Alaska Cruise 2025
Reviewed By AgentDee - ALASKA | Traveled to Alaska | USA
Dee, our fabulous Straight Away Travel Agent, set us up with an awesome 7 day cruise from Vancouver, BC with stops in Ketchikan, Juneau, and Skagway, Alaska. Then cruising through Glacier Bay and College Fjords. Saw calving on multiple glaciers and listened to the glaciers groan and talk to us! It was breathtaking!! Thank you Dee for setting us up with a fun filled, breathtaking vacation!!!
✓ I would recommend this agent to my family and friends.
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Italy - Trip of a Lifetime — Flawlessly Executed!
Reviewed By Andrea TR - Los Gatos, California | Traveled to Italy | Europe
Our 23-day trip to Italy was the best experience of our lives—all thanks to Dee, our phenomenal travel agent. She handled every detail with care and precision: private drivers, smooth train transfers, beautiful hotels, and unforgettable excursions. We never once had to drag our bags across cobblestone streets—everything was taken care of.
From a cooking class and wine tasting in Tuscany to a full-day Formula 1 experience, every moment was thoughtfully planned and perfectly executed. It was our first time in Italy, and Dee made it feel effortless and extraordinary. We can’t recommend her highly enough!
✓ I would recommend this agent to my family and friends.
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Couples All Inclusive Get Away
Reviewed By Jason and Heather - North Carolina | Traveled to Punta Cana | Dominican Republic | Caribbean
We had a wonderful time at Secrets Tides. It turned out to be a great choice for a couples resort, thank you for the recommendation. The staff was attentive, the facilities were clean and elegant, and the food was above average. We participated in many of the resort's activities, including dance lessons, an intro to scuba diving, Spanish lessons, a cigar workshop, a cocktail workshop, and a rum tasting. While there were nightly shows and live music in the bars, they didn’t particularly interest us.
We thoroughly enjoyed the Preferred Club amenities, especially the exclusive lounges offering extended drink selections and à la carte options for breakfast and lunch (we typically avoid buffets). We felt the Preferred Club was well worth the additional cost. We also appreciated that reservations weren’t required for most of the restaurants (except for the Teppanyaki table at Meraki, which we understood given the limited seating).
Our room, 1165, was perfect for us. It was just steps away
Dee Van Laan responded
"Thank you Jason and Heather! It was so fun working with you two finding the perfect all inclusive resort for your spring get away! Glad you found it to be a good fit for you!
I look forward to helping you again!
Dee"
✓ I would recommend this agent to my family and friends.
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Wonderful Trip in London and Paris
Reviewed By D Berrigan - Charlotte, NC | Traveled to London | England | Europe
The trip couldn’t have gone better. Tina the musical was definitely a highlight as well as our tour guide Harry in London did an outstanding job. Bryce in Paris was also excellent and the ladies really enjoyed Nadia at the Dorsay. Ruth at the Louvre was good but did not compare to the other three. Really enjoyed the river cruise in London as well. All of the major attractions in Paris were truly enjoyed. The rental car pickup and drop off went well considering the traffic in Paris is challenging. The drive to Giverny, Honfleur, Normandy and especially Mont St Michelle was special and the last hotel in the Loire valley was a great stop to relax and visit a great chateau and an amazing garden that Brenda really enjoyed before heading back to Paris. The Hilton hotel was an excellent choice for the last nigh. Thanks again for your help putting this amazing trip together for us!
✓ I would recommend this agent to my family and friends.
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Trip of a lifetime
Reviewed By Poppy - Conway, SC | Traveled to Scotland | Europe
We had a rough start but it was a wonderful trip. The beds in glen mhor hotel and Alexandra hotels were bad. Hiring a private driver was an excellent idea. We actually hired one on our own for day trip in Glasgow as well. Radisson blu was our favorite hotel, but we enjoyed all of them. Oban was our favorite location. I would definitely recommend Fyvie castle.
Dee Van Laan responded
"Thank you for sharing your experience!
I’m so glad you enjoyed Scotland, especially Oban and Fyvie Castle. Scotland is an amazing destination, though the logistics can sometimes be more challenging than expected when balancing trains, smaller towns, and a set budget.
I’m happy to hear private drivers ended up enhancing your experience, as that was one of my recommendations to help make travel days smoother. Thank you for trusting me with your trip!
Dee Van Laan, Travel Advisor"
✓ I would recommend this agent to my family and friends.
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Definitely the trip of a lifetime
Reviewed By PV3 - West Columbia | Traveled to Dublin | Ireland | Europe
Thanks to Dee, the trip went very smoothly. Keep in mind this was not an ordinary trip. It was special because of my 70th birthday. But Dee had to deal with the fact that I'm immobile and needed special transportation for the trip. She set it up perfectly. The only complaint I have is that I could have stayed another week!
Dee Van Laan responded
"Thank you so much for your kind words! It was truly an honor to help plan such a special trip for your 70 birthday. Making sure every detail worked smoothly with your mobility needs — from accessible accommodations to special transportation and airline arrangements — was incredibly important to me. I’m so happy everything came together! Your “only complaint” made me smile — that usually means it was a great trip! Thank you again for trusting me with such a meaningful journey!
Dee Van Laan"
✓ I would recommend this agent to my family and friends.
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No Downside!
Reviewed By Donallen - Chapin SC | Traveled to Punta Cana | Dominican Republic | Caribbean
Working with Dee was exactly as easy as I'd hoped it would be! I gave her a timeframe, a budget and a brief explanation of what we were looking for and she did the rest! Within 48 hours Dee had given me several options and allowed me to choose the one I thought best fit our needs. This trip was a celebration of several events in our family and will be a vacation we will never forget! I will absolutely be working with Dee in the future!
✓ I would recommend this agent to my family and friends.
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Wonderful Princess Cruise
Reviewed By Dianna - Columbia, SC | Traveled to Caribbean
ey Dee — I would LOVE to give some feedback!!! First of all, that was probably one of the most relaxing cruises I’ve taken. Baron and I both needed a reset and we got it. The ship was awesome!!! Any chance you have to book someone on the floor and location where our room was, definitely do it. The room location was PERFECT. We were right across from the adult pool and right down from the exit to the main deck. You found us the PERFECT cabin!
The food was pretty good in the main dining room and EXCELLENT in the specialty restaurants. We ate in the steak house, sushi restaurant and the pizza place. ALL FABULOUS. I HIGHLY recommend the private balcony dinner. That was absolutely amazing!!! They turned our balcony in to a private, romantic dinner for 2. It was worth EVERY PENNY. Loved the “poolside” food delivery though, that was on point!!!
Overall, the trip was AWESOME!!! The ship was nice and the itinerary was PERFECT!!! I would def go on the ship again and would def go on another Princess Cruise.
Thanks again for booking this for us. It was absolutely perfect and can’t wait to get our next adventure underway. Still heavily looking at Australia, we just want to make sure we can do it the way we want!!! We are still kicking around ideas for our 2027 big trip!
From start to finish this trip was planned well, great communication and very helpful!
Dianna
✓ I would recommend this agent to my family and friends.
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Our First Time Visiting Europe
Reviewed By Dee - SC | Traveled to Germany | Europe
Wonderful
✓ I would recommend this agent to my family and friends.
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Beautiful Alaska!
Reviewed By Teliza - Columbia, SC | Traveled to Alaska | USA
Dee was so helpful in making all of the arrangements for us (3 couples) and answering our tons of questions! The logistics were perfect. Our luggage met us at every step, all of our tickets for trains, buses etc were there when we needed them! The Ship was wonderful and our Neptune Suite on Holland America was fabulous! The transition to the land portion of the trip was flawless. The 8 hour scenic train ride to Denali was so much fun and lovely. The Holland America Denali lodge was beautiful. It was a fabulous trip. Thank you Dee for recommending it to us.
Dee Van Laan responded
"Hi Tammy! It was my pleasure to help you and your friends plan an amazing Alaska Cruise Tour! I loved working with all of you and glad we have already got two more trips booked for your crew in 2026! Croatia and a river cruise for Christmas Markets! Thanks for trusting me with your vacations! Dee"
✓ I would recommend this agent to my family and friends.
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Phenomenal Ireland Tour
Reviewed By Dan - Irmo. S.C. | Traveled to Ireland | Europe
The CIE tour was perfect for us. We covered a lot of ground in 9 days. I would definitely recommend this tour to others.
Dee Van Laan responded
"Thanks Dan & Syl!
I am so happy to have been able to make this dream come true trip happen for you! Ireland is definitely a beautiful place and CIE Tours does an amazing job! Looking forward to planning your next vacation!
Dee"
✓ I would recommend this agent to my family and friends.
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The trip was such a pleasure.
Reviewed By Becky - Chapin SC | Traveled to Budapest | Hungary | Europe
Dee is always exciting and fun to travel with. She was such a help, from getting us to the HO HO bus to suggesting great things to do. This trip was just the right mixture of relaxation and interesting events.
Dee Van Laan responded
"Thanks Mike & Becky! I enjoy traveling with you as well! I love to seek out the off the beaten path things to do as well as the normal fun things like the HO HO (Hop On Hop Off) bus! The HO HO bus is a great way to see any city when you first arrive so you get a good sense of what there is to see! Look forward to the next trip!
Dee"
✓ I would recommend this agent to my family and friends.
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Escape from the heat!
Reviewed By Shulervet - Holly Hill, SC | Traveled to Quebec City | Quebec | Canada
My husband and I wanted to escape the heat this summer and asked Dee to find a retreat for us. We decided on a cruise from Quebec city to Boston that was wonderful!
The entire trip was organized for us with hotels, transfers, cruise line, and flights. All we had to do is enjoy!
Dee was easy to work with, very responsive to my questions, and went above and beyond to be sure we had a great trip.
✓ I would recommend this agent to my family and friends.
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It was smooth sailing!!
Reviewed By Betty - Irmo SC | Traveled to Ocean Cay | Bahamas | Caribbean
All details were taken care of. Our job was to pack and show up at the terminal with proper paperwork.
The welcome happy hour and T Shirts arranged by Dee were a great way to set sail!
Dee Van Laan responded
"I am so glad you had a great time on the MSC Seashore cruise! Thank you!"
✓ I would recommend this agent to my family and friends.
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Family trip
Reviewed By Teresa Ann - Land O Lakes, FL | Traveled to Punta Cana | Dominican Republic | Caribbean
I booked a family trip for 6 people to the DR in 3 rooms. Dee was helpful in finding the right flights and rooms as it was holiday time and things were booking quickly.
Dee followed up with packing tips and other helpful emails to make the trip planning fun and easy to communicate to others in the group.
Dee Van Laan responded
"Thank you Teresa! I enjoyed working with you to make your vacation stress free and easy for your family! I look forward to assisting you again!
Dee"
✓ I would recommend this agent to my family and friends.
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European Christmas Markets
Reviewed By Linda Richards - Columbia, SC | Traveled to Copenhagen | Denmark | Europe
Dee had everything planned from getting to the airport, transfers at airport, train through the Alps, awesome local lodging and restaurants. Great side excursions and some really awesome Christmas markets. We traveled to Copenhagen where we took in Tivoli Gardens, Vienna, Austria and then on to Munich, Germany.
Dee Van Laan responded
"Thanks so much for the 5 Star review! I'm so happy you enjoyed your Christmas Markets trip!
Dee Van Laan
Travel Advisor
Straight Away Travel"
✓ I would recommend this agent to my family and friends.
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Trip to Spain
Reviewed By Becky - Chapin SC | Traveled to Barcelona | Spain | Europe
The trip was well-planned with a mixture of excursions and free time. The air b and b in Valencia was roomy and centrally located. We sailed the Mediterranean and it was amazing.
Dee Van Laan responded
"Thank you so much for the 5 star review! I'm so happy you enjoyed your Spain trip! The Famenco dancers in Madrid were a pleasant surprise for you!
Dee Van Laan
Travel Advisor
Straight Away Travel"
✓ I would recommend this agent to my family and friends.
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