Travel Business Is ‘Ship-Shape’ For Cruise Holidays

By Nancy K. Crevier

Out of six storefront travel agencies in the New Milford area seven years ago, when Tinker Hickey and Lynn Strawson took over the Cruise Holidays franchise at 56 Danbury Road in New Milford, Cruise Holidays is the only one remaining today. Located in a large red clapboard building that is shared with several other businesses, Ms Hickey and Ms Strawson find that their cruise-focused business generates enough interest and activity to justify an office space.

Travel agencies suffered greatly after 9/11, said Ms Strawson. “We were fortunate. We had an idea that things were going to be changing rapidly after that, and with the economy lagging, we were lucky to have qualities that helped us survive,” she said.

“People like us, and trust us,” said Ms Hickey, who added that many of their clients come from referrals. In a world where people are quick to turn to the Internet for information and travel plans, they feel confident that the personalized service Cruise Holidays provides is a value that cannot be matched online.

The women have been in the travel business for more than 30 years combined, including nearly ten years each with the previous owner of Cruise Holidays. They, as well as leisure relations and sales manager Kim Cronin, have traveled extensively over the years and have the knowledge that allows them to guide travelers who come to them.

The Internet has made their job easier, said Ms Hickey, but inexperienced travelers have been disappointed in what they booked — or thought they had booked — online. “People are cautious, too, about putting down large deposits online, thousands of dollars for some cruises. We have the experience to share. Either I’ve been there, or Lynn has been there,” she said. “If it’s on a ship, we’ve done it, more than once,” Ms Hickey said.

“Booking a cruise online is overwhelming for first time cruisers,” said Ms Strawson, “but we can work with clients to give them the service they need.”

While people tend to think of cruises as taking place on large bodies of water in huge ships, Cruise Holidays specializes in all kinds of cruises, said Ms Strawson. “We do Caribbean cruises, world cruises, river cruises, and barges,” she said. Cruise Holidays puts together packages tailored to the individual, from flights overseas to hotels to transportation, and of course, including the cruise destination. Her travels have taken her to Europe, Russia, China, Singapore, Australia, Egypt, and numerous other places all over the world, giving her the opportunity to experience firsthand the situations and places that Cruise Holidays clients will encounter.

“I’ve been to Europe, and I’ve been to Alaska five times, on different cruises, and learn something different every time,” said Ms Hickey.

Cruise Holidays is not just all about the fly-cruise combinations, though, Ms Strawson said. “We also do land packages, the trips that utilize trains, planes, and automobiles, nationally and internationally.” And like the cruise lines that they have personally experienced and work with, Ms Hickey and Ms Strawson are familiar with land travel, as well, having explored many of the National Parks and West Coast winery tours in the United States, two popular destinations for travelers, and international destinations, too.

What continues to make Cruise Holidays a viable business, said Ms Hickey, is that clients know that whether they are novice travelers embarking on a one-time dream trip or seasoned travelers heading for a favorite location, each trip is considered with equal care. “To us, it is not just another vacation. We’re good at making clients feel this is their truly special vacation,” said Ms Hickey.

“Our experience allows us to qualify a client for the best cruise they can get,” Ms Strawson said. “We take into account each client’s budget, his or her age, who will they be traveling with, and what they like. We look at the time of year they want to travel, the holidays, and their lifestyles. We provide options for them,” she said.

“We’ve put a lot of first-timers on a cruise. We walk them through everything,” Ms Strawson said, including what to pack, if need be.

“If someone comes in with an idea for the trip of a lifetime, we want them to leave on that trip happy, and come home happy. We make that happen,” Ms Hickey said.

The other benefit to booking through Cruise Holidays, said Ms Hickey, are the great resources the company has available to them as part of the 200-plus Cruise Holidays business franchise. “It’s a very strong organization, and tremendously respected by cruise operators,” she said. Part of what they offer is education to the traveler based on personal experiences, the experiences of other clients, and contacts in the travel field. Since 9/11, the job has also entailed alleviating any misconceptions or fears a client may have about traveling abroad. “The cruise lines and the State Department keep us informed as to what is going on worldwide, but I can tell you,” Ms Hickey said, “if a cruise line is going somewhere, it is safe. They are not going into the eye of a hurricane, so to speak.”

Trips booked through Cruise Holidays also offer a sense of security. “We are very big on travel insurance, very big,” emphasized Ms Strawson. “I cannot tell you how important that is to have. It covers any unexpected problems that may arise, like the volcano in Iceland last year, or illness that makes it necessary to be airlifted. And if there is a drop in rates, we want to make sure our client is protected and receives the lower price. You won’t see that when you book online yourself,” she said. Cruise Holidays also looks out for special needs clients, making sure that wheel chairs, oxygen, sleep apnea masks, or other necessities are in place at every stop.

“We also handle any issues that arise during the trip,” she said.

“We go to battle for our clients if it is an issue that needs to be resolved,” Ms Hickey said.

Ms Hickey and Ms Strawson are proud that Cruise Holidays headquarters has bestowed several awards on the New Milford franchise over the years they have been at the helm. Among them are the Outstanding Customer Service Award they received in 2008, and in 2010 they were awarded the Golden Anchor Store of the Year.

Honesty, integrity, trust — and fun — are all words that mean a lot at Cruise Holidays, said Ms Hickey and Ms Strawson. It is the core of why they remain successful.

“It is a profession. We are consultants,” said Ms Strawson.

“Most of all,” added Ms Hickey, “we enjoy what we do: help people’s vacation dreams come true.”

Cruise Holidays is at 56 Danbury Road (Route 7), Suite 4, in New Milford. For information about cruises or land packages, call 860- 354-2669, 800-355-5015, or visit www.holidaycruises.com.