I have traveled with the guidance and advice of Kathy for greater than 15 years. She has provided…read moreconnections and accommodations that I never would have found and her extra efforts have made every trip a success. With her years of travel agency experience, she researches the best prices and flights and is aware of problematic schedules to avoid. I have never been disappointed. Dianne T., Florida

Best travel agency around! I have been working with Dan for the last couple of years, and his…read moreattention to details is impeccable. Travelling can be so stressful, but Dan makes it a breeze. Cannot recommend enough - I would give 10 stars if I could :)

With this being my first visit to Mexico, Eugene Toriko was able to plan an amazing trip!…read more My first stop was Habitas in Bacalar, Mexico. Habitas was breathe taking peaceful...food and staff were amazing. Second stop was La Valise in Tulum, Mexico. The room had an amazing view of the ocean plus the hotel is conveniently located close to some very cool boutiques, restaurants and bars. Dinner was at Nu Tulum located across the street from La Valise and if you have the chance of visiting, see Roberto, the head bartender! His mixology skills are too notch and his knowledge of Mezcal is on point!!! My third stop was Jashita Tulum which is located on Solomon Bay...totally secluded on the other side of Tulum...another amazing place with wonderful staff and food. The hotel's restaurant, Pandano is somewhat of an Italian/Mexican fusion with maxing dishes and they actually make fresh pasta by hand on site! The owner Clemente even visits each table every evening to greet the guests and "spread love" as he would say. All three places were breathe taking I didn't have to worry about anything! Eugene Toriko took care of every detail and made sure to check on us to see if everything was good. I definitely will be using this agency for all of my future travels.

This company is horrible. They did not correctly book a hotel. WE were only made aware when we…read morelanded in the foreign country. They booked us on the beach when we were to be in the rain forest. I cancelled the trip they were planning for us due to poor service and follow through. They never gave me my money back, over $17,000. The company needs to be looked at by the Better Business Bureau for fraudulent activities.

I am writing this review to warn future customers against using Vacation Express. Due to…read morecircumstances beyond our control, our journey began with significant travel disruptions. Our original flights from Dallas to Houston were delayed multiple times, ultimately resulting in a cancellation for the evening because the airline was unable to secure the required flight attendants. Immediately after the cancellation, I contacted Vacation Express to notify their team and request assistance. I specifically asked that our airport transportation be rescheduled and inquired about compensation for the missed night, as we had already paid for accommodations we could not use. I was assured that these matters would be handled and that a review for a partial refund would be initiated. However, during this process, our entire reservation appears to have been mistakenly canceled/mishandled in their system. When we checked our Hilton reservation via the app, it was no longer visible. Upon contacting Vacation Express again, I was reassured that our booking was still active and that everything was in order. Unfortunately, this was not the case. Upon arrival in Cancun, we discovered that our transportation provider (Nexus) had no record of our transfer. Despite being told by Vacation Express that the arrangements had been communicated, Nexus representatives confirmed they had received no such update. We were left waiting for approximately one hour before transportation was reluctantly arranged due to the situation. Upon arrival at the Hilton Mar Caribe, we encountered an even more serious issue: the hotel thought we were a no show, and had no room for us. We were told that we did have a reservation, but this was clearly not the case, and they were trying to cover themselves. While I appreciate them accommodating us, I do not appreciate or accept being lied to. Clearly, something happened with the reservation or the room would have been ready or at least near ready. I again contacted Vacation Express and was told I would receive a return call; however, that call never came. As a result, my family waited over three hours before a room could be secured. Our family paid a lot of money for this trip only to be disappointed time and time again. These ongoing issues indicate a clear breakdown in communication between Vacation Express, Nexus, and the Hilton Mar Caribe. Additionally, due to these disruptions and the initial cancellation error, we missed our scheduled excursion to Chichen Itza. The first two days of what was meant to be a relaxing, all-inclusive vacation were instead stressful, disorganized, and far below the standard we expected when booking through this company. Upon returning home, we worked with all 3 companies, and none of them granted us a refund for any portion of the trip.

Be AWARE!!!! Terrible customer service. Won't release travel credits back to airlines if partially…read moreused to rebook a flight. Just tell you it's policy. Have to rebook with them. Can't make changes or there are fees. Just poor way to run a business. Don't use.

Listen Carefully. After using Neal's company to book our trips in the past, we went instead with a…read moreneighbor this year who works at Century Travel, and ended up -running back- to Neal to fix our reservations to Hawaii. He did so kindly. Neal is -fast-, courteous, and understand the needs, standards and budget of his clients. Speed is key when trying to book flights. The guy we left dragged his feet, and ticket costs skyrocketed by 1k for first class. If you're a frequent flier like me (Platinum on Delta) here's the value added to using Neal. -the headache of booking, and getting best rooms etc, is his. -at MOST, you pay the same amount as if you booked the trip yourself, but you get more in upgrades, room selection, perks, and of course personalized service. -on anniversaries, he's had everything from chocolates to champagne waiting in the room. We learned the hard way. Use Neal.

My parents referred Neal to my fiance and I when booking our honeymoon, and we couldn't be happier…read morewith their referral. When planning a wedding, not everything goes perfectly and this includes the honeymoon. We recently discovered, without notice or warning, that American Airlines had cancelled our flight out of Grenada to Miami. If it wouldn't have been for Neal and his attention to detail, we could have been stuck between a rock and a hard place with limited return options. Since Neal caught the mishap early, he was able to use his expertise to find alternate options and now we will be staying an extra night in Grenada at the same resort for FREE (as well as a resort credit) while carrying over our prearranged travel plans to the following day. We have never met Neal face to face because of our location differences (he's in Atlanta and we reside in Cincinnati) but his professionalism allows him to set up the perfect vacation for all of his customers no matter where they are located. I would highly recommend working with Neal no matter where you reside or what type of travel you are planning if you want it done perfectly. If we would have gone with one of the travel sites, there is not a doubt in my mind that we would have been out of luck with due to the airline's mishap. My fiance and I thank you Neal and we look forward to experiencing our wonderful honeymoon in Grenada!

I completed the online form Friday morning requesting information regarding a trip to Europe from…read morean agent. I called the agency late in the afternoon on Friday and spoke with a receptionist who was not particularly friendly. I was informed that the agents had been in staff meetings all day and she would check into who was handling my inquiry. I was advised that the turnaround time for initial contact is typically very quick and I should hear Friday evening or Monday at the latest. I was also told there is a surcharge to their fee if travel is booked within the 30 day window. I did not know this detail but happened to call 35 days in advance of my expected departure. It is now late afternoon on Wednesday (30 days from my departure date) and I have still not heard from anyone at Explorations Travel Agency regarding my request. Fortunately, I did reach out to multiple agencies, but I had hoped to work with a local company. My itinerary is nearly finalized with another agent and I am so excited about making this holiday trip fantastic that I've increased the budget by more than 50% and extended my travels by two days. I make these statements because the form Explorations asks prospective clients to complete includes estimated travel budget and duration. If the lack of communication was the result of displeasure with the budget estimate I would advise that one should not assume a potential client could not afford more or is not a good candidate for luxury travel services. I will not be contacting this company for travel assistance again.

From the owner: Explorations is a boutique luxury travel company in Atlanta, where we've been spoiling our clients…read morefor 25 years. With personalized service, worldwide connections and a dedicated team of expert travel advisors, Explorations offers exactly what discerning travelers need to take the trip of a lifetime. Whether you are looking for us to plan your destination wedding or plan your trip into space, Explorations can be the first stop on your itinerary. Our goal is to exceed expectations and offer you access to a world beyond your imagination. Contact Explorations today to plan your next adventure.

I would never work with Jetset again…read more My father booked a cruise for our family via Jetset, in hopes it would make for an easy booking. As we wanted to extend our travels a few days on either end of the cruise, I reached out to them, letting them know we'd be booking our own travel and hotel, not doing the cruise package deal. Once I looked at the places they wanted to book us, I was shocked at the prices, and understood they must get commissions from booking unknowing customers into said locations. I'm glad we booked it ourselves, for 1/4th the price. In terms of the cruise that was booked - the details of the cruise were impossible to decipher, and I realized that after months of emails back and forth, Jetset was only sending me documents forwarded off the internet. They sent me stacks of papers inches high that were confusing. I finally contacted the cruise itself, which was Oceania, and they told me they'd sent a proper packet to us a month ago. When I contacted Jetset about why we weren't given any proper information, they constantly had fellow workers, 'listening in' on our conversations, so they could cover their asses. They said, 'Oh! It just arrived today! How weird!', although I was given the precise date it was sent by Oceania. After that, I stopped contact with Jetset, and worked exclusively with the cruise (Oceania) on understanding the details of the trip. Additionally, I asked about insurance for one of the family members for our trip. I was told I could buy some, and I did - without ever being told that there were several tiers of insurance for purchase. When I contacted Jetset about their misinformation to me, again - fellow workers 'listened in' on each others call, as our travel agent got defensive. A few days later, she sent a very defensive and detailed letter about why we were not told about the varying degrees of insurance. Finally, Oceania had incredible service, however - everyone on the cruise was over 60, which was a bit strange for me. Also, the ports we hit were blech and their tours overpriced and uninformed. I don't blame Oceania for any of this though. But Jetset simply didn't know anything about what they were booking - and every time I had a question, they had to contact Oceania and ask them, when I could do it easily myself. In short, Jetset knows nothing about what they're booking, tries to add overpriced items to your schedule, and spends more time covering their asses than giving straight information. The headache that they caused us before the trip, and the possible money we've lost as we bought the wrong insurance afterwards, makes me warn everyone - DO NOT WORK WITH THEM. YOU CAN EASILY BOOK THINGS YOURSELF FOR MUCH CHEAPER, AND WILL HAVE BETTER CUSTOMER SERVICE. That being said, everyone that worked there was, 'nice'. They said, 'Thank You', and 'Sincerely', and 'I apologize', a lot. But the only people who I think would need help with bookings are older people who don't know how to book via the internet. Guess what. They book for you over the internet, print things off the internet, and when you are confused, tell you to look at an app. Terrible experience.

Bottom line we were charged $8500 for a trip that I was able to recreate on Expedia for $6200 (only…read moreafter they charged my card on a non-refundable/changeable basis). I would've been ok with about $500-$1000 extra - but $2300 tacked onto $6200 for just booking hotels and flights and not much else - is too much. They didn't provide much advice at all, all they did was book hotel, air and train tickets!! Probably 2 hours work total. And then when our bags were lost by our airline, their local contact was polite but not any help at all in recovering the bags. I figured after we'd paid a $2300 upcharge that we'd at least get someone local who would be of some help, but no. So again $500 would've been fair, $2300 was not. One positive - their local private guides were pretty good.

I reached out to Gone traveling to plan my trip in Italy and I have to say they went beyond my…read moreexpectations!! Everything was planned in the details and we had a blast! Definitely I loved to just have to pack my luggage and don't have to worry about anything else during a trip. Even being Italian it was so nice to actually don't have to plan step by step every second of my trip! Can't wait to plan my next trip with them! Thank you ladies!!!

Thank you so much Gone Traveling for planning our trip to Cancun; it was such an awesome…read moreexperience! We snorkeled in the sea, floated down an underground river, and swam with dolphins. I'm a sucker for archeology, so my favorite was touring the Mayan ruins in the area. Our tour guide in Chichen Itza was so friendly and knowledgeable; such a great experience! I'll definitely ask you to plan my next vacation.

My husband and I decided VERY last minute to close out our Christmas holidays with a quick getaway…read more We tried to find something on our own but realized we weren't getting anywhere. We started looking at travel agents and Dee's name came up. I called her and she answered right away and was happy and willing to get to work immediately on helping us find a great vacation. She recommended a wonderful hotel in St. Petersburg, Florida (which had never even been on our radar). We were able to to get in the car the following morning and drive to a beautiful beach in a matter of hours! It was 4 days of bliss! We loved the Don Ce Sar and St Pete. We will definitely use Dee's services again and we will definitely go back to St Pete! She was professional, knowledgeable and a joy to work with. Thank you Dee!!!!

Destination by Design Travel Agency owner Dee Tyner booked a Family of six on this Amazing Cruise…read moreexperience. We have never been on a cruise before, and Dee walked us through the entire process. From booking until we made it back home. DBD assisted with setting up a great payment plan, and for a family of six could have been difficult, but she made it manageable and greatly appreciated. Dee went over what to expect, provided recommendations of places to go, and things to do. With her help it allowed us to enjoy more of the trip without the stress of planning. The one thing we appreciated most from DBD was having the comfort of knowing we could call with anything we may have needed or any last minute changes. With her handling every detail allowed us to enjoy the beautiful ship, Islands, and the excursions. DBD took care of not only our flights, hotel, and cruise but an experience. Dee Tyner wanted our family to enjoy ourselves without worry, and we truly did. For our first cruise experience with the help of DBD allowed it to be a memorable one. We look forward to DBD booking our next family trip. Can we say Mediterranean Cruise!!