Travel to the Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic is a Caribbean nation that shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti to the west. It's known for its beaches, resorts and golfing. Its terrain comprises rainforest, savannah and highlands, including Pico Duarte, the Caribbean’s tallest mountain. Capital city Santo Domingo has Spanish landmarks like the Gothic Catedral Primada de America dating back 5 centuries in its Zona Colonial district.
Until things exploded the last month Dominican Republic travel was very popular among North Americans. I stayed there myself April 2018 for our Annual Conference. I have confidentially sent clients there the last several years since I branched out in what I sell travel wise.With everything in the news today you will have no doubt seen the articles relating to incidents in the Dominican and the travel advisories put out by both Canada and the United States. Travel bookings numbers have gone down and travel cancellations have gone up.

Punta Cana

The first incident many people heard about was the report on Facebook from a couple who traveled to the Majestic Colonial resort and the wife was found beaten in a stairwell. She believes it was a staff member who did and was walking by herself. A police investigation was made. The couple claimed that nothing was being done and took it upon themselves to inform the world. The resorts statement claims that they refused to co-operate with police and their is some indication it may actually have been a domestic dispute and they could not comment further while it was under investigation. So of course it is the classic he says she says situation.

I stayed at this resort myself and I felt very safe there. I did find a few hallways a bit dark but for the most part I was travelling around with other people only once or twice on my own in the evening. I leave in the country not a city and I do not really walk alone at night out here either even though are crime rates are very low. I just do not do it as a women and I do not encourage my daughters to do it either. For me this is common sense no matter where you may be.

After this made waves there were reports of 3 deaths said to both have come from the same resort. The first a woman who had collapsed and dies in her room shortly after arrival and apparently after having something to drink from her mini bar. The second a couple is found dead in their room after they miss their checkout and it is confirmed they had, had drinks from the minibar. First they actually occurred at two different Bahia Principe Resorts of which there are a dozen spread across the Dominican. Second there official cause of death have yet to be released by the police so at the moment everything is still speculation on everyone's side. In the case of the lady her family assumes her death is related to a know heart condition. The couples death is being blamed on tainted alcohol by their family.  The US government has now reported their are more deaths of Americans that need to be investigated.

While I do not know the full facts I am also not going to jump to any conclusions. Again these things can happen anywhere you travel and right at home. I am not saying not to travel or to travel I am simply suggesting you make an informed decision and do your own research when it comes to these things.

At the moment this is what is says about travel to the Dominican Republic on the Canadian Government website. Exercise a high degree of caution in the Dominican Republic due to a high crime rate.

They are not telling you not to travel they are simply telling you to take precautions and to be safe.

If you are price cautious this may actually be a good time to travel as with the drop in travel prices my actual work in your favour. If you have any questions or concerns about travel to the Dominican Republic please contact me and I will be happy to help.

Where you can find me:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/stephaniethetravelagentnextdoor

Website: http://www.exclusivetoyoutravel.ca

Email: slough@exclusivetoyoutravel.ca

TICO 50021282

55 York Street, Suite 1003

Toronto, On M5J 1R7
Office Phone 416-367-8264 ext 2625
Direct Phone 613-543-3006

Please keep in mind that while my head office is in Toronto. I am a home based travel agent and I live in South Dundas and I can service clients anywhere in Canada. But, I meet with clients in the SD&G area

Why Travel Insurance?

Travel Insurance is it really necessary. As a travel agent you can imagine I get asked this question all the time. By working in the province of Ontario it is actually law that I offer it to you when I sell you a travel package. Saying this you would think that alone would tell you that yes indeed Travel Insurance is a necessary evil. I know there are many out there that are Insurance haters we pay and pay and very few of us use it. Yes a good travel insurance policy can be expensive, but the reality is, that peace of mind that protection offers is worth everything.

Many Canadians and Americans sadly think that whatever national plan they have will protect them when they are abroad. Sadly this is not the case. If I go to the United States and break my arm Ontario Health will not cover it. In the states I will have to pay for the hospital visit, the x ray's, the cast everything and vice versus if an American comes to Ontario and breaks their arm they have to pay out of pocket for all the expenses incurred as well.
So your very first order of business when planning a vacation is making sure you have the funds budgeted for the insurance required also. You can google travel horror stories and the lists are long. As a travel agent we hear many stories as well, those that make the news and those that don't. Just like anything else not all products are created equal.
People often mention having coverage with work or on their credit cards. Suppliers also usually have insurance options available as well. Last options are independent travel insurance companies. I will do a quick comparison on them. Keep in mind that Insurance products change all the time so this is just a guideline comparison and their can always be exclusions.
Many employers have travel insurance policies. You need to obtain a copy to see what it actually covers and doesn't again some are better than others. Don't assume what the coverage is check it out.
So I do sell Manulife Insurance. There are different types of coverage you can get, All inclusive, just medical insurance, just cancellation etc.. You need to get what is best for you and your family. Sometimes you just need to supplement what you already have.

Here are the things that are often covered in an All Inclusive Insurance:
Out of province health care, car rental, Trip cancellation, Trip interruption, Flight and/or travel accident, Flight delay, Baggage delay/loss or damaged.
Manulife covers 57 different reasons for cancellation.  The closest credit card that I could find out of so many offered is 44 and it was a travel credit card the CIBC Areogold Visa Infinite. Many cards had simple coverage, some have not at all. The biggest problem I could find with the cards is that is seems you have to pay up front for services and they will reimburse after if you have the coverage. Sometimes the cost of an ambulance is $5000 let alone any treatment. My family certainly does not have those types of credit limits to cover us should something happen.
This is why we have coverage with a great company one that will pay for the care we require and not reimburse us at a later date. So please make sure your love ones are protected and you do not become one of those scary stories we hear about.
More and more countries are starting to insist you have proof of insurance before you can enter. This is also a good reason to have a travel agent. Cuba is one and they will actually make you buy a plan there before entering the country. The countries do not want to be saddled with unwanted debt. Egypt and Thailand are also looking at putting this into play for this year.


Where you can find me:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/stephaniethetravelagentnextdoor

Website: http://www.exclusivetoyoutravel.ca

Email: slough@exclusivetoyoutravel.ca

TICO 500212282

55 York Street, Suite 803

Toronto, On M5J 1R7

Please keep in mind that while my head office is in Toronto. I am a home based travel agent and I live in South Dundas and I can service clients anywhere in Canada. But, I meet with clients in the SD&G area

Wedding at Majestic Mirage

As part of our conference we to got to experience a mock wedding. Two staff members from Majestic played the part if the lovely bride and groom.
The ceremony took place at the Majestic Mirage. It was in a gorgeous courtyard with a gazebo for the bride and groom. Nice chairs for the guests. Afterwards their was a small cocktail party right there. And lots of white lights strung overhead.

 A look at the courtyard

photo courtesy of Dan Galbraith

gorgeous bride a great group of agents (myself included)

photo courtesy of Dan Galbraith 

we even cry at mock weddings

 a first dance after the formalities

 when they walked up the aisle we got to throw these gorgeous rose petals at them

 photo courtesy of Dan Galbraith

photo courtesy of Dan Galbraith 

photo courtesy of Dan Galbraith

After the cocktail party we were broken up into smaller groups to enjoy some of the a la carte restaurants from the Mirage and Elegance. We went to the Don Juame Steakhouse. The food was very good. Although sadly they were out of blooming onions.

So when it comes to getting married in the South it is sometimes easier to get married before you go away and do a symbolic ceremony only. Each country have different requirements. On the tour of the properties we were able to see some of the other areas where weddings can be held. The Mirage has a big room where you can be married then have your dinner. The Colonial has a small chapel, a wedding gazebo on the beach and a courtyard for weddings .
The resort can help with small intimate weddings to much larger weddings. Also with 3 resorts being part of the complex you can book rooms at one resort for your guests and stay at another for yourself if you want.

where you can find me
Facebook: www.facebook.com/stephaniethetravelagentnextdoor
Website: www.exclusivetoyoutravel.ca
Email: slough@exclusivetoyoutravel.com

TICO 50021282
55 York Street Suite 803
Toronto, On
M5J 1R7

Sorry

So when I started blogging this past summer it was to share my love of travel as a travel agent with the world and to let people get to know me and my family and why I had chosen this "dying"profession as a way of life.
Little did I know how difficult this would be even after I made a list that had well over a hundred blog ideas and many could be turned into multi day posts. Heck let's be honest I could write something new about Disney everyday and never run out of topics or inspiration but as much as I love Disney it is still not what I am all about.
You see as I mentioned I am a work from home mom who is raising four kids. My husband works full time out of the home and is also very active in the Masonic Organization. What this means is the kids become about 100% of my responsibility and all that entails while working a job. So in the summer when I started this venture the kids where home. We made use of the local churches vacation bible schools which offered one week had day camps. We did three of those and one church has a full day which we used also. The girls attended a week long stay way camp sponsored by our church and my youngest did a half day summer reading program at the school for the month of July. My second oldest daughter swam with her summer swim team. So while the kids were home I did get some free time and my weekends tended to be booked with swim meets. The free time was enough to sit down and blog and of course blogging like most social media these days allow you to schedule posts so you can always write as many as you can and schedule them to post later.
August was bit of a challenge as there was a short getaway with the two oldest girls for their Grand Assembly for the International Order of the Rainbow for which they are members of, but I managed to stay on track. But then I was hit with back to school and I know we are involved in a lot. Hard not to be when there are four kids and two adults leaving together. But not only did I have to deal with the back to school bustle I ended up going on a week long working cruise to the Mediterranean (I know you are not saying poor you). I figured that I would be able to blog live while on my trip and have time to develop content for the future. But go figure my down time was not quite as much as I thought it would be and I spent what little of it I had sleeping or staying in touch with my family and my clients. I am almost three weeks post cruise and still I had not posted a blog heck I haven't even shared pictures with friends and family or reviews for my colleagues which is normally what one does on a working a vacation.
So just to give you an idea of how hectic our life is My oldest daughter is in grade eight she is an Explorer with scouts and she is a Rainbow girl.  My second daughter is in grade seven she is a swimmer (although no competing this year just doing lessons) and a Rainbow girl. My third daughter is in grade five and she is a Timberwolf with scouts and a pledge girl (this is pre rainbow). My youngest son is in grade three and he does Taekwon Do and attends the local churches youth group. So I have to do or co-ordinate the drives for all these activities. I also am on the advisory board for the Rainbow girls (which means monthly meetings and helping with all events). I am a Senior Explorer (scout leader, I used to lead one other group and do the admin for all the groups but had to back away). I am the secretary on the Parent council for the high school and I volunteer for events at the elementary school and help when and where needed. So coming back home I had to launch into a Luau fundraiser for Rainbow (I made 90% of the food) and served Thanksgiving dinner to the elementary school on top of cooking a turkey for it. As can be expected I kind of ran myself into the ground and was burning the candle at booth ends. So I got sick.
So here I am apologizing to all of you for not keeping up on my goal of posting blogs every two days and going for just over a month since my last post and even then they were two quick posts about Hurricanes and there is much more than should have been written since then. So I am getting back on my band wagon and will be starting to share my travel experience because it was Amazing!!! I really can not recommend more taking this cruise itinerary. So if I have peaked your interest and have not lost you as a follower yet. Please stay tuned to my blogs posts for the next little while!!

mom and I

Have a great weekend and if you are wanting to connect here is where you can find me
www.facebook.com/stephaniethetravelagentnextdoor

www.exclsuivetoyoutravel.ca and www,exclsuivetoyoutavel.com

my email slough@exclusivetoyoutravel.com

What is TICO

The Travel Industry Council of Ontario (TICO) is an organization mandated by the Ontario government to administer the Ontario Travel Industry Act, 2002 and Ontario Regulation 26/05 which governs all of the approximately 2,400 travel retailers and travel wholesalers registered in Ontario. In addition, TICO administers an industry-financed Travel Compensation Fund.
As I am a travel agent who lives and works in Ontario I am TICO Certified. Which means I had to study all of their policies and regulation and then pass their exam. I did this back in April of 2013.

My certificate

TICO is a wholly financed by registration fees paid by Ontario travel agencies and travel wholesalers. The Travel Industry Compensation Fund is financed entirely by Ontario travel industry registrants through contributions based on their sales revenues.

The Travel Industry Council of Ontario's mission is to regulate consumer protection by promoting awareness, education and compliance as part of the efficient and effective regulation of Ontario's travel industry.   We also support the mission of the Ontario Ministry of Government and Consumer Services to maintain a fair, safe and informed marketplace as it relates to Ontario's Travel Industry Act, 2002.

TICO is in the process of pushing for updates to the ACT which they have asked consumers and travel professionals to assist with. You may have seen commercials about TICO and encouraging you as consumers to book with registered agencies to make sure you are protected. Even if you live in a different province and book through a TICO agent/agency you are protected under the guidelines and can make a claim under the compensation fund if you have one.

You will notice on both my website and on my Facebook page my address is listed as being in Toronto. This is because it is mandatory by TICO that I disclose our number and the head office address. It is also why I have a Toronto number and extension and then a direct line to me (which is much faster to reach me at). As I am a home based agent I do work from home which means I am actually based in Morrisburg, Ontario. For those of you who have never heard of Morrisburg it is an hour south of Ottawa along the St Lawrence river.  Now while I am a home based travel agent I am not legally allowed to have clients come into my home to sell to them or even discuss their travel needs. I can however meet you at a local coffee shop, or your home.

So when you are booking travel make sure that whoever you chose to use that they have the TICO logo. You will see the logo on the top of my certificate and if you are ever unsure you can always check the company out on the TICO.ca website as well.

As always you can check out my websites: www.exclusivetoyoutravel.ca or www.exclusivetoyoutravel.com
www.facebook.com/stephaniethetravelagentnextdoor

How Travel Agents Get Paid

The biggest question I get is how do Travel Agents get paid. There are actually several answers to this question. Most travel agents get paid commission directly from the suppliers. The percentage paid out depends on a few different things such as volume and who your host agency may be.
Travel agents do not charge more for the trip itself. So for an example if a Disney trip for a family of four is $4000 directly with Disney it is $4000 with the travel agent through Disney. We are paid the percentage directly from Disney which means you are getting a one on one service directly with your agent who follows you from the booking right through your travel and follows up when you get home.
A travel agent only gets paid once you have booked your travel, paid in full and traveled. So when asking a travel agent for lots of quotes or shopping around they put lots of time and effort and get no compensation unless you actually book and travel.
Some travel agents have put into place plan to go fees. This is where you are charged a planning fee and once you book it is applied to the booking as a payment. Many travel agents do this especially when booking wedding or group travel because of the scope of work required to handle group bookings.
Other agents have straight up fees. Some are a standard amount and some charge based on the type of trip being booked. It really depends on when searching for a travel agent you need to ask questions up front about what it costs.
For myself personally I do usually charge a $50 fee for a Disney booking and I will help you with everything. Making and suggesting your dinning reservations. Fast pass+ reservations as well as suggested itineraries.
Our agency also charges a cancellation fee. This is charged only if you cancel your vacation as it is the only way we will get paid for the work we have done. As once you cancel we lose our commission from the supplier.
Most travel agents work very hard for their clients going above and beyond being available most of the time. You can reach us while you are vacationing if problems should arrive. Should there be issues with a flight we can often find a solution to get you home while other people are standing in a line waiting for a reservation clerk at the airport. Online booking engines do not provide you with this same service. If you do call in you get a different agent helping you every time while with s Travel Agent we are your service provider from start to finish.
We do have a booking engine on our website which can help you look for what you are interested in or book quickly if you think rates are going up. If you book on our website you will still get that same service all the way through and should anything happen again we will be the dedicated person to help you.
It is a shared site so if you do book just make sure to put the agents name you want to book with in the notes to make it easier on all of us.

Here are my details: www.exclusivetoyoutravel.ca or www.exclusivetoyoutravel.com
www.facebook.com/stephaniethetravelagentnextdoor

24 Hours in Paris

The Travel Agent Next Door is our host agency but I work for Exclusive to you Travel Services and my awesome Manager is Steph Switzer. I have been working for her for just over two years now and I love every minute of it and how much I have grown as a Travel agent since being with her.  At the moment she is getting ready to experience her first river cruise as a reward for being a top sales performer. So proud of her and our team.
So because of the time difference she decided to fly into France early and had 24 hours to spend in Paris and I thought I would share some of her pictures of what she chose to do and see in that short period of time.

 Market Place so many fresh fruits and veggies

 Bakery every type of eclair you can imagine 

 Lovely appetizer plate

 What is a visit to Paris without checking out macaroons

 Seine River (boat tours available)

 The awesome Steph at the Jardins Luxembourg

 Fresh orange juice machine

 Notre Dame Cathedral

Don't forget the nightlife

There is so much to do and 24 hours in Paris really is not enough time to truly experience all that the city has to offer. Here are some other amazing sites you may want to check out. The Effile Tower. Arc de Triomphe, The Louvre, Versailles, check out a cabaret, Disneyland Paris (I know it is always in my thoughts). Most group tours will include two days in Paris or offer add on's at the beginning or the end of the tour and I would strongly recommend it. I still regret that when I spent two weeks in England back in 1996 that I did not take the Eurostar (under the channel) for a visit to Paris. It has been on my bucket list for so long. I spent many years studying the French Revolution and so France has long been in my heart.

My brother actually lived in Southern France for almost seven months and has visited many times since. As he has told me you have never truly experienced a croissant until you have experienced one in France not even Quebec can hold a candle to them.

If Paris or France is on your wish send me an email and I ca help make it come true. While I may not have been there myself, I have a large group of agents behind me and we all share our experiences with each other.

My email: slough@thetravelagentnextdoor.com

Find me at www.exclusivetoyoutravel.ca or www.exclusivetoyoutravel.com
www.facebook.com/stephaniethetravelagentnextdoor

Sandos Playacar Beach Resort # 2

So while visiting Mexico there are many excursions that you can take and many sites that can be taken in. Being as we where only there for a short period we decided on just one excursion it was actually a combination. A tour to the Ruins of Tulum and then off to a private Beach.
The Ruins were awesome and this is not an expensive tour and short and sweet. There are many ruins in Mexico. The Chichen Itza ruins are the largest and most impressive. However the tour was a full day with almost four hours of travel so we decided to go to the ruins that were much closer.

The guide we had was very passionate and provided us with lots of great historical information. After the visit to Tulum we headed to a private beach for about an hour. You can actually see the ruins from the beach.

Here is a small list of some of the tours you can do when visiting. Swim with Dolphins at Ventura Park, scuba diving, skyrider (two can fly) SubSee Explorer (underwater adventure), Cozumel tour. Other ruins you can see include Coba, Uxmal and Xcaret. Rio Secreto is a nature reserve where you go to an underground river to explore. There are off road jungle adventures. Sailing and snorkeling adventures, Nightlife adventures if you do not like what your resort has to offer. There is also a pirate and lobster dinner dhow but sadly Lisa is not a seafood lover so I could not partake :(
10 minutes from the resort maybe a 25 minute walk you can go to the famous 5th Avenue shopping district which we did. I shopped at some well known brands as well as local made things. There was a great show, I did not get to go to Senor frogs (I collect all things frogs) but did hit the store. Also the ferry to Cozumel is located here.

This ritual has to do with fertility and the Mayan calendar. 5 men climb to the op of the large tower. One beats a drum at the top while the other four dangle by ropes attached to their feet. It takes twelve whole turns to get to the ground. This ceremony was also performed at the Tulum ruins but these pictures turned out nicer.

Again I would highly recommend a stay at Sandos Playacar for either couples or families they also have a more family oriented resort close by called Sandos Caracol.

www.sandosplayacar.com

My websites: www.exclusivetoyoutravel.ca  www.exlclusivetoyoutravel.com  and www.facebook.com/stephaniethetravelagentnextdoor

Travelling to Disney with Kids

So I finished off my last post mentioning my 2011 Disney trip with my family and getting ready for 2018. In 2011 Victoria was 7, Elizabeth was 6, Katherine was 3 and Daniel was 2 1/2. My nephew Bradley was just shy of his 9th birthday.
We chose the second last week of August for a few reasons. Summer vacation was the easiest to get the eleven of us together. My kids and my brother's son were in different school boards so they had different start times for the new school year. Also almost all American schools had re-started so we only had to compete in the park with other tourists.
Crowd levels can definitely play a major role in any Disney vacation and I will definitely touch on this in other posts.
Direct flights out of Ottawa in the summer do not really exist and as I am on the border of NY we made the decision to fly out of Syracuse on Jet Blue. Flying with the kids was not as painful as I thought it would be. I have heard stories of people having difficulties with their little one's which caused them to be embarrassed or mortified. Yes it is hard on the people around you but it is not like anyone is doing it on purpose and thankfully this is only a 3 hour flight. My son was bit more restless on the flight home but still it was a very positive experience. Here are my tips for flying with kids. Bring an activity bag that includes all of our some of the following:dollar store toys that are new to the child, colouring book and crayons or pencils, books to read and a tablet (depending on age). Make sure to bring some gum for them to chew to help with ear popping (again depends on age). Noise cancelling headphones if they have problem with noise. Gravol may be a good idea as well.
Going to Disney we were lucky as we had Disney Magical Express which means we did not have to try and collect luggage for eleven people when we arrived in Orlando. We simply made our way downstairs to the buses got into the line for our resort and we were on our merry way. Our luggage was collected by Disney and was delivered to our room several hours later (In your carry on luggage I suggest a bathing suit if you are not going to the parks or a change of clothes).
This is one of my reasons for why staying at Disney is so important to us. Magical Express is a godsend when travelling with young children. Recently I had to wait for a rental car at the Orlando airport. It was pre-booked but the line for pick up was about three turns long and it was after 9:00 pm. There were people in that line with young children.I thankfully was not. Everyone was exhausted and cranky it took over two hours to get our car and we still had a 3 hour drive to Miami.
I will always stay at Disney and I am more than fine with a Value Resort to do so!!

Daniel and Katherine (first flight anywhere)

Walt Disney World

So as a Family Travel Specialist I of eat, sleep and breath Disney. The funny thing is I never went to Disney as a child. My first visit was January 1998 just after the huge Ice Storm. Many people in the outskirts of Ottawa were still without power.
Walt Disney Work was still celebrating their 25th Anniversary so Cinderella's Castle was still done up as a huge Birthday cake. Animal Kingdom had not yet opened and Hollywood Studios was called MGM and Disney Springs was Downtown Disney and Pleasure Island (an adult only venue in the evenings).
This vacation lead to my mother and I doing Disney 4 years in a row. We did branch out doing visits to see Busch Gardens in Tampa, Sea World, Kennedy Space Center, Discovery Cove and Universal which that first year only had the one park and has expanded greatly since then.
The nice thing is that these parks are constantly expanding and adding new things so your vacations will constantly evolve. It is "not" like being dragged to the same museum every summer on your family vacation.
2001 marked my last solo trip with my mom as shortly after that I met my husband and we married the following year. My parents continued to go to Disney together over the years bringing back presents and stories for their five grandchildren.
I finally got to return to Disney in August 2011 with my children, my husband, my parents and my brother and his family. Eleven of us together, 3 rooms at the All Star Movies Resort. First time ever visiting in the heat of the summer, and I have to tell you summer, Disney and I do not go hand in hand. So we are headed back to Disney in December 2018. Yes I have a countdown and yes it is painfully over 500 days away!!

This picture is courtesy of disneyeveryday.com (Norm Robbie). I would have used one of my own but when I went to Disney that year I still had a regular camera (digital were just coming out) and my pictures are currently packed away in a box.

Welcome to my blog. My Name is Stephanie Lough and I am a home based travel agent who gets to work and stay at home with these four great kids. Of course this picture is almost six years old so they are much older now.  But they still give me a run for my money running them all over the place.

I do specialize in Family Travel as well as Group Travel. I am sure you can guess why to the first. I love to travel but as you can imagine it is not always easy to travel with a large family. Most packages cater to a family of four as do room sizes etc. We also tend to travel with my parents which makes it a little easier.

With my blog I hope to be able to share my passion of Disney, Travel and Family with all of you!!

You can also check me out on Facebook www.facebook.com/stephaniethatravelagentnextdoor.com

Our company also has two websites you can check out www.exclusivetoyoutravel.ca and www.exclusivetoyoutravel.com