What we do
Planning services built around your trip, not a template.
Every engagement includes loyalty-programme optimisation, supplier-side advocacy, and a
real human who responds within 24 hours. Fees are quoted before any work begins, and most
of what we do carries none at all.
- ✦
Hotel & Car
Single reservations, booked complimentary. Where a property sits in a preferred
programme it carries extras that do not appear on public rates — breakfast, a
resort or room credit, early check-in where the hotel can offer it. Same rate,
more in it.
- ✦
Cruise Bookings — the specialty
Complimentary on every major line. The fare is the same one the cruise line
publishes; what changes is that every certificate, loyalty credit and eligibility
rate you qualify for actually gets applied, the booking is rechecked when
promotions move, and someone advocates for you if something goes wrong at sea.
This is the deepest advantage we have, and it costs you nothing.
- ✦
Multi-Destination Itineraries
Honeymoons, European rail journeys, multi-stop trips where the connections matter
as much as the stops. These carry a planning fee, quoted and agreed in writing
before any work starts — never discovered later. You see the number first and
decide whether the trip warrants it.
- ✦
Expeditions & Group Voyages
Safari, polar and expedition sailings, and cabin-block groups. These are the
trips with the most moving parts — deposit ladders, held space that expires,
per-cabin amenities that only exist at a certain group size — and the ones where
doing it alone costs the most.
What every engagement includes
- Properly priced options. Gratuities, single supplements and port fees
are in the number you are shown. A lead-in fare that grows at checkout is not a quote.
- Every discount you are entitled to. Resident rates, senior rates,
military and first-responder rates, loyalty certificates and onboard credits get
checked and applied — the things most often left on the table when booking direct.
- Confirmation in writing. What was agreed, recorded against the
booking, so nothing depends on someone remembering a phone call.
- A reply within 24 hours. Same day on weekdays, from Paolo — not a
form auto-responder.
- Someone to escalate to. When a supplier stops answering or a cabin is
not what was confirmed, you are not joining a queue on hold.
How the fees work
Most of what we do costs nothing. Cruise lines and hotels pay advisor commission out of a
fare you would have paid regardless, which is why a complimentary booking is not a
discount being given away — it is a cost you were already carrying, put to work.
- CruiseComplimentaryAll major lines. No fee, no markup.
- Hotel & carComplimentarySingle reservations.
- Multi-destinationQuoted up frontAgreed in writing before work begins.
- Expedition & groupQuoted up frontScoped to the complexity of the journey.
The full breakdown, including how our live fare feeds are built and what an automatically
pulled price can and cannot tell you, is on
how pricing works. The four steps from first message to
confirmed booking are set out on how we work.
What this is not
It is not a search engine with a person attached. You will get three or four sailings to
read, not thirty — chosen because they fit how you actually travel, with a recommendation
attached. It is not a discount club either: no advisor can undercut a cruise line's own
published fare, and anyone promising that is selling something else. And no advisor can
manufacture inventory that does not exist, which is why the accessible cabins and the
good solo rates get booked early.
Common questions
How much does a travel advisor cost?
For cruises, nothing. Cruise bookings through Off The Grid Getaways are complimentary — the cruise line pays the advisor commission out of a fare you would have paid anyway, so the same sailing costs you the same whether you book it direct or through us. Single hotel and car reservations are also complimentary. Only custom multi-destination planning carries a fee, and it is quoted and agreed in writing before any work begins.
Will I pay more booking a cruise through an advisor?
No. Cruise lines do not publish a cheaper direct price to undercut their own advisor network — the fare is the fare. What changes is what comes with it: every credit, certificate and eligibility discount you qualify for gets applied, the booking is checked against promotions after you book, and you have someone to escalate to if something goes wrong on board.
What is included in a planning engagement?
Loyalty-programme optimisation, supplier-side advocacy, and written confirmation of everything agreed. Options are priced properly — gratuities, single supplements and port fees included — rather than showing you a lead-in fare that grows at checkout. Messages get a reply within 24 hours, and same day on weekdays.
Do you only book cruises?
Cruise is the specialty and where the deepest advantage sits. But single hotel and car reservations are booked complimentary, and multi-destination itineraries, expedition sailings and group cabin blocks are planned end to end. If a trip is better on land than at sea, we will say so.
How quickly will I hear back?
Within 24 hours, and usually the same day on weekdays. The first substantive step is a 30-minute discovery call with nothing to prepare and no obligation; curated options follow within two to four days.
What happens if something goes wrong on my trip?
You have someone whose job is to escalate on your behalf. That is the part that is hard to value until you need it: a missed connection, a cabin that is not what was confirmed, or a supplier who stops answering. Booking direct means joining a queue; booking through an advisor means someone with supplier relationships works the problem for you.
