All Seas Travel?

[WebmasterPete]

Hi Folks:

I just wanted to chime in here a bit. First of all, I have no issues at all with people sharing their experiences with other agencies. When I started Dreams, I made it very clear that it was to be treated on this site like any other advertiser. That means that negative posts and complaints about it would not be 'deleted', and people had to be free to post their experiences about other agencies. Dreams and Werner Technologies (the company that owns this forum) are seperate entities. The only thing they have in common is that I own Werner Tech and I'm a part owner in Dreams. Dreams pays money to Werner Tech every month for the advertising it recieves on the site, and it pays the same amount as any other advertiser would for it.

We've seen posts here about All Seas, Costco, AAA, and others over the years. My view is that competition is a good thing. It makes us work harder, get more creative with how we do business and forces us to continue to find ways to lower the price and increase the service. It is the truest form of free market, and in the end, it helps those who visit here get the best price for thier cruise.

That being said, from time to time, we've had issues where companies have tried to take advantage of that policy, by spamming the boards. When we find hard evidence of that, we do add the company name and URL to the filter so that it won't appear on the site.

Dianthus> Thank you for your kind words about Dreams and I really, truly appreciate the sentiment. However, many accuse these boards of being nothing but advertising for Dreams. If I disallowed the discussion of other agencies and venues for booking vacations, they would be correct. It has been a VERY difficult line to walk. You want to promote the agency you are involved with as much as you can, but at the same time you want your forums to remain as fair and unbiased as possible. I think I've done an excellent job in keeping that balance, although I'm sure some would disagree)

Anyway, I just wanted to clear up the 'policy' on the issue, and thank everyone for respecting the boards and providing the information that makes them what they are.

Pete

 

[SeaSpray]

Hi Pete

Thanks for stopping in on this thread. Thanks again for creating and maintaining this web site, and for allowing people to post their opinions on all aspects of Disney trip planning

Don't know where I'd be, in regards to Disney trip planning, without the DIS!

Thanks for the addition of the new smilies, too They're a lot of fun

 

[uncle al]

God Bless America & the man who said:

"My view is that competition is a good thing. It makes us work harder, get more creative with how we do business and forces us to continue to find ways to lower the price and increase the service. It is the truest form of free market, and in the end, it helps those who visit here get the best price for thier cruise."

 

[Luvdisney]

Thanks Pete, this board is great! When I started this thread it wasn't to bash DU at all. I've used DU in the past and had a great experiance. In fact I've given DU's name out to a lot of people to use. I will admit I do shop around when I plan my travel as well as when making any other big purchase. The price I saw sounded to good to be true, so I had to go were I new I could get great answers to my questions. I had never heard of All Seas before and wanted to know if they were trustworthy or not. Price is a big factor in my decisions, but so is trustworthiness. I'm sorry if I offended anyone by asking my question. That wasn't the intent here.

 

[dianthus]

Hi Pete & Sea Spray

Thanks for your feedback & kind words. This is what makes these boards great!

I just love these new smilies too!!

They are fun!

 

[CinderellaPrincess]

I went to allseastravel.com due to reviews I read on this board. But I must be honest, I have been less than please so far with the service I have gotten. It has been a little stressful and more than once I have called with questions but told to call later because they couldn't be answered then. I have always had to call them...only 2 times have they called me and it has only been to return my calls. My invoice was confusing, and of course, I have to wait unitl tomorrow to call because tonight the person answering the phone couldn't help. The person I originally dealt with was nice, but unfortunately, she was new and couldn't answer my questions. A few other times I called w/questions I received vague answers. I finally talked with someone knowledgable, however, I can tell she was busy and felt the conversation was rushed.

I will call them tomorrow and I hope my opinion is better. So far I have been disappointed. I hope that my opinion changes, because their prices are so cheap. But I am afraid the price difference really isn't worth the aggrevation I am feeling so far in my dealings with this company. I am glad to hear that people have had great reviews of this company...perhaps I just have had contact at "off" times and it leaves some hope that perhaps my dealing with this company will get better.

 

[mark & sandra]

Hello Pete- As one of the people who booked with AllSeasons instead of Dreams I would like you to know that all things being equal, I would book with your company hands down. When a competing company offers me the same exact trip for 610.00 less then your company can, it's obvious why I chose the way I did. That being said, why can't Dreams do exactly what AllSeasons does, buy blocks of rooms and offer great prices? You already have the marketing and distribution in place, Dreams only lacks the merchandise. I for one wouldn't consider any other travel company if your prices were as good as your service and this site is. I'd love to see Dreams give other companys a run for there money.

 

[WebmasterPete]

Hi Mark & Sandra:

Trust me, we're working on some VERY cool things for the upcoming months. We've already held quite a bit of group space next year,and in to 2005. As I said, this is the upside of competition. It makes us more agressive, and the winners are our visitors.

Thanks,
Pete

 

[Mjasp]

Pete...Great to hear that. Are you going to be putting a website up like Allseas, so we can look at the prices without having to e mail for a quote. Makes it easier to look at different sailings prices, then if you are flexible, you can pick your date on price.

Joanna

 

[WebmasterPete]

I can't give away too much, but we'll be making it MUCH easier for people to book their cruises through us and compare pricing.

Pete

 

[nisiemouse]

SeaSpray: I sent you a pm. Thanks.

 

[SeaSpray]

Originally posted by nisiemouse
SeaSpray: I sent you a pm. Thanks.

Just sent you a couple of replies

Let me know how it all works out!

 

[CinderellaPrincess]

I just wanted to post an update on my previous post that I made on this thread. I called All Seas this morning and talked to both Kathy and Sandie. They were AWESOME! Answered all my questions. I think my previous interaction was just due to circumstances. I am extremely happy with All Seas and would not hesitate to use them again in the future!

 

[Hygiene99]

bump

 

[Mjasp]

Pete...How long in time frame do you think it will be till we'll hear from you about this change?

Joanna

 

[WebmasterPete]

That I can't say just yet. We're working on a number of things right now on the Dreams site. We normally use the last few months of the year to start making changes, then roll them out in late December. I'm hoping to do it more quickly than that, but again, I don't have an exact timeframe. Trust me, it will be plastered all over the site when it happens

Pete

 

[Mjasp]

THANKS PETE for the quick response

Joanna

 

[Grumbo]

I had never heard of All Seasons or Dreams Unlimited until I found this board. My first cruise was booked through a local travel agent and I now realize I could have saved had I used one of these two.
To suggest that mention of All Seasons, AAA, Costco or any other agency be "censored" doesn't wash. Sure Mr. Werner's company sponsors these boards and I find them very informative. Because of the information provided here I contacted them along with All Seasons for quotes. The disparity in prices was substantial. I gave Dreams the opportunity to respond to the lower price. The agent was very nice, and candid that he couldn't. I went with All Seasons.
The Timeshare shop sponsors the DVC page. All types of resale agents are mentioned and "rated" by previous customers there. As Mr. Werner states competition is what makes businesses stay sharp and this is a bonus for the consumer.

If Mr. Werner decided to remove all mention of competitors that would be his decision and one I'm sure he is entitled to. I've seen no signs of that however and he does deserve kudos for permitting us all to see, compare and decide.

I for one would be disappointed if critiques (good and bad) of agencies, DCL, shore excursions, hotels, rental agencies etc were censored or removed due to sponsorships, ownership or the like.

Thats my take on it anyway

Cheers,
Grumbo

 

[ppiew]

Personally, I would like to see a site that lists prices and cabin # availability without having to use email to get the info. I may be getting paranoid, but it seems that whenever you provide your email address immediately you begin to be innundated with lots of unwanted stuff. I am not criticizing any particular agency here, these I just the two things I would find so much easier when considering a cruise.

 

[smlev]

I am glad you have all had such wonderful experiences with DU and All Seasons, but as I posted before, I do not understand what is so great. All they both keep doing is quoting me the same price that Disney does for my Land/Sea package in May. The service may be impeccable, but I need savings!