Make Your Next Trip Extraordinary

My husband and I just returned from a New Year’s cruise on Virgin Voyages which we thoroughly enjoyed. Tom Baker helped us plan our trip from beginning to end. He guided us on cabin selection, made pre-cruise hotel bookings and kept us informed as to when we needed to book excursions and dinner reservations. While on board we had questions for Tom and got immediate responses even though he was on an expedition in Antarctica.

We have used Tom for previous cruises and will continue to work with him because he is a delight to work with and very knowledgeable. He answers all questions, concerns or requests quickly and efficiently. Tom always makes us feel as though we are very important travelers regardless of his busy schedule and other travelers he has to attend to.

Tom added value to our trip with onboard cruise credits and added amenities at the pre-cruise hotel. We are looking forward to our next planned trip with Tom because he makes it effortless!!

My husband and I have recently returned from our Scenic River Cruise, “Jewels of Europe,” 15 nights from Amsterdam to Budapest. Our WOW trip planner was Tom Baker. Let me say first that this trip exceeded our expectations in every way possible. We decided to take this, our first River Cruise, fairly late in the availability range (booked in late May) for an Oct. 4-22 sailing. After our initial lengthy and thorough phone conversation Tom went to work right away for us. Not only did he find this cruise for us…which was exactly what we were dreaming of, he was also able to secure a perfect suite location onboard. His advice and apparent expertise put us at complete ease that we had made a perfect vacation decision. From booking to departure and beyond Tom was readily available to answer every question we sent to him. We extended our stay in Budapest and Tom put us in touch with a fabulous guide who made our extra days in Budapest extra-special. Since our return I have already recommended Tom Baker to several friends and fully offer my highest recommendations to all of Wendy’s followers!

Tom Baker organized a great cruise off Barcelona, Spanish coast, Canary Islands, Tangier and Lisbon. His private guide contacts were great in Barcelona and Lisbon! He recommended Oceania for the cruise line and it was a wonderful ship. I would recommend travelers think twice about doing a cruise ship’s tour in Tangier, it was an awful experience for everyone, guides yelling at everyone like we were cattle, their coordinating stops so their vendor friends could accost us with their wares and then demanding a tip! The Tangier experience was not Tom Baker’s fault, I blame the cruise line for this awful experience, it was their tour. Private guides in Barcelona and Lisbon were key, it is a great way to get to know a city in a small amount of time. Tom Baker did add value to our trip, he provided us with discounts on the cruise and recommendation of great guides.

My husband and I booked the longest cruise we have ever taken—21 days, and, everything considered, we loved it! We flew one day early to Buenos Aires. While our trip planner recommended a couple of hotels that were Viking favorites, he was quick to give us guidance when we felt those were out of our price range. We ended up at the Tango del Mayo and I feel I can highly recommend this hotel to anyone seeking a midrange hotel. While it was not in a touristy section of the city, we did not have to go out at night since they had a pleasant restaurant on site. Our room was large and clean. The price included a very good breakfast.

Check in on Viking was a breeze. The room we booked: 3097-aft. We were surprised it was available, so we decided to take a chance and see if we liked it. Maybe because it is on the 3rd deck, the noise from the engines was so loud that we couldn’t talk with each other on the deck. So we never really sat out on the deck. So, if you like to sit out on your deck, think twice about an aft room–at least on the third deck.

SHORE EXCURSIONS: We loved the Tango Experience in MONTEVIDEO, in spite of the bus breaking down twice. While we booked the shore excursion in RIO DE JANEIRO that Tom had recommended, the ship was arriving in the Rio Port later than the tour could accommodate—no fault of anyone. SENEGAL—cancelled due to civic unrest with one of the CAPE VERDE ISLANDS replacing it. (Not the same). CASABLANCA—since the included tour was fully booked as was the “Rick’s Place” tour, the only thing left was the tour of the Hassan II Temple. It turned out to be absolutely the highlight of our cruise! BARCELONA—We took a tour that included only the outside of La Sagrada Familia (we had seen the inside and outside 7 years previous). Since not much seems to have changed we left the tour and walked back to the meeting point and had tapas and beer at a sidewalk café!

ENTERTAINERS—Singer and Magician/comedian were excellent. Onboard entertainers were a mixed bag.

LECTURERS—I learned so much about Eva Peron! Most were very good with a lot of good information.

TAKEAWAY: Assume not everything will go as planned. There is too much unrest and unexpected climate interference in the world today. ENJOY EVERYTHING. MANY DO NOT GET THIS LUXURY.

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