I'm Brittney. I plan, you pack and enjoy the trip.
No surprise fees.
Founder of Open Book Journeys and an independent travel advisor based in West Michigan.
How I got here
The way a lot of people do: by planning my own trips and getting slightly obsessive about the details. Comparing cabin categories across five different ships. Figuring out which all-inclusive actually includes the things you would want. Working out what a cruise really costs once gratuities and port fees are added to the fare you saw advertised.
That last one bothered me enough that I built a tool for it. I am a web developer by trade, so I did not have to wait for anyone else to do it. Building the cruise budget calculator taught me the pricing structures of the major cruise lines in a level of detail most travellers never have time to learn, and it is why every rate on this site comes with its source and the date a person checked it.
That is the part I would want you to know before hiring anyone to plan a trip. Not that I love travel, though I do, but that I have read the fine print on these fares closely enough to publish it.
Where I have been
Spain
Two weeks, seven cities, every booking my own.
The Panama Canal
My first cruise, which set a high bar.
The Caribbean
Extensively. I can tell you which ports are worth an excursion and which you can walk.
Mexico
Both the Pacific and the Caribbean coasts.
Hawaii
All five major islands.
The Grand Canyon
Which no photograph has ever done justice.
I have sailed enough to have opinions about ships, and travelled enough on land to know that the best trips usually come down to a few decisions made early. Those are the ones worth talking through.
Who I work with
Open Book Journeys is an independent travel agency affiliated with WorldVia Travel Group, my host agency. They hold the supplier relationships, the client records and the bookings themselves.
The company you book with pays me a commission. It comes out of their margin rather than being added to your fare, and I charge no planning or consultation fee of any kind. That deserves more than a sentence on a site that argues about pricing for a living, so it has its own page, including what I will not do.
Tell me what you are thinking about
Rough dates and a vague idea are enough to start. There is no fee, and no obligation to book anything.
Start a conversation