★★★★★
I have been a denier… of the need to use a travel agent. I’ve wanted to maintain direct control of my travel, chafing when I wanted to change something or ask a question but knowing that most cruise lines refer their customers back to their travel agents. After more than 30 cruises, my husband and I have started the migration toward ultra-luxury cruise lines and with increased costs, my reluctance to use travel agents finally faded. Having found an expensive Regent Seven Seas cruise we wanted to book, I scoured the cruising forums looking for a specialist who could bring us the most value.
I found multiple recommendations for Dave Lopez at Keene Luxury Travel, and we just finished our first cruise with Dave’s able assistance – not the Regency trip, but a shorter trip on Windstar we decided to book at the last minute at the same time we booked the Regent cruise. Dave’s name came up in my research as greatly praised by other cruisers, with significant Regent experience both as a past employee and as a specialist agent.
I’m now a zealous convert to travel agent usage, based on what I thought were UNBEATABLE deals with added-value perks direct from Keene we got on both cruises. I thought the pricing I found on the last-minute cruse was good, but Keene did much better with their in-house pricing plus all perks, serious cabin credit and an additional rebate to our credit card following the cruise. On top of the pricing and perks I know we couldn’t have gotten on our own, Dave’s significant experience, great responsiveness, and obvious enjoyment of his job made my transition from travel agent “avoider” to “embracer” an easy one!
I have dealt with several large agencies before and there was a world of difference working with Dave Lopez and Keene Luxury Travel. Great communications and very responsive service -- I’m looking forward to working with this team on many future cruises!
★★★★★
Dave did a great job of helping my wife and I plan a Silversea Cruise to Alaska. He made sure we were on the correct side of the ship (for scenery), offered up suggestions on excursions, and even managed to get us some money back when there was a sale on our trip. Will absolutely use Dave again for our next trip!
★★★★★
Recommend Keene Luxury Travel for your vacation travel needs. Nancy Golden has been our advisor for the past few years. She and her team have been wonderful in planning Regent, AmaWaterways, and Tauck vacations.