We get GREAT Deals for our friends!
Come along – and fall in Love with Cruising – like we did!
In 2014 we chose to represent the Cruises Inc. Brand because we had purchased our last three vacations from a Cruises Inc. Independent Agent! Rob couldn’t figure out how he kept getting a better price from a secondary seller of travel than he could buying direct from the Cruise Line…. After purchasing the third cruise at a significant discount with added perks – we decided to look closer at why this was happening. I guess it was the first stage in discovering that we would LOVE to add this business model to what we offer. It is so much a part of the Belles VIBE! Rob did his research, we talked with several secondary travel selling companies and settled on the Cruises Inc. brand. It was so natural to add a travel business. We have been cruising for years – and also sharing our travel stories with our friends! All the time wishing that we could convince them to do what we do! Travel means so many things to us…. Enjoy some other posts to learn how we do it! At the end of 2021 when the Cruises Inc. brand was eliminated we moved over to Cruises & Tours Unlimited, where we were still affilated with Travel Leaders Network and able to offer the same GREAT deals for our friends that we had found for ourselves!
On Jauary 1, 2022 we launched our own travel brand "Planning to Cruise" and affiliated with the host Cruises & Tours Unlimited in Jacksonville Florida. By changing our affiliation we opened up the potential for an agency name that was more descript and helped us filter the potential clients by attracting people who are Planning to Cruise! After taking in excess of 30 cruises ourselves we are Cruise Experts. We still use our existing Architecture Office located in our home to double as our Travel Agency Office, desks, phones, office supplies – check! Cruises & Tours Unlimited provides us with a website that we can customize, and where friends can shop to get a basic idea of what they might like to do and how much they may have to spend. The pricing on our website is live pricing – it is directly linked to the cruise line. If you select a room while booking at our site the room goes out of inventory at the cruise line's main site. By booking with us it is possibly to get extra Promos and Onboard Spending!
Architects are often thought of as being social peers to doctors and lawyers… Although this is true in an intellectual sense – we just really don’t have the same earning power in the economy here in Rockford where we live. So to keep up with Dr. Jones – we have learned to do more with less… Not unlike our Architecture practice our Travel business will be centered on helping people. So now you know the secret Architects aren’t RICH, they are CREATIVE! Through our understanding of the travel industry we can help you find the best deals and make the most of your vacation budget!
We actually can get friends a great deal! – – – AND if we aren’t friends yet – give us a call! By the time we get your vacation planned you will be a friend with a great deal too! We love to share our personal experience with old friends and new. In doing so we become friends. We even publish the next voyage we are booked on, and welcome friends, old and new to join us on our journey. Click Travel WITH an Architect™ on the main menu to see where we are off to next! If we have available friends and family rates we are happy to book you in one for additional savings!
​
Travel really doesn’t have much profit built into it. There are many fixed costs like taxes and port charges. The cruise lines keep a tight hold on their rates. The best you can do will always be available through an agent because many of us are affiliated with a Consortium that organizes group rates that are sold on an international level. In addition you always get our special expertise! You will NEVER get any of that by buying direct - but you will sit on hold...
