall and Christmas Market trips are excellent values on Europe River Cruises. Most of the group river cruises we plan are during these non-peak times.
Part of a group we led on an AmaWaterways river cruise in 2015.
A Christmas Market Wine Bar in Basel, Switzerland
Advent House in Lucerne, Switzerland during one of our trips
Not only is the price better, but there are also less crowds. Sometimes the weather is not the best, but overall, it is our favorite time to travel to Europe—a great trip at a better price. You really can enhance your traveling experience many times by just letting us search your desired time for travel to let us seek the best travel value for you.
Another way to enhance your trip, is to pick the right vendor who offers the services and level of care you want. We carefully vet our preferred suppliers—we know who will deliver the experience you expect and will exceed your expectations—our ultimate goal.
Anne, Kristin Karst (co-owner of AmaWaterways) and Hank on board of an AmaWaterways ship in Amsterdam in 2011.
We also look for upgrades. We always try and make personal connections with hotels, for example, letting them know our valued clients are coming and asking for the best treatment they can offer. Maybe a better stateroom on a river cruise that cost just a little extra but really enhances your trip.
We Can Inspire You to add some Luxury Features to your next trip!
With our extensive experience and knowledge about travel, we will match you to the right trip and help get exactly what you expect from your trip. We will get you the best value for your money on a trip, if you will spend some time us.
The more we can learn about you, the better we can serve you. We also help you decide if a slight increase in your budget might result in an enhanced experience.
Our Final Thoughts
We are looking to provide you the right trip, at the right time, to the right person—YOU!
We are travel experts, ocean and river cruise specialists, and Europe destination experts. We have first-hand knowledge of almost anywhere you want to visit in Europe. We know our products and the vendors who sell them to you. We have designed special tours for dozens of clients, led several and will continue to find just the right vacation that will exceed your expectations.
When you are spending your hard-earned money for a vacation, you want an advisor who can match you with the right trip. You want someone who will understand your expectations and fuel your anticipation (or excitement) to get you the best possible trip experience. And, you want someone who can help you with the decision making process. We think we have all these qualities.
Whatever your Dream Destinations are, we are here to help you get the best possible vacation based on what is important to you! We will provide you high quality, expertly planned travel. Please give me a call 713-397-0188 (Hank) or email me at hschrader@dreamdestinations.com. We want to help you: Savor life…make memories…Visit Dream Destinations! Your journey begins here!
ANNE has earned a degree from the University of Houston in Hotel and Restaurant Management. Serving as the President of Visit Dream Destinations, LLC, since 2016, she is uniquely experienced professional travel advisor with over 26 years’ experience in the travel industry. Among her numerous certifications, she is a Certified Travel Counselor (CTC) by the Travel Institute, considered the gold standard in travel agent certification and she is also an Accredited Cruise Counselor (ACC) by the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), as well Luxury Cruise Specialist also from CLIA. Having traveled often to Europe since 1989, she has expanded on her certification as a Destination Specialist in Western Europe (DS) with extensive first-hand experience in luxury vacations. She holds numerous other specialty designations from individual vendors. An expert photographer, she delights in capturing the true essence of destinations to share with all.
HANK is a certified Western European Destination Specialist (DS) who has been traveling to Europe for 50 years. He is also an Accredited Cruise Counselor (ACC), conferred by the Cruise Line International Association (CLIA). This recognized expert in cruise and leisure travel is a retired Army Officer, and taught World Geography for 8 years. He is a `71 graduate of West Point and has earned 2 master’s degrees. His other Certifications:
AmaWaterways River Cruise Specialist
Viking River Cruise Specialist
Scenic River Cruise Specialist
Emerald Waterways Specialist
Avalon Waterways Specialist
Brit Agent
