From the trenches of a “real” travel agency, I bring you some sage words of advice. My advice to all of you looking for those great deals is to slow it down and use common sense. Yes Twitter is a fun tool, but it can also quickly turn into GIGO (garbage in/garbage out.) To help users become more savy, I submit the following tips.
Tip 1. Know who you follow
When asking for general travel advice then yes, twitter is a great resource. Of course, your advice will only be as good as the people that you are following. Maybe now is a good time to really check out the website links from your list of people that you follow. When looking for travel related businesses check for travel of seller numbers, agency affiliations, and double check the business address with www.mapquest.com. A quick satellite view of a business address will reveal where the business takes place (home based or store front.)
Tip. 2. When you don’t get an answer, ask again.
When asking your twitter-sphere a question it is like the old Magic 8 Ball. If you don’t get any answers, then ask again and don’t be afraid to ask for an email so you can have a longer conversation via email.
Tip 3. Follow some experts.
Our travel agency (Cruise Holidays of Mission Viejo and our online community Cruise Holidays & Vacations) is one of the leaders in using the technology. We have revised the traditional business model and have tweaked it to include tools that allow for searching, buying, and sharing. We are all building a new travel network of resources but relying on an expert mediator is always a good thing.
Here are some more suggestions of people that I follow. I edited the list from Gene Sloan at the Cruise Log, his original post can be read by clicking here:
Cruise travel agents:
One of the best ways to keep track of emerging deals is to sign up for tweets from cruise agencies such as @cruisesource, @cruisebuzz, @montrosetravel, @JustCruises, @LuxuryCruising, @whitestarcruise, @CruiseMagic, @cruisetravelguy and @CruisePlan.
Cruise lines:
Carnival (@CarnivalCruise), Princess (@PrincessCruises) and Lindblad Expeditions (@LindbladExp) already are old pros at using Twitter to announce new deals and onboard programs, while other lines such as Holland America (@HALCruises) and Cunard (@CunardLine) are just getting up to speed. Others on Twitter include Crystal Cruises (@crystalcruises), Silversea Cruises (@Silversea), Cruise West (@CruiseWest) and Disney Cruise Line (@DCLNews).
Cruise news and review sites:
CruiseMates (@cruisemates), Anita Dunham-Potter’s Expert Cruiser (@ExpertCruiser), Cruise News Weekly (@CruiseGuide) and, of course, The Cruise Log (@CruiseLog).
Cruise writers:
Fodor’s cruise guide writer Linda Coffman (@CruiseDiva), current Cruise Critic editor Carolyn Spencer Brown (@CruiseEditor) and Avid Cruiser editor Ralph Grizzle (@avidcruiser).
Give us a call anytime to discuss how to use Twitter. We can be reached at 949-215-6700. By email at cruise@cruisebuzz.net, and online at www.cruisebuzz.net. Also, don’t forget to follow us at Twitter www.twitter.com/cruisebuzz.
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