Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Hey, Ed LAN, how are you?
Customer: Hello.
Customer: Okay. Okay, I just had a lot of questions about. Have you ever done a.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): I haven't done a river cruise but I've done everything else and I've done river cruises in the past. So, I know I can answer the question.
Customer: Okay, and so you've never done a river cruise, you're actually been on one of their boats, so.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): No, I've seen one of their boats I've been on one but not saed but I can get alright, yeah.
Customer: Oh, okay. Alright. Okay. Well, let's talk let's talk about a little bit. They basically Lyn, Linnette and I are looking at a cruising doing a river cruise. We've narrowed it down to when to do the Rie and we, and we have looked at times that are in late August early September 2025.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Sure.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Okay.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Okay.
Customer: And what I'm finding is I'm like ocean cruising when I go on the top website you know things are starting to already fill up. They book way in advance so I'm not too early premature for this inquiry.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Yup.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): No, this is perfect cause they'll sell up anyway. So yeah, definitely, let me pull up, let me pull up the website right now.
Customer: Okay. Okay. But let, let, let me just yeah, but I can ask. I can start with the general question while you're pulling up. Basically, we were kind of shocked, shocked. That's too strong. This is all fun to travel planning now but, but.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Sure.
Customer: We're not one of the reasons, we've never done a tour and we do ocean cruising and you can tell cause you worked with me long enough, I like to be in control, I like to manage things and I kinda know what I want and so I'm a little, it's a little harder for me dealing with river cruise where I don't really know a lot, because I'm used to knowing a lot I travel. So any.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Mm-hmm.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Mm-hmm.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Mm-hmm.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Okay. Well, we'll get you to know a lot with river cruises. How about that? We'll teach you some stuff. Yeah.
Customer: Oh, well that, that's a good idea. The question though, the question though is we talked to friends this kinda got spurred by a friend and my wife she told her how great arma was and they went on Ma, cruise and but we started looking and we like some certain freedom that seems to be the only one that does not make you eat dinner at a certain time top seems to be the only one that actually have a small alternative dining if you want to get a hamburger for dinner.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Okay.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Mm-hmm.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Mm-hmm.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Uh-huh. Mm-hmm.
Customer: And, and, you know, that's kind of unique, but when I look at the pricing compared to say unit world. I guess, I guess from what I see the closest things the us in terms of being higher and river cruising. If you assume tax, if it's top, is it, is it Phoenix? Or unit world or probably the highest or is there any other ones that we should consider like I said about eighty percent the way there with but I still have to be submitted their value of the extra money.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Mm-hmm.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Mm-hmm.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): So that's a good question. So in uni world and are gonna be the well and then being Kent has some but I would stick with the those three you know world and Phoenix.
Customer: That's okay, that's good.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): The price point like, how do I say it? Like, so everything is included, so all your meals, they're goodies excursions if you choose to take them transfers, it's all included for you uni world. It.
Customer: I understand that and, and has I mean, I, I've read. It's so crazy to will actually give you money at the cafe. If you're around lunchtime on the tour and supposedly they will actually give you the Ros to use the bathroom. So it's you said it's Razy.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Mm-hmm.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): They do like little things like that to kind of just enhance the experience I and also if you go in or even if you take tax airfare or not you go in early let's say and you're not staying at you know the hotel but it's in the same facility, they'll still pick you up with the airport and bring you to the ship kind of thing.
Customer: Yeah, it's a different world promotion, your region. That's for Dan.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): It's very different and they very, they go above and beyond. I mean, I'm going to Spain with them. I'm going to cube this year with them. I've been Italy, so I've done, I know their product are great. There, there cabins and their boats are beautiful. They're not overly done. They're not, I don't want to be mean to unit world to me. They're kind of gody a little bit because I don't wanna stay in a purple room with, you know, the comforter and the sheet or the comforter and the, you know, the blinds, everything matches, it's kind of vary over the top like decor but if people like that.
Customer: Yeah, yeah, one go.
Customer: Okay, you, and now I cut you off when you're talking about more of the business, end of it, the financial and cause you were just telling about talking, you just switch star to switch to un, the world and I FINA set you off. So why don't you continue, I'm sorry.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Oh, they're gonna, they're gonna be kind of comparable. I mean, like I said, they're all, all three of them are going to be all inclusive, so.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Help may be more expensive but again I out of the three I would, they have the best feedback and we kinda, they're really good, nice to deal with granted we're kind of limited on what we can do with how I think Aaron might have talked to you about it but like uni world and Phoenix we can send you a, a, a cash back check kind of like your region cruises.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Is a little different since you would be new to Ke. You would get a complimentary pre post night from Ablis. Complimentary same hotel that how you, this, it could be a value from $500 up and they'll still transfer you, like I said and we can then either give you a $300 gift card of your choice, or we can book the flights for you. You tell me what flight to book and we'll give you a cash back check, a seven percent cash back check.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): So, it's a little limited it's seven percent off the cruise fair, so if the cruise is like I'm making this up you know $10,000 per person, it's off of, you know, it's off of the cruise there.
Customer: For the year for seven percent of the airfare.
Customer: Okay, so I'm a little confusing so you basically if you book the air, you give us a, a rebate off the air but it's calculated based on the cost of the Rus.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Mm-hmm.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Well, it's seven percent off the cost of the cruise. So if the cruise it's off of the cruise there, so let's say the cruise there is $10,000 per person. So seven percent off of $20 great $20,000.
Customer: Okay, but I can only do that if you book my airfare.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): It's.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Right. Or if you, we can do it. It would just have to be outside of tow, if you want to do any extra nights, pre nights or post night what we would do and you would pay for the extra nights, and then we would just reimburse you up to, you know, whatever the amount is you do have $1,400, so up to $1,400.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): So, if you want to spend like two extra nights, I'm making this up like, in an Amsterdam? Okay, and it's $600 a night kind of thing. You would pay the $600 a night for the two extra nights. And then Ablis will send you a rebate, kind of like a reimbursement check for the $1,200, it just has.
Customer: Okay. So that would be, that would be in, that would be instead of the rebate check off the airfare pack lad on the cruise.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Correct. So, cause I know you'd like to be in control of some stuff, but if let, yeah, so we could do the error and give the rebate or we can do extra nights and give you a rebate as well, so.
Customer: But the rebate is calculated on the cruise on the extra night or the, you just, you just reimburse the extra night.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): So it's still that seven percent amount.
Customer: Wow, now my head, my head is spinning and, and, and, and this isn't clear yet. Okay, let me work on it more, so I like to be in control, so I like to book my own air if you book the air and you can give, but if you don't book the air, then I have to or if I use miles or whatever then.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Yeah.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Right.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Yeah and then we can either give you a, a, we can either give you a, a, it is kind of confusing cause there's so many different factors but it's either.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): A gift card of $300. We'll book the flights for you and then we'll send you a check seven percent off of the cruise there cost.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Yup. So you paid in full. The airfare and full. It's like a rebate check and or we could.
Customer: So I pay the a, no, no, no, I'm still step okay, so, I pay the airfare I'm a little confused and then you could you're through in the hotel tell me about the hotel is not a seven percent off of the, so.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Oh.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): We can give you free nights out of hotel. Let's just say that if you want extra night at a hotel, you would pay for them and then, we'll reimburse you like, the airfare.
Customer: A.
Customer: You would reimburse me but then that would, then I wouldn't get the seven percent off of the cruise.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): No it.
Customer: The seven percent rebate off the cruise calculation. So, so there's two ways to do it. There's tels and there's seven percent off of the cruise rebate, but it can't be based on only buying cruise from you. So if I buy the airfare myself.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Mm-hmm.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Mm-hmm.
Customer: Then what happens, how do I get, how do I get?
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): So if you buy the air fair if you buy the airfare yourself, either I can give you a $300 gift card or if you want extra nights at a hotel we can provide that for you. Let's just say that.
Customer: And you can give me how many nights at the hotel.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): It depends on how many you want.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Because it's still, so it's still, it's, so you get a complimentary night regardless cause you're new to talk.
Customer: Does it have?
Customer: Okay.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): And then either we can book your air and you get a rebate or you get extra extra nights.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): And then it's there's, I mean, there's a cap on how much we can, you know, come, it's that seven percent.
Customer: At seven percent. So you can come me up for seven percent of the cost of the crust in, in hotels and I, I and send you, I send you the hotel bill.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Correct. Yes sir. Yes sir. Yeah.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Well, you pay for it and then we'll just send you a check. We send you a check, kind of like, the airfare. Yup. Yeah. Like I did, did I just, yeah, you.
Customer: I send you all and you just, I just send you the hotel bill. I may my own, I make my own hotel arrangements but I send you a copy of the bill or how does that work?
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): We would book it for you Ablis would book it for you. You tell us what hotel you want us to book for you and we can book it for you. And then we'll you pay for it and then we send you a check. We reimburse you.
Customer: So you have to book the hotel which is not a problem, right? Okay.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Correct. Ablis to be able to give you that seven percent extra like, added value. We say we book the flights or any pre post hotels outside of to.
Customer: Okay, that's great. So basically does the hotel has to be can it be part of the trip, but not in the same town. The end, it has be in the same town where the cruise ender. Did you guys not care?
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Yeah.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Oh, it nope it does. It's up to you. It doesn't have to be in the same town.
Customer: So, basically, if we, if we, if we want to end and answer damn, and I wanna take my wife to the west den to see some shows. We pop, we can pop over to Lendon on easy jet for nothing. And and then we can spend three nights in London and you'll pay for the hotel up to seven percent of the class of the airfare, so the air, so, the tree is twenty so you take $1,400 over a $20,000 in off of the hotel, which you would book. Okay, that's really helpful. So basically, you guys find a way to give me seven percent back but we have, we but we have to be creative.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Mm-hmm.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Mm-hmm.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Yup, yup.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Correct, yup.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Correct.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Exactly, yup.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Exactly ex.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Exactly. Absolutely. Yes, that is exactly. You hit the ama on it because it's very limited how doesn't want discounts but Ablis like to give back so we have to be creative and how we do it. So, it just has to be outside of to, they're not gonna book the air or the hotels for you the complimentary night from tablet, that is the same hotel that does use. So if you go in.
Customer: Okay, and that's separate and that's separate from the rebate. So I get seven percent. I, if I work it out, you find a way to give me seven percent back and you find a way to give me one night and a hotel now. Does it have to be my first book I booked with tap like seven years ago and canceled I assume that wouldn't be my first thing with tap then cause I didn't go. Is that right? Is that a problem?
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Correct.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Yeah.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): The what? Right.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Because you haven't physically traveled with them. No, no, you would, you will still get it and it's tx hotel. So you would just say we want a pre post and then when we go to book it, hotel rates aren't even out yet we give them like a code and then they go in and they kinda void out that extra cost. So, we got plenty of time on that one.
Customer: No problem. Okay. No problem. Okay, that's great.
Customer: Okay, and then the only requirement for the seven percent is that you guys book my hotel in London for example, wherever I want to go this is just related to the trip recently related to the tri.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Exactly. Yes, sir. Mm-hmm and of course, yeah, and it just has to be, right. Yup, and I mean, if it exceeds the seven percent cost for let's say three nights you paid the, you know, the additional but we will reimburse you up to that seven percent.
Customer: Okay.
Customer: Of the cost of the Cree. Alright, let me talk to, talk to me about why the.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Mm-hmm.
Customer: Talk to me about why the rates are so damn different. Let me, I wanna tell you what we found and we did the research. We found, we found that first of all, one of the reasons we've never done tours you bit the friends we have that absolutely love, as you can imagine this frequent O-C-N-E and region cruises. We have a lot of friends and peers who also love to do.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Okay.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Mm-hmm.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Yeah.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Mm-hmm.
Customer: And, and one, and one of the things that I always paid is I like to be in control as I get older, I have trouble getting up in the morning. I don't want to be told my suitcase that to be out by quarter eight to be on the bus at 8:30 I think breakfast to 7:00. I just don't like to do that and that's the reason that we are, are somewhere independent. However when I looked at this thing on.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Right.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Right.
Customer: The rates were set so, we were gonna book and they don't have too many of them like a the cruise lines where they just had an eight day, all river there is an eight day all river on the 3rd of September on the ramana. Rine but they want the cost of it for the category five which is that what I think I want was showing on the top website for eighty if you have a pencil just, I'll give you three price 8940. Or a cat five on the eight day river cruise and for 9340 just what $300 or $400 over.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Mm-hmm.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Yup.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Mm-hmm.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Uh-huh.
Customer: We can get the same thing on it with, with the and the hotel prior and, and the trip to the young pro. So I don't understand why they can so we'd, you'd be crazy. And so for one or two days I can get my bag out and I can do their bus routine at whatever or the morning, you know I can be somewhat flexible to get that and then Lauren look at the next prices if I do the same Dan ten day, ten day with the hotel on the 8th of September it was ten was $10,300 and forty. So why is it, you know, $1,500 well, whatever, $1,400 more for the same thing, ten days later is it, it's the same shift, so it's not like it's an older ship versus a newer ship.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Mm-hmm.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Right.
Customer: Why is that? Is it just supplying demand? How wants to do it and do the price was change? Did you get closer? Do they prez them talk to me about that?
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): It does, that's a good question. It does change, it will always be more expensive may and September, because those are the two most popular times to go on river cruises. So the price point for those. Yup, it will and across the board mm-hmm.
Customer: Really.
Customer: So therefore the August but by getting in at the end of August it's like, it's like a condo season when you, if you can get into the last month before the prime season you can get a better deal same one.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Mm-hmm.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Right. And unless, unless you want to go when it's better hot, you know, really hot and crowded in the summer. It's gonna be really cheap. Because it's not, not that desirable and then the price kinda starts to go down a little bit. You know, into the fall time but, yeah, may and September will always be more expensive. Regardless if it's a new boat, old boat it's the same itinerary, it's just the demand, and it's prime time to go.
Customer: Okay.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Yup.
Customer: Now one of the things is that I'm very picky about trip insurance. And, and they have a, they have trip insurance. But I to do some research, I don't any experience with people buying the trip insurance from tap you much with you've been of stuff it looks like a good deal especially for older people cause it's not age rated but we might want to do something else. We might even want attack Ian APIs afterwards we're not sure that and we don't need to with that yet. But my question is it does it I when I talk some, some, somebody account they said just asking about their insurance they said that it covers like fourteen days of other stuff with part of the trip, have you had any experience with people with claims with the top insurance. And you know much about it.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Mm-hmm.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Mm-hmm.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Mm-hmm mm-hmm yeah.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Okay.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Mm-hmm.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): I know.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Somebody did. They were gonna like do a touch trip and then they were going to.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Extend and they we're going to be covered. I think it's fourteen days after the end of the trip they're still covered. We don't get really too involved with claims but the rates are really good because it's not you know, by your age and it is canceled for.
Customer: Okay.
Customer: Okay, now, what about, what about the, yeah, the cancel thing now I live in the state of New York and I'm in the only state where you can buy a cancellation portion directly from co without buying the insurance. Everybody else in the country has to buy the insurance in order to get the cancellation, how does the can, if you have the cancellation coverage which doesn't matter. So if I live somewhere else and I bought if, or if I bought insurance, if I bought the insurance with the cancellation, is it, how does that work in terms of canceling cap and what's not fund the, what isn't, whether you buy their cancellation, their insurance cancellation or whether you don't talk to me about that?
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Mm-hmm.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Mm-hmm.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): So, you get canceled for any reason and that standard it doesn't matter where you live that's just built into their clause which is kinda nice. The deposit of $900 per person that's just for the cruise is automatically once you put it down is nonrefundable you would want to pay.
Customer: It is non removed. We're final not movable, not anything. Right.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Correct, correct. It's if you decide to cancel or you know, you're in penalty, you're not going to get that back.
Customer: Even if it's, even if you say when I go on the trip two weeks later, the same trip, they won't move it. Okay.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Correct. They're very, it's very, it's a different product than, let's say their land product, where you can you know, transfer funds from here to there, that's fine but because it's in a river cruise product. It's yeah, it's very kind of a little more strict. But yeah, $900 per person nonrefundable deposit insurance, I say to do it at deposit or within fourteen days or cover preexisting you do get the cancel for any reason and the rates, you know it's not astronomically expensive. And did you online, did you see the details of the policy, the medical and everything like that?
Customer: I print, I had the summary sheet and then I printed it out and I've got eleven page back to back sitting on the printer. I have a look but I'm, but I'm trying to entertain the fourteen day especially if we spend, if I then go book like another cruise of course that would only cover me for if I bought another cruise if I did any cruise right afterwards, for example, they wouldn't cover the cost for missing the OC cruise but I assume that the medical evacuation stuff would still apply on and what else I can.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Okay.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): There there's is there.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): I think it would just, I don't believe so that's a good question I'll have, I can ask them and get back and let you know. I think the last person I had it was kind of like a back to back tok. So, it was kinda different. It wasn't another, you know, cruise line, I believe tax insurance only covers tacks product and I.
Customer: Yeah.
Customer: Mm-hmm.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): I wouldn't want you to have to.
Customer: So, so, from the product point of view, so, it's more of the air evacuation you get sick and it's more of the stuff than an all person like me. Or medical at the end up in a hospital in in France or whatever. Yeah, that's what you're, that's the main thing you're.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Mm-hmm.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Mm-hmm yup, it's a medical. It's the yeah, the medical, it's emergency evacuation. The cancel for any reason. All that mm-hmm.
Customer: Okay, now the cancel for any reason, how does that work though? You said the deposit nonrefundable, so, the cancel, any reason ember, but it's only like a, you get half of it back depending how close you are to the trip or it's not, it's not full can, it's not a hundred percent cancel any re.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Correct, let me see if I can get into.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): See there can.
Customer: And like I said, they have a special price that I have to call for to find out how much it is if you live in New York just to buy the cancel if I want to buy my insurance somewhere else.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Let's.
Customer: The new York's, the only state, New York the only state where insurance companies cannot sell, cancel Prit reasons so legal here but they let's have do it be if it's, if you're doing a directly from and not as an insurance product just is it cancellation policy?
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Exactly, yup.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Correct.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Yup, let's see here.
Customer: Which it works to my advantage in this case, even their times when I wanted to buy, cancel.
Customer: Yeah.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): So, it's a hundred percent protection of your tour price paid. You can cancel up to the day before departure with a full refund of the money paid to talk.
Customer: Except for the, except for the deposit, you're not getting back, right?
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Correct.
Customer: Except for the deposit.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Except for the cost of the insurance.
Customer: Oh, so they'll even get your deposit money back.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Mm-hmm you just lose the cost of tax insurance like yesterday I had a, I had a guest unfortunately had to cancel and they had tax insurance they're going to port gal next week they got everything back. I think it was like $20,000 they just lost the $449 deposit or I'm sorry insurance. So it is and they cancel.
Customer: They even got, they even got their, they even got their deposit on you back.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Mm-hmm and this is after final payment. So before final payment, if you were to cancel before the final payment, that's when the $900 per person deposit is nonrefundable if you cancel.
Customer: So, it's actually better to wait till after final payment to cancel crazy the same.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): You would want to add the insurance on before final payment. You have to do it before final payment. Usually the day of, or the day before. I always add it on. That's why it's on the reservation.
Customer: Yeah, you well, yeah, we.
Customer: Okay, is the 4:49 for person include the cancel of any reason or to cancel for any reason on top of the 4:49.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): No, does cancel for any reason is built into the clouse. It's not an additional cost so just because you live in New York if you don't have to pay more.
Customer: Okay, but it should, so they just tell people in new, in New York state that if I don't wanna buy the insurance I can call and they'll say, find the cancel for any reason $200 three but whatever the price.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): No.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): No, no, no, no you have to so I don't know how they worked it out but even if you live in New York you still get the cancel for any reason. So you can't just buy tax, like, I just want your medical insurance or something or I want to add-on cancel for any reason it's built into their clause.
Customer: Absolutely. Work, I'm be work in New York.
Customer: So.
Customer: I understand but, but according to the policy in New York we're allowed to buy cancel for any reason without the insurance cause the state makes and sell it but I don't know what the price is, the call pain out, what the price is. But it seems to me it'd be pretty stupid, you're better out just find whole thing anyway and don't even worry about the difference.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): It.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Well, what could either you, well either you buy their insurance or you don't, it's not like you buy the cancel for any reason clause it's, it built into their insurance.
Customer: You understand what I'm saying.
Customer: Well, you, but it says on the form that if you're New York ready, you can buy, only cancel for any reason without insurance under a special exception is what it says on the policy cause I live read it cause I had to check New York and in front of me in New York page but it's fine. It's not worth, we're getting, we're getting into a level of detailed. Little silly. I think it's cool. We're, I'm good. Alright.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Huh I?
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Okay.
Customer: Let's see. So now where are we, where we are? Oh, yeah, what kind of cabin do you recommend on the ship? I have picked the cat five as reasonable I don't want to be in a basement with it with a window. It's way, you know, with a basement window at the same time. They do have kind of Acy thing. Where you can be kind of partially in the basement if you can walk up three steps, and you have a window to look out of or something if you've seen that.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Mm-hmm.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Mm-hmm.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): No.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): So, that's a new feature that's I was, it's kinda called their loft cabin and I actually, personally like that one because you, it's like Florida ceiling window and the window does open a little bit. So, you do have a view and you're not like underwater all the way and it's a little.
Customer: Mm-hmm.
Customer: But, and you save, and you save a little mon that way, right? Versus it.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): You save a little bit of money and it's, I personally people love that feature. Let me hold on one second.
Customer: Because it saves money or does it actually have advantages of a regular window that opens a regular happening with one opens, or Frank.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): No, it opens.
Customer: Mm-hmm and, and they don't have real, real baths on Sosh anyway.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): But.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): They do not. No sir, they do not have physical walkout balconies.
Customer: They have a friend we, you can open the bro store?
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): They have the French balcony mm-hmm and basically when you get up, I mean, minus the cat seven which is their, you know, their suite, which is their biggest cabin, you know, a cat five and a Cat6 for the price difference is location, you're still on the same deck, a deck for.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): And a deck, you know a, a category for a category five.
Customer: Well, I can look, I can and then, and then, and then their cabin size issues too, because I'm gonna have less.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Right.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Correct, so like the nice thing about no-go ahead, go ahead.
Customer: And, and so somehow more space than.
Customer: Well, the nice thing it says that you have to make some choices. It seems because you can get a really nice French py window in a 190 square feet and you can get something less than that on the window but you can buy more space for 200 you can get 225 square feet, or you can go all the way to top and kind of get both except for the grand sleet which is bigger or something like that, right?
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Uh-huh.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Exactly. So, like the, I like, honestly, the cat-3 it's a bigger size cabin. The it's basically a French Belky if you wanna say just a bigger window and a little, it's a bigger cabin.
Customer: Okay, so the cat-3 you recommended, so you don't think I need to go to the cat five that might be a little aggressive.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): I don't think so, I think you guys would like the lot people who have done the loft like it they don't feel they feel they're cabins bigger. First of all, and also because of the window which is much larger, it makes the room, it feel even bigger and it's controlled so you can open up. So, if you want to pay a couple of $1,000 more to be one level up to get a window that Retax as well and a smaller room. Sure but I would do the cap three I think it's a cool thing, it's a cool future.
Customer: Okay, so, so wait a minute, so the cat-3 has a window, like incident. Verandas on celebrity that kind of.
Customer: On the edge plass labors.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Like the Branda yup, yeah, it opens up from the top. Yup, mm-hmm.
Customer: Just the same idea as celebrity has I Ise you've been on the edge class celebrity. Okay, so, alright. So.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Yup.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Yup.
Customer: Alright. So that, the lost cabin is a way to a, the money and get the advantages of glass and being now but open up now. But if you do get to a certain level it's a French Bacone where you have like a sliding door you would have home going on, on a patio except, you open it up and yours a fence there and you can't go out, right?
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Mm-hmm.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Exactly. So it's either a sliding door or a retractable window. If you want to look at it like that.
Customer: Okay. So and you're saying the fighting door may get you a little more of a feel. But three tax of the window does exactly the same thing. And again if you get the lock you, if you get the lock you actually you can save money.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): It doesn't, yeah, it does.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Yeah, you can sit there, you can have like, you know a beer glass of Champaign and you know, see everything just like if you were in a French Belky you can't physically go outside, but, yeah, it's just between a door opening or a retractable window, and more space. Mm-hmm.
Customer: Okay. Okay, can they close, can they lock the window like they do and celebrity if the weather's bad or, or they don't get, you can always open it or you don't know.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): I think they lock them only when they go through the locks cause I can't have the Windows open during the locks cause water, I.
Customer: Oh, okay.
Customer: And someone fifty redic Theon fifty idly open a French backer, but why would you want to, do you have to look in a concrete anyway?
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): I know. Right? Well, and the thing is, you go through the locks at night, so, nine not ten times you don't have a window. I mean, you shouldn't sleep with the Windows open anyway, but they would probably call your room and say, hey, make sure your Windows closed. But, yeah, it's, everyone has done it liked it. So it's kind of a, a neat feature that how, only has done.
Customer: Okay.
Customer: Okay. How, what?
Customer: Thank.
Customer: How about the food on, on, I'm sure my wife is a cheats a little bit of fish but otherwise she's a vegetarian and she's including free. So, it's, so I assume that's caters to all North Americans is all their unusual food need.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Okay.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Oh, yeah. And if you have, like, a food allergy or, you know, a diet restriction, we tell them. Well, before they cater to you may, she may even have like, her own menu. I've seen that happen before, someone was like, glut and free and just so many different restrictions, but they will give you know, you won't just have like, one choice. They will give you multiple choices, they're really good about ending two people's restrictions.
Customer: Okay.
Customer: If we decided to wait to book, cause we're just not quite ready yet. These things really fill up. So, if I called you a year from now we would be six months out still from the, well, not six months but five months out, four months out from there, would there still be availability at that point or would the prices have gone up and we have to be lesson.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Mm-hmm.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): The prices with it's kind of a nice thing they're setting stone once they get released to the general public, it's not like a regular. It's not like an ocean cruise company, where it's constantly changing quarterly when they release their pricing. That's the pricing. I can't guarantee, I can probably guarantee next year that if you would try to book this time next year for next fall, that cap three would be gone.
Customer: So, I might be able to find a cabin, but it might not be what I really want.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): You may have to right. If you wait till the last minute. It's gonna be probably a standard cabin cause all the French began, the higher cabin categories always go first.
Customer: You mean, I might end up with the basement with the little the literally the basement Windows. That's it now and it seemed like the tab fords were going on a couple of months. Why is that popular you recommended the three we the cat four. Is that the small is that the cheapest French Bathom?
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Yes, yes, yes I would.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Yes mm-hmm it's the cheapest French so that's why people wanna want to do that.
Customer: Okay, that's probably why ca.
Customer: But you're saying the secrets to save a few bucks and enjoy the lock which is just as in some way to even cooler it's just your.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Yeah, mm-hmm yup, but even like I just pulled up, just to give you an idea for which one is this.
Customer: This is August 25th August 25th inspire ten day that gal answer this is, this is basal aster going the other way.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): This is the.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Okay, so the romantic Ryan, Amsterdam Nebo, right. Okay.
Customer: It starts in Zerk it starts in Eric and you do the young role that's the twenty that's 25.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Oh, so I'm even, I'm looking at a completely different date. Okay, well.
Customer: So this is, I'm looking at 25 August 2025.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): But what's, what's the name of the itinerary?
Customer: Yeah, itinerary is a ten day, the Ryans with apps and Serda.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Got it. Okay. There we go, I'm in the right.
Customer: North bound on the M-S grace or inspire. They don't say which I assume they're the same ship.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): I'm just trying to pull it up here, here, come on computer.
Customer: They want to tell you which ship it is acquaint, but no way actually just said the inspire.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): There we go.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Okay, so if we did 25, okay, here we go.
Customer: Can you actually see the cabins like you can on a that are available?
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Mm-hmm mm-hmm I may okay, let me just pull up this one.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): So, they already have limited space for next year category one, category two and a category or all limited meaning that there's probably less than seven cabins left to sell in each cabin category. On that date. They have cat three's available which is the lost but you know, they're, it's starting to fill up.
Customer: On that, on that cruise.
Customer: Okay, so one, two and four are available but limited at three is not yet showing limited but that be, where is what you're saying? Okay. Alright, that's helpful. Well, that means, I'm not embarrassingly early, that's for sure.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Correct. Mm-hmm mm-hmm.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): If you look at, I mean, if you guys are like, oh, they have okay, so August 11th of next year to give you an idea. A category two is limited and a category for is already sold out.
Customer: Yeah, okay. Alright, cause you said, you said the cash wars are popular because they're the cheapest French baton that you think you can beat that in terms of, of enjoyment by do going one below and savings and money it with a lot.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Mm-hmm.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): I think so, yeah, yeah, to the loft.
Customer: Alright. I, all the are the loss on what leve where the loss on you're not on the lowest level. They're on the second to the lowest.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): It's on the deck. So I believe, let me see if I can get. What are we on the inspire?
Customer: Mm-hmm.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): That plans here.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Deck seven, Dex five.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Would we say, what is it a category? What would we say for three? No.
Customer: I was asking about a cat-3 because I, that was, that was.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): So, the Catherine is on the deck, it's on, it's on the lower deck. It's on the first deck.
Customer: But, instead of just having a basement window, it's got that step up where you get a better window. Okay. Okay.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Exactly. Yup, but it's on the deck. So, it goes to deck, the Ruby deck and then the diamond deck which is and then the sun deck. So, there's only three decks with, you know, cabins.
Customer: Okay. Is there any disadvantage on river boat of being on the bottom deck other than the usual window problem which the loss helps a Boyd is it as here is itas here it's not.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): No, I've been in, I've been in, I've been in a suite and no, I've been in a suite and I was just in a standard cabin. On I've been on with Viking and Avalon. I kinda liked it cause it was quiet, I mean, the engines it's not gonna be a huge engine, like, you know, on a river or on an ocean boat, they're gonna be more.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Kind of in the app, so you're really not gonna hear anything where I was located. I mean, granted I was on a different, with a different company. But it was, I walked right out of my cabin and there was a dining room, you know, a few steps away so it was kind of, and the reception deck. So it wasn't, I mean, these, they're not huge ships so.
Customer: Okay.
Customer: Doesn't really matter and, and there's no place, it's more noise than others, no place, more noise tho you don't have hundreds of people in the four.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): I don't think so. I mean it doesn't matter.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): No. The only place I wouldn't put you is probably the first cabin by the reception desk. And I don't, I don't put people in those cabins, cause it does get noisy cause that's where people congregate everyday to go on the excursions, but you don't have to worry about that because you're not going to be close to there.
Customer: Okay, alright, this is okay.
Customer: Okay. Okay, this is very helpful. I am going to let you go after this long discussion and I appreciate the time.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Mm-hmm.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): And I can get you, do you want me to, what would you like me to do? What information would you like me to get from for you? Do you want me to check about the insurance or do you want me to.
Customer: Yeah, check about, check about check about how the insurance works and, and also New York state is there, can I buy the cancellation alone without buying the insurance though. The place is why would you want to, but I need to understand also and how does the fourteen day work if you're doing other stuff?
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Okay.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Yeah, yeah.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. Let me just write that down.
Customer: So for example, if I did it in a hotel like you gave me the night before in the tow that would be part of the tour, I wouldn't have to worry about that. But if I went in three days earlier and stated a holiday in or something on my own. If that would subtract from the three days or is it, is it the fourteen days only covers afterwards, is it covered before? Is it, can you divide the fourteen days up, gonna be seven on one side, seven on the other, you know I just, I'm very careful about, I'm very careful about this.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Mm-hmm.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Mm-hmm.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Correct.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Mm-hmm.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): I will find that out.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): I will find out. Yeah, yeah, of course. And I wouldn't want you to have to pay like, I mean, maybe like an annual plan would be better if you're going to do a back to back, but no.
Customer: I can't, I, I'm, they're not allowed, I've lived in the two states where they're not allowed. I used to live in Maryland and now I live in New York. You can't buy an annual policy, it's terrible.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Oh, New York.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): That's right, you can't. Nope, they're very I remember, that's why I moved from, I'm from upstate New York that's why I got out of New York, there were too many too many rules I didn't like it.
Customer: I know. Well, I moved here to be close to grandchildren's I think I told you but but Marlyn was almost as bad although you could buy, cancel for any reason. What is, what Maryland, it's this bad you can by the go blue health insurance, you know, for coverage wherever they are from the G-O. Blue and we can't buy that in New York and I don't think you can buy you couldn't buy Maryland. I lived there then change. I've been gone four years this week since we moved from New York to close to our grandchildren, long island and believe me have long island is an acquired taste. I Texas. My, my wife and I are joking. I like to be gone because the best. I help people the best and it's not, it's not, not totally fair. We live in a nice community with pretty nice people that they're very.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Really. Huh, well.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Yeah.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Huh.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): I've heard.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Yeah, yeah.
Customer: And, and we live close to my grandchildren but I do, jokingly say the best thing about New York is we're 35 minutes from Kennedy airport, new TV to get out anywhere in the world.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): On a good day. 35 minutes, yeah, well that's yeah, I've heard I haven't.
Customer: Well, yeah, you can hear my story. I got a seat on Prem economy for 50000 miles each when we came back from Barcelona after our region cruise so we flew premium Cy day flight it was fine on united, we got through, we got through a TSA or global entry in two seconds of north airport and we have a driver that takes us Kennedy and for an extra $15 Kingdon nor to pick us up Lauren it was a three hour drive and traffic from north to our house in long island three hours in the car after our flight across the Atlantic, I thought.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Oh.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Uh-huh.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Uh-huh.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Okay.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): I will.
Customer: There's no words.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): That's, I mean, that's almost as bad. When I went on a Conard cruise last summer and out of the Portland, Brooklyn never do it was awful, it was chaos. From the start, we landed, I met my coworker at JFK, I got, we had a car service it's kind of like yours, what? It was at 9:00 in the morning trying to get into and we had a day room at the Hilton, in like, downtown Manhattan. It took, yeah, it took like two and a half hours. I told my boss what the, what the Uber was and it was like $350 it was like the most expensive Uber. I've ever taken in but we were bump with a bumper for like two hours. And I was like, why do people do this to themselves and the entire time I have anxiety you know. But.
Customer: The.
Customer: Yeah.
Customer: No.
Customer: Well, we, on a nice day. Our trips to Kennedy are not usually bad. We, I've never taken us more than 4045 minutes where we live in on that one. It's not bad going to Kennedy but, but, you know, the time is what it is and you just, you just, you just deal with it and, and I, we're close to our growing grand and we have eleven year old twin boys here and a fifteen year old, then we've got a couple win California. I know, sometimes I call you from California. I proved out of out of and pap because we have a two older grandchildren in California ter. So that's our life, that's our life. Now, why did you move to Charlotte from you were live in New Mexico or you work with.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Oh.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Yeah.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): I know you do.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Oh, oh.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Okay.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Fine.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): I did, I lived, I, I'm actually moved from Buffalo, New York with my ex-husband to New Mexico because he did a dental residency at UNM. That's how I got pa, the job at tables eleven years ago. Well, during COVID we got divorced and it's okay, I'm much happier and I couldn't stay in new, I need to be with my family and right before COVID, my parents from, moved from Rochester, New York to Charlotte where my sister is with her four kids.
Customer: Mm-hmm.
Customer: Uh-huh. Oh, wow.
Customer: I'm good.
Customer: Oh, wow. Okay.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): So, I came to Charlotte, I'm actually north of Charlotte's, called Denver, North Carolina. I'm right on lake Morman. And I'm now here and happy and my family's here. But I go back to all the time cause that's where Ablis is. I was just there last month. So it, it's like my second home, honestly, as a very special place in my heart, so, yup.
Customer: Hi.
Customer: Mm-hmm.
Customer: Good people and all this and, and so, I will, I wish you well you've been there so, you've been there for what three years. You've been in Charlotte or less than that.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Yup.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): I've been in Charlotte. Yes. Since February 2021. I was kind of honestly the one of the pioneers to get Craig to have people move, like, work remote and not just in New Mexico because he wouldn't let me work in Charlotte and finally after a few months they called me back and they're like, Lauren come back we missed you I go, okay and now we have, I don't know like forty other travel planners and we're scattered all over the United States from like, Idaho to main, to New Hampshire. You name it, we have someone there so it's kind of.
Customer: Mm-hmm.
Customer: The worlds changed.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): The world has changed. Changes. Good, I say, good change. It's just the new norm if you have internet and you can do your job. Just do your job anywhere, so.
Customer: And is the only issue you have to deal with is, is it, is it timezone thing?
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): A little bit. I got lucky. I was working first eleven to seven which was hard work until seven every night was hard but now I work. I 9:30 to six eastern, Monday through Friday, so.
Customer: So you're talking all Eastern Time so you were eleven to seven which was nine to five time. Yeah.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Exactly. Yup, yup. So I put my, I put my time in and I got kind of 9:30 to six I'll take it and yeah, you just kinda have to know you know, when we do a like meetings and stuff they're two hours behind me. But yeah, yeah, I mean it works out great. We have zoom meetings every Thursday or I'm always in contact with everybody, so it's just a simple phone call or a FaceTime or whatever, so, I love it.
Customer: That's good, that's good, that's good to hear. Now. Is Denise still working with? I know she had her challenges.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): She did have her challenges she is better. She came back and now she is in our air department. Oh, oh, she's back, she's back at Ablis. But she does her, she's in our air department.
Customer: I'm sorry. You said what, you cut off, you what? I didn't hear it. Arey!
Customer: Oh, okay.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): So if you ever call her air department, she'll, you know, she's one of what, four that error in her air department. She yeah, she's good. Actually, I haven't talked to her in a while but yeah, she's doing okay.
Customer: Mm-hmm.
Customer: And still in, still living in Tucson.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): She's still in Tucson. Yeah, I saw her the last event. I think it was what Christmas or August. Last year deeper. I think her dad just passed away so she didn't come last month. But yeah, she's doing great. She's, you know, typical Denise, nothing has changed.
Customer: Mm-hmm.
Customer: Okay. Alright, I'm gonna let you go. Thanks, good to talk and I appreciate this help and we may sit on this for a while we may. I don't know what we're gonna do. You know the same timeframe that our regions lender which we follow with love with is doing a transplant and so I made bag the whole thing and do that but I don't know I think we'll have we'll, we, we're, we already booked the, I got my wife would go to verse. I convinced her that the, that the visa requirement for zid been postponed till 25th of April. So I said this is your last chance to go to with all the bureau visa. So we're gonna go, I just can't get her to go to is and falls on it done the tour first but I'm working on it. Chan.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Yeah.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Okay.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): It'd be.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Oh, I know it's not.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Gotcha. Well, if you wanna just, if you want to just check-in with me, like, hey, Lauren! Check with to see how many cats are on this date. I can keep you updated if you want, so kinda.
Customer: Okay, and if, and if I change my mind on due the four, I'll let you know that too but but I'll let me look at the match online. I don't, I have, I get cause I've been on your list for ninety.
Agent (Lauren Riesenberger): Okay, yeah. Alright Ed, have a good one. Nice to hear from you. Alright, bye-bye.
Customer: Thanks lot.
Customer: Okay, bye-bye.