Becoming Obsolete

Wes and Julie at the Parthenon in Athens.

Only a fool could ignore the emerging point-and-click retail world, and despite what my kids may believe, I am not a fool.

A recent New York Times article shows that even shoppers who physically go to retail stores increasingly prefer online help, even when live representatives are at their disposal.

Obviously, this portends the end of more American jobs which can be outsourced to remote servers in India or China.  As I learned as an Economics major in college, this is neither good nor bad.  It simply is.  Capitalism always reshapes itself to conform with consumer demand, and this is far preferable to dictators telling us what we want.

To that end, I am proud to introduce my fully revamped web site, still found at www.CruisePlanners1.com.  Moving with the times, we have invested tens of thousands of dollars to create the friendliest user interface for booking cruises anywhere, and I hope you take advantage of it the next time you choose to point-and-click to find a vacation.

Jay at Peterhof in Russia.

You'll recognize many of the icons and gadgets from my old site, but there are definitely changes that make it easier to navigate, plus some huge changes.  Most significantly, we now have a live booking engine for most cruise lines. 

Simply do your search based on month of travel, destination, cruise line, cruise length or whatever specifics you have in mind using "Find Your Cruise," and on the choices that pop onto the next screen, select "Book Online."  The rest is obvious.

Amy and Wes overlooking Magen's Bay in St. Thomas, USVI.

Of course, you don't have to book online immediately.  There's lots more information available which you can read by clicking "View Cruise."  It starts with a brief overview of the ship and itinerary.  Each port is hotlinked to give you more information about that specific stop under the initial tab, "Cruise."  Change the tab to "Ship," and you will find more information including room categories and deck plans.  There's also a tab for shore excursions through a third party vendor called "Shore Trips."  While they don't include all of the selections found through the cruise line, it will give you a good idea of what is available.  If you prefer Shore Trips rather than the cruise line excursions, you can book them at my site after you book your cruise.

If this sounds like too much self service, please know that there is also a tab to "Request Info," which will send your request to me so that I may personally help you.

Laszlo and Gina in Copenhagen.

Note that this is not the way everyone wants to shop, but I know there are some of you who prefer to do it yourself, at least to a point.  My wife, who lives with a travel agent, is one of you.  Shop to your heart's content, and buy on my site with confidence at www.CruisePlanners1.com, or contact me to book it for you.

I'll soon write about more of the features of my site, including great information found under our "Groups" tab, but I don't want to overwhelm you with information right now. 

Besides, the site is so intuitive, you can explore it on your own easier than finding a crowd in an Apple store in an othewise empty mall.

Allow me to add that if you would like to know about other alternatives that perhaps you had not considered and which might meet your needs better than your first choice, I'm still around.  Or if you have trouble sorting through the increasingly confusing range of categories, call me.  Better service leads to better trips!