Jackie Matthews
Cruise Travel Expert- ocean, river, expedition
Dog sledding adventure on a glacier in Alaska
Cruise vacations and large group cruises are my specialty and I love my work! I coordinated my first group cruise in 1990, have over 44 years of cruise and world travel experience to 32 countries (and counting), and am certified in Group Travel and Accessible Travel. I have elite booking status on the world’s top ocean and river cruise lines - which means I have access to private inventories not open to the public and additional amenities and valuable travel perks to help your travel dollars go farther.Cruising with a group - whether it's your church, club, company, or a family reunion- is a wonderful way to travel. You unpack once, visit numerous countries and exciting ports of call, and get to share amazing experiences.
But cruising with a group requires a specific skill set, a much higher degree of planning and organization, to get it right. If done well, everyone has a fabulous experience and leaves the trip asking, “Where are we going next?” But if the group does not have good organization and communication from beginning to end, people can feel frustrated, anxious and unhappy, leaving you - the group leader - stressed and losing sleep. Over the years, I have developed a protocol that enables me to effectively plan and book large groups of people on cruise vacations. My services include (but are not limited to) negotiating with the cruise lines for best pricing, cabin locations and amenities for your group, coordinating transfers, pre- and post-cruise hotel nights, transportation, communication with all members (via cruise night in-person or virtual events, emails, private Facebook page, etc. ), and coordinating on-board experiences and shore excursions that are exclusive for your group. I work hard to make sure you, as the leader, do not lose sleep or have to deal with a million phone calls because someone dropped the ball. I handle the myriad of details. You go and make memories!
My process, developed from years of travel, starts with a fun conversation. As we talk, I can often uncover things you may not have thought of but are very important to the success and enjoyment of your trip. So, whether you are considering a family vacation, a reunion with all the cousins and grandparents, a wedding vow renewal with friends and family, a gal pal getaway on a cruise ship, a trip for your club or company off-site, let's talk. Your next adventure awaits!
Testimonials from clients' emails after their trip
"You. Are. Amazing."
"Jackie Matthews, Thank you for the awesome job you are doing.We are so blessed to have you as our travel agent."
"Thanks for your personal touches with updates in emails and the gifts for our grandkids. As you saw in the pictures, they were thrilled."
"Hi, Jackie! Thanks so much for going above and beyond. I don't know if you have ever read The Fred Factor, but you are a Fred in my eyes."
"Thanks so much for all you are doing to help our group.We appreciate you so much."
"Once again, I appreciate your good advice. we will use the money saved toward extending a day in England."
“Thank you.You have picked out a beautiful location with a great view.”
“As a retired chemical engineer, I really appreciate your attention to detail.”
My Areas of Expertise
CERTIFICATES & AWARDS
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The best trip/cruise of our lives.
Thank you so much for your kind words! It was a pleasure to serve you. So happy you had a fabulous cruise.
Best trip experience of my life!
It has been such a joy and honor to serve your wonderful group. Thank you for the kind words and for sending all the fabulous pictures. Seeing your smiles in all the pictures made my day!
The Happiest Place on Earth!
Thank you so much!!!! It was so fun to work with all of you- 4 families living in different cities with different aged kids and adults. Thank you for sending me the pictures of your grandchildren enjoying their special Disney gifts we sent. Those pictures of your sweet grandchildren made our day!
Great Travel Advisor
Exceptional Cruise Planning Service
Amazing vacation
You just made my day with your kind words! It was so much fun to coordinate this trip for all of you to the British Isles- what an amazing group to work with. Truly my honor.
Once in a lifetime trip
I am so grateful for your kind words. It was truly my pleasure and joy to serve you and your husband. Thank you for sharing all your great pictures- your smiles made my day.
BEST way to book a cruise!
Alaskan Cruise
Kathy, thank you so very much for your kind and gracious words. It was a pleasure serving you and your sweet family. I look forward to serving you all in the future. Blessings, Jackie
Most exciting trip we’ve taken.
It was truly my pleasure. So very happy you all had such a great time. Thanks for all the pictures! Loved the smiles.
Best Organized Trip Ever
Thank you so very much for your kind words. It was my honor to serve your group of 79- what a lovely group of people. Thanks for sharing all the pictures!
Flawless Care of our Huge Cruise Group
What a joy to work with your 79 members from across the south- what a great group of people. I enjoyed working with each person to make sure their cruise was everything they were dreaming of and would be filled with wonderful memories. So glad you all had such a great time. Thanks for sending me all those great pictures from your cruise to 4 countries and 9 ports of call. Your smiles made my day!!!
Great Cruise from Galveston!
Wonderful Alaska & Denali Cruise-Tour
Alaskan Cruise Expert
Michelle, it was truly a blessing to work with you and your entire extended family. I love your whole family- you all are so close and such wonderful people! Thank you for this kind review and know that I am always here for you. Jackie
It was perfect
It has been such a pleasure to work with you and your family. Thank you so much for sending me those great pictures from your fabulous trip- made my day!
Excellent Service
A Dream Vacation
Jackie gave us great insight on our accommodations; from air-conditioning in the warm months, concierge, location, distance to cafes, shopping, entertainment and even found us a suite with two full size bathrooms for us to share with our daughter. Jackie then went that extra step to find out our interests while in Paris and then made us a full detailed list with places to shop, sights to see, a photographer and just for our daughter-vintage clothing boutiques! these special touches are so valuable to us while planning for this special graduation trip. Her personal knowledge of Paris and her passion for travel is truly a joy to work with and we greatly appreciate her professionalism. Thank you Jackie for everything! We look forward to working with you again in the near future.
Thank you for your kind words. I remember when each of our kids went off to college and we took our last vacation before college trip with them. I wanted to make sure your trip was everything you and your student were dreaming of and would be filled with great memories!