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Guest Comments & Accolades
Editor's Note
Over the past 20+ years we have been privileged to serve hundreds of guests. Actually at last count, several thousand. Helping them plan their perfect vacation to destinations worldwide. We have a lot more Guest Comments & Reviews to share with you. Just give us a call at 800.365.1445 and we'll share our own personal experiences as well as theirs.

1. ALASKA "I just wanted to thank you for all your help. Packer Expeditions was excellent and I would highly recommend them again for anyone looking to do a glacier hike. Also, we ended up being upgraded to an outside cabin... It was a truly welcome surprise to say the least. It made all the difference in the world both having a window (even though it was an obstructed view) and having a larger cabin. Alaska was totally awesome and we thoroughly enjoyed the land tours. All the coach drivers and tour folks were very knowledgeable and helpful. So next time we are looking for a cruise I will be in touch! Thanks again, Ann."

" Our trip was excellent. The room, with the upgrades, was amazing! We saw many eagles (bald and golden), one bear, many whales, including one breach, seals, one bear, one wolf, moose and caribou, and many smaller animals.. If we travelled during salmon run, we probably would have seen more bear and eagles. The scenery is to die for, the vistas spectacular. The ship was great; service, food, etc were all great. Thanks for everything. "

2. SOUTH AMERICA "We just returned from our South America cruise, and are now recovering from an excess of fun and good times ! Anjali and I wanted to thank you for all the work you did to ensure a flawless cruise. Thank you also for the bottle of wine. We appreciate your thoughtfulness. I am glad that Nandu put us in touch with you, and we look forward to working with you in the not too distant future."

3.FAMILY REUNION "Dear Raye, I want to just say thank you for everything you did to make this first time cruise perfect. I mean everything from planning a room that had the least amount of motion for my sensitive stomach to water waves (the airplane ride had more). The excursions were so much fun all of us especially enjoyed zip lining. The boat was beautiful, a lot to do, entertaining all the time, and of course the food of which I did ask for a second lobster delicious. Everyone working with Princess was considerate, helpful and just an asset to the company they represent. Our family toasted you the first night at dinner. It was a long journey to adventure to our first cruise and dreams of a new one will not take so long. How about China and Asia? So let me say it again I know you worked very hard to provide the best service not just to me but to everyone of your clients and we sincerely thank you for that. I don't know who your supervisors are but I would appreciate it if you would pass this letter to them. We have filled in the survey but wanted to extend you a personal thanks. You gave us a short magical ride in our very hectic life we can always close our eyes and remember those days."
-The Diekman family

4. ALASKA CRUISETOURS
From Karen and Keith Smith
 "I just want to say a few words about out trip last week. First of all thank you for making all of the arrangements for us. Everything went smoothly and our luggage magically appeared everywhere we went. Princess did a stellar job with all the logistics of our land tour. Our entire experience was fantastic. We spent 4 days on the land tour first going into Denali State Park and National Park. The Princess resorts were beautiful and placed in remote areas. All the tour guides/bus drivers were knowledgeable and all had such a passion for the area we were in at that time. What I thought was going to be a long boring bus ride turned out to be a highlight of the trip. The train ride to Whittier was another great experience with trivia games and again a tour guide with incredible knowledge of the area. Reaching the ship as you turn the corner on the train was an awesome sight and as we entered the ship, sea lions were playing on the dock and eagles sat in the trees above us. Once again everything was taken care of prior to departing the train, we even received our cruise pass and just walked on the ship. The cruise was amazing and Princess had a full time naturalist on board and throughout our journey, rangers came on and off depending upon where we were. Spending the day in Glacier National Park was one of the highlights of our trip. The huge ship we were on sat in front of the glacier for over an hour and turned on a dime. Amazing how close we were able to get. Our only disappointment was our helicopter/glacier excursion was cancelled due to weather. We saw whales, porpoises, seals and eagles all from our balcony. Great trip, would recommend bringing a good camera with telescopic lens and investing in good binoculars. Five stars to Princess and Marty."
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"Pat and I returned from an 11 day trip to Alaska. Truly The Last Frontier. We had the pleasure of traveling with 6 of our very dear and close friends, Mike & Susie, Ron & Rachel and Craig & Diane. We saw incredible scenery, moose, mountain sheep and goats, humpback whales, dolphins, and a wolf. We examined Denali (aka Mt. McKinley ) up close and personal in a small airplane. We watched in awe the calving of the immense glaciers in Glacier Bay. The weather was absolutely beautiful."
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"Our group wanted to thank you for all your attention and follow-up provided to us on our Princess Cruisetour of Alaska. Everything from the ship cabins, to the hotel accommodations, logistics, land tours and shore excursions were all very well prepared. Our group of 10 all expressed gratitude for your assistance in helping us select the best Alaska excursions and keeping us all informed. I learned you contacted each couple individually and provided continuance help and guidance. Everyone was very pleased with your periodic updates. You and your company have earned the highest recommendation and we look forward to calling you for our future vacation plans"
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"The weather this week was incredible, 70 and sunny. Never saw a bit of rain...but, lots of whales, eagles, porpoise, bear, moose etc."
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"What can I say. We felt like we were on a National Geographic cruise. Eagles, whales, sea lions, moose, bear and caribou; we saw them all. We had the best weather imaginable too. Both days at McKinley were cloudless! We saw the whole mountain range morning, noon and night and night and night! The position of our room was great, 11th floor mid ship. We loved it."
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"I just wanted to thank you for all your help. Packer Expeditions was excellent and I would highly recommend them again for anyone looking to do a glacier hike. Also, we ended up being upgraded to an outside cabin...It was a truly welcome surprise to say the least. It made all the difference in the world both having a window (even though it was an obstructed view) and having a larger cabin. Alaska was totally awesome and we thoroughly enjoyed the land tours. All the coach drivers and tour folks were very knowledgeable and helpful. So next time we are looking for a cruise I will be in touch! Thanks again, Ann."
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"Hi Marty! When I originally started to research cruises and Travel Agents to help with the process, I was overwhelmed (Let's face it, sometimes the internet can be a good thing and sometimes it can be a bad thing). I am so happy that I can across your website. I sure didn't expect the response that I received from our family and friends when I started planning the cruise, and you were there every step of the way putting up with my cabin changes, adding new guests at the last moment, and removing guests in some cases, too! You were amazing and I know for a fact that you are responsible for our worry-free and amazing journey. Everyone that joined us on the cruise was extremely impressed at how well the whole thing fell together with little trouble on their parts. Again I can not thank you enough, and don't forget that we will be planning another one !"
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5. MORE NOTEWORTHY COMMENTS
From Don MacGregor
"Raye and Marty... Working with you two has been a delight. You both did not just book cruise fares... You looked after all the details just like a shepherd and his sheep. You double checked with everyone to make sure documents and boarding passes and all manner of things were looked after. Thanks so much and look forward to working with you both again."

From Ken Wager
"I have been doing some internet searching of info regarding the cruise tour and the ship and it becomes increasingly obvious to me that you have taken excellent care of us. Your knowledge of the advantage of a Port side room for the southern trip and your ability to get us in the midships bump out area for our cabins looks to be great. I was not knowledgeable regarding the bump outs on the Coral Princess until reviewing some cruise review sites and the reviews I have read regarding being in the bump out area and on the A and B decks makes you look brilliant and makes us look lucky to have dealt with you. I found you guys pretty much by the luck of the draw on a Goggle search. At the time of my first e-mail I had no idea who you were, where you were located, how legitimate you were or what your level of expertise may be. Let me say that at this point I am very happy I found you and appreciate how well you have served us."

From John Conway
"I want to thank you for helping with the arrangements for our recent cruise on Princess. My wife, my three daughters, and I had a wonderful time. Everything worked out perfectly. I was anticipating having to bribe the maitre d' to have us all sit together at the second seating, but that turned out to be not necessary. The seating arrangements had already been made. You also surprised us with complimentary wine vouchers and onboard credits, and those extra thoughtful touches by you were the icing on the cake. I won't hesitate recommending your services to anyone I know thinking about a cruise. I also hope to do more business with you in the future. Thank you again for your extra efforts."

6. MEDITERRANEAN
From Nora Monaghan
"Hello! I wanted to let you know how much we enjoyed our Mediterranean Greece trip and to ask you about a future vacation. First, our vacation was wonderful! Princess did a great job. Their excursions were well organized and enjoyable. We had something planned every day so we kept very busy. We took over 5000 pictures! It was warm 109 degrees in Rhodes, Greece but not humid so it was manageable. I have included a couple of pictures you might like. Now we are back to reality and already thinking about our next vacation. I saw an interesting trip to the Galapagos Islands aboard the Celebrity Xpedition. It includes 4 days land and 7 on the Ship. Thank you again for helping us book a great vacation!".

7. CARIBBEAN
From John Conway
 "I want to thank you for helping with the arrangements for our recent cruise on the Caribbean Princess. My wife, my three daughters, and I had a wonderful time. Everything worked out perfectly. I was anticipating having to bribe the maitre d' to have us all sit together at the second seating, but that turned out to be not necessary. The seating arrangements had already been made. You also surprised us with complimentary wine vouchers and onboard credits, and those extra thoughtful touches by you were the icing on the cake. I won't hesitate recommending your services to anyone I know thinking about a cruise. I also hope to do more business with you in the future. Thank you again for your extra efforts.

8. FAMILY CRUISE
From Kristin Selph
"Hi Marty! I just wanted to take a moment to thank you so much for all that you did for our family/friends cruise on Royal Carribbean's Legend of the Seas. My family loves the RCCL line....and as concerned as I was that we had little ones coming on this vacation, I was SO impressed with the Ocean Adventure's Club. My two little ones wanted to be there all the time. I now have no reservations about bringing them on another RCCL cruise, the staff is just fabulous! When I originally started to research cruises and Travel Agents to help with the process, I was overwhelmed (Let's face it, sometimes the internet can be a good thing and sometimes it can be a bad thing). I am so happy that I can across your website. I sure didn't expect the response that I received from our family and friends when I started planning the cruise, and you were there every step of the way putting up with my cabin changes, adding new guests at the last moment, and removing guests in some cases, too! You were amazing and I know for a fact that you are responsible for our worry-free and amazing journey through the Caribbean. Everyone that joined us on the cruise was extremely impressed at how well the whole thing fell together with little trouble on their parts. Again I can not thank you enough, and don't forget that we will be planning another one !."

9. ANTARCTICA EXPEDITION
From Elfi and Sam Starrett
"Antarctica, despite all our concerns about sailing the Drake Passage, proved to be a fabulous experience. We had been quite skeptical, wondering whether the glowing reports we had read were exaggerated. They truly weren't and Lindblad/National Geographic did a superb job with organizing and choreographing our activities.

Onboard, there were around 15 scientists, naturalists and ornithologists specializing in various Antarctic birds and whales (humpbacks, minkes and orcas) as well as the former Chief of Photography for the National Geographic magazine. It seemed there was no question that could not be answered by a willing and helpful expert. There were even divers who would get into the icy water to film the creatures below and would show their underwater footage in the evening's recap in the ship's lounge.

There was not a moment of boredom. Landings and lectures kept us busy. Thanks to the amazing weather we enjoyed, we managed at least 2 landings each day in different venues. One never knew where, since so much depended on the weather and the ice conditions. We visited abandoned whaling stations and witnessed the large piles of whale bones laying around. 24-hour access to the bridge and a very accommodating German captain made it very special. The crew was top notch.

Then there was interaction with the wildlife ? humpbacks and killer whales that surfaced close to the zodiaks, and the various species of seals (one tiger that chomped a piece out of one of the zodiaks!) that lounged on the ice floes. And of course the funny and cute penguins, gentoos, chinstraps and maccaronis. Their youngsters were already pretty big by the time we got there in late January and they stood around looking very sad as they were molting. A visit to the Penguin Post Office on Port Lockroy ? manned by 4 volunteers who remain there for the summer months (4) and leave before the ice sets in - is a true expedition highlight. There is a museum there showing the stuff left by the Brits back in the early 40?s during WWII ? great fun!

The Explorer is a small ship with all the amenities necessary for an expedition-style experience. The cabins are comfortable and the bathrooms are good size. We were pleased with the restaurant's menu - there were always plenty of choices and the wait-staff was very accommodating.

We would not hesitate to recommend this exceptional itinerary with Lindblad/National Geographic. Their experience is legend in Antarctica and we are looking forward to sailing with them to other venues.

A COMPANY OF 30
From David Hillman
"Raye and Marty, I have been involved organizing and leading 8 different group cruises of more than 30 people over the past 10 years. I wholeheartedly believe Cruise Direct Online made this cruise for our company of 33 on The Explorer of the Seas this past March, 2006 the easiest to accommodate the multitude of individual desires and therefore the best yet. You were always attentive to detail and quick to respond to every demand. I especially want to thank you for helping to get our special circumstances of the couple added on the last day prior to departure completely taken care of. Jumping through hoops must be one of your specialties. I have never before had such care and concern from any other cruise travel agent. We really feel some kinship to you for the outstanding job you did. We will always have your agency phone number and email address for quick reference for the next cruise. We had a group picture made and have included it for you to see the many smiling faces of which you helped to make. Many thanks for your massive efforts."

A Brilliant Cruise
From Barbara & Richard Fisherman
"Raye, we just returned from a 12 day Scandinavia & Russia cruise on the Royal Caribbean Brilliance of the Seas. This was our tenth cruise and my husband & I both agree it was the best ever! Everything was perfect - the cabin, the food and the entertainment, but mostly the itinerary. Stockholm, Copenhagen, etc. They were all beautiful and just amazing to visit. We highly recommend this cruise. Thank you again for all your help and insight about these countries.

We believe when consumers have access to quality information and reviews they find their journeys enriched by the shared experiences of many others, whether checking on the easiest way to reach Denali National Park and Denali mountain, or finding the unexpected side to the Caribbean, or a popular Europe ocean or river cruise destination. Even cruise the mighty Mississippi River.  So, give us a call at 800.365.1445. The call is free. The advice is free.

To our new friends, we're happy you found us, and we look forward to welcoming you to our avid cruise traveling family. To our long-time seasoned cruise travelers, we offer you a warm welcome back. We are grateful for your loyalty, as you are an intrinsic part of our company's success.

We'd love to help plan your next unforgettable cruise or vacation. Do you have a vacation in mind? Call us at 800.365.1445 to get started.