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Welcome to Katy talks Travel, a podcast where we talk travel and accessibility with a little fun along the way. Let's pack our bags and head out on an adventure. All right, everybody, thank you for tuning in again this week. I'm really excited to have a special guest for you. So this week I have Heather on with me. Hi, Heather.
Hello.
So Heather is a fellow travel agent with magical moments vacations. And I met Heather when I first started at magical moments. I actually saw her post in a magical moments group, and then I saw her post in a group for a community group where we live. And I reached out to her and I was like, hey, this might be a little weird, but I think we're both travel agents in the same agency, and it's just kind of going from there.
Yep.
So thank you, Heather, so much for coming on. Why don't you go ahead and tell our audience a little bit about you and how you got into this and how long you've been a travel agent.
Yeah, thanks for having me. I'm always ready to talk about travel pretty much at any time, so. Love it. So I live in Indianapolis, and I started travel when I did not live in Indianapolis, I lived in Chicago, and that was in 2018. So we're coming up on just about six years in the business. I've been with magical moments vacations the whole time. Love them. And that's why I'm still with them. Haven't left. Um, and I moved to Indy in 2019, and that was honestly a great thing for my business. Um, I just feel like we were kind of missing travel agents here. Where? Chicago. There are a lot. So I kind of felt good moving here. Um, and, yeah, so I've been doing it for six years. I started out doing mostly Disney. That's really all I wanted to do. Um, and then I learned a little bit more about cruising and a little more about all inclusives, and that's, like my main business now. And I could not complain. It's amazing, right?
So I actually, for my clientele, I do guided things because a lot of my clientele have visual disabilities of some sort. Yeah, I do a lot of guided trips, and I sent out a questionnaire to all of my clients just asking kind of what's a guided trip you'd be interested in? And the one that came back as the most popular was all inclusive. So that's your kind of main thing that you do now, is all inclusive?
Yeah.
So what is your favorite one to send guests to and why?
Oh, man. So, honestly, this is actually a very easy question for me to answer. My favorite resort is in Cancun, and it's called Atelier playa mujeres. I can spell it for you if you need me to, but it is in the Playa Mujeres area, which is in Cancun proper. It's, like 45 minutes from the airport, and it's honestly the perfect resort, in my opinion. It is adults only. So if it's like a family friendly, friendly thing you're looking for, you know, this is not it. But if you're talking adults only, it's high end. It's upscale, luxury, amazing food, modern, beautiful. However, it doesn't necessarily price that way. I feel like it's a really good bang for your buck. I mean, it's not, like low end on the price spectrum by any means, but it is not super duper high in most cases. So I feel like it really just hits all the buttons. The beach is usually pretty nice. The main downfall, and for me, it's not even a downfall, is that it's pretty chill, not super party or anything like that. There still is fun stuff going on, but it's mostly a relaxed kind of place. So for me, it's perfect. And every person I've sent there has never even had one complaint, which is rare to find. Like, I feel like there's one complaint somewhere, but so far, truly, everyone is, like, raving about it. I took my friends there in July, and they were like, what is this place you brought us to, Heather? Like, this place is amazing. So that's my favorite resort. I have a nice. A nice list of maybe five to eight resorts that I absolutely love in Cancun. And I would put that one definitely number one.
Great. So that one is adults only, and some of our listeners do have family. So what would be, in your experience, your top all inclusive for families?
Yeah. And these questions can be hard sometimes, because I feel like there's so many other factors at play. Like, if someone just comes to me and says, heather, what's the best all inclusive resort? It's hard to give an answer because it really depends on what they're looking for. You know what I mean? I can throw out my three favorite resorts and they're going to be probably a little more expensive maybe than some people might want to spend. It's not because they're expensive that I'm saying they're my favorite. But the price does factor in because you get what you pay for. I mean really, that is really true with all inclusives. So it's hard to say what the best is because again, best is subjective. Do you want the best food? Do you want the best beach? Do you want the most to do for kids? Do you want high end? Do you want it to be super lively and party? Do you want to be close to excursions? Do you not care about any of that? You just want the cheapest place. All that being said, if you said don't even think about any of those things, just what are your favorites? I would probably have to say Hotel Ishkarat, Mexico, which is definitely a higher end resort. But it's absolutely amazing because your excursions are included so you don't have to factor any of that extra cost in, whereas you normally do. And we could talk about that hotel in a whole separate conversation, but I would put that one at the top. Next I would probably say iberostar Paraso Maya, which where we're going in June. Very excited. That's a great one for families. It prices super well. Sometimes it can be a little pricey if you are booking last minute because this hotel books up really fast. But it is a huge complex of five resorts with tons to do. Lazy river slides beach is typically pretty nice, lots of great food. So I feel like that's a good one. And then I would say most of the dreams resorts in Cancun are going to check a lot of boxes as well. There are a lot. There's like six or seven. Some are just okay and some are really awesome. So another reason of course, to use the travel agent is to figure out which one is good and which one could be skipped. So I would say the dreams overall are pretty good choice, though.
Great.
Yeah.
Thanks for sharing that. And I know that, you know, all inclusive seems like a pretty straightforward explanation just for anyone listening who may not already be aware, kind of what are things that are not included in the all inclusive? When you're thinking all inclusive, you kind of think, I won't have to spend any money at all in the resorts and that's not always the case. So in your experience what have you found? Are the extra things that people should think about when booking an all inclusive?
Yeah. And honestly, it's a great question because a lot of people do come to me really not understanding how it works and I'm always super happy to answer it. So what's not going to be included is going to be spa services and there may be discounts available at the resort or even ahead of time. But for the most part, spa services are definitely not included. Excursions are going to be extra. And again, this is kind of like not including hotel ish. Correct. Which is a whole separate beast. And you don't have to do excursions and you don't have to go to the spa. So these are things that you can do, but they are going to be extra if you want to do them. Some resorts may have a restaurant that is extra and again, you don't have to eat there, otherwise the other restaurants are included. Sometimes there's going to be different wines that are not included. Most of the time it's like a house wine that you can get as part of your all inclusive package. When you go to order wine, if you want an upgraded, really nice wine, you can ask for a wine menu, they'll bring it to you and that is going to be extra tips. So aside from sandals and beaches resorts, which are another separate kind of category, all inclusive, so at those resorts, tips are included. At pretty much every other resort you can think of, tips are not included and are expected. A lot of the workers don't make as much money as probably they should and so they really rely on tips. So it's pretty important to bring cash and most of the time, american dollars is totally fine. Just bring a lot of cash with you and plan to give it and you tip your servers well and they'll make you some good drinks. I feel like those are the main things. Transfers, which is going to be how you get from the airport to your resort, are extra, but I always include them in my quote. So when you see the quote that's already included in there. So it is extra, but I've already factored it in.
You're going to have to get to the resort, so we might as well include that in there, right?
And people always ask me like, okay, so how are we getting there? And I'm like, oh, you're good.
It's already. You're already signed up.
We're set. It's in there. And they're usually pleasantly surprised. Those are the main things. A lot of resorts do include non motorized water activities. So like kayaking or paddle boarding or hobby cats or snorkeling, those are typically included. But if you wanted to do things like jet skiing right off the beach, parasailing, which most resorts have this right off the beach, that's going to be extra. And you pretty much just sign up when you get there for an open slot. And that's obviously weather dependent, especially parasailing, which is canceled a ton because of wind. But they're sensitive, so. But those are the main things. Otherwise, all your food, all your drinks, like, you do not have to worry. You can order whatever you want at the restaurants for the most part. Sometimes there's an upcharge of lobster or something, but if you want to have like three entrees, go for it, which is pretty sweet.
So for my listeners out there, you guys know that my specialties include accessible travel cruises, Disney and Universal Orlando resort. I am not super well versed in all inclusives, and that actually is what Heather specializes in. So that's why I'm asking her all these questions. Questions. So I'm going to ask you, Heather, a question that kind of pertains a lot to my audience and kind of more along my lines of specialty, just kind of picking your brain a little bit. How is the accessibility in resorts in like, Cancun and Mexico? Do they still have braille signage? Are they open to guide dogs coming along, things like that?
It's actually a good question, and this is probably where we should partner up because I am not very well versed in that area. I will say many, if not all are going to offer, and this is not related to what you do. I know, but a lot are going to offer accessible rooms, like wheelchair accessible rooms. That's. You can pretty much find that across the board. Luckily, I know their laws in Mexico are very different from ours, so they don't necessarily have to follow ada compliance or whatever, but they still do have those rooms. In some resorts, it's like two rooms, which is not great. And so you're like going to book something and you're like, well, the two rooms they have are gone.
So. So, as I say, every single episode on this podcast, booking early is really to your advantage, guys.
Absolutely. For so many reasons. For so many reasons. And that is one of them for sure. Especially if you have a specific room type that you know you need. There's no reason to wait. There's no reason to wait. If it's booking already, get it. Um, as far as braille, that's a great question. And, you know, what? Now that you've said that, I'm gonna start really paying attention because Heather and.
I are going to a resort together in June. Uh, and maybe that's one of the things we can do, is we can just go explore and see what kind of conversations that the resorts have.
Yes. And you can kind of, you know, point me to what I should be paying attention to, because, you know, as someone who doesn't have a disability, it's. It's unfortunately not something that I pay attention to, and obviously I should because I may have clients who do. So that's. That's honestly like an eye opening kind of thing to think about, really. So thank you for that, actually. That's good guide dogs. So, for the most part, I would honestly say it's gonna be resort by resort. I don't think there's, like, a blanket thing. I can think of a couple resorts in my head that just allow dogs, generally pet dogs, and they have, like, a fee and all that stuff. I have seen some service dog like blurbs, so I'm sure that that is probably acceptable in most, but it's definitely going to be something to look into hotel by hotel, to be sure of before you're, like, telling someone, of course, you know. But I would say, as someone who does follow along a lot of all inclusive news, a lot of resorts are pretty accessible, which is good to hear. There are some even hotel ishcare, which is really activity heavy. I remember very clearly. And again, I'm speaking for kind of wheelchair accessibility because it's so obvious to see those things. Tons of ramps. It's like ramp heavy, like, there's stairs, but then there's like a million ramps there. Even the parks, the hotel, the Ishkaret parks have tons of accessible things to do. So I thought that was cool because it's such a activity heavy resort, right.
That they're making.
It includes disabilities. Want to experience those things, too. So. So that was cool. And then I recently emailed to ask about it. They insured me of, or assured me of all the accessible options that they had. So that was nice to see.
Right? That's very cool. So I know that you have been to a lot of all inclusives. When you are at an all inclusive kind of, what is. What is your favorite thing to do? Have you found any, like, special little things at any resorts that you love or anything like that?
Well, I love sitting. Sitting down is the best thing. And I have two young children, so there's not that much sitting.
That's rare. Sitting is rare too, right?
Exactly. So I do love, honestly, just chilling. I like to be at the pool and kind of see what activities are going on there. I don't love crazy, like phone parties or anything like that, but if there's like a music thing happening or even a dj, I find that really fun. I also. I actually have not done as many excursions as I've wanted to, so that's kind of going to be. I think my future goal is to, like, just do a bunch more excursions because as much as I love to sit, I also want to see the location in. So, you know, even if it's just one excursion, a trip, which to me is enough, I think that would be ideal because then you can really check off a bunch of like cool bucket list items.
Right. So another thing that I know, again, all inclusives are not my specialty. I'm. I'm learning more about them and I'm doing. Doing my research and trying to get into this area.
Yeah.
So do you have a particular time of the year that you really recommend to clients if they're very open to kind of anytime, especially. I know you do a lot of Cancun. Is there a certain time of the year for Cancun people should think about that may be better than others?
Yeah. So Cancun. And honestly, a lot of other places like Jamaica, Punta Cana, even the Bahamas to an extent, are going to be legged with seaweed in the summer. And I'm using the word plagued, even though last year they didn't get many or didn't get much. So it's going to depend on the year. It's hard to predict, but for the most part, summer season is seaweed season. So if you are someone who really wants a beautiful beach, blue water, water you can get in, you might want to avoid the summer. And that's a blanket statement, which, like I said, is hard to give because it can change year to year. Last year was a wonderful, wonderful year of seaweed. And by that I mean of no seaweed. So it was great. We kept looking and we were like, okay, when's the seaweed gonna come? Like, the pictures we saw were just gorgeous. It was really beautiful most of the time. So another reason to avoid summer is gonna be. It's super duper hot. I mean, we were in July and it was amazing. We had a great time. But man, was it hot. It was so humid. So if you're like, I can't really handle the heat, I. I may say to go a different time. January, February is also. Okay. But could be very cold in the water. So March, April, May, great. Um, October, November, also very good. September is also pretty good. So avoid summer if you don't want super hot and a lot of seaweed, and avoid dead a winter if you don't want, like, really cold pool water. Um, those are probably the best times to go. Now, all that to say, I would go anytime, none of that will stop me because it doesn't, it doesn't matter as much to me. And for some people, it always matter that much, which is great. Um, so I say you don't care about those things. Go when it makes sense. Go when it's cheaper, go when you can. Um, I also don't let hurricane season stop me because cancun knockout typically does not really get hit with hurricanes. Last year, a colleague of mine did a really cool experiment with rain, and she checked her weather app on what the rain was going to be that week, and then she checked the actual weather because she lives there and she made a chart. And pretty much all the days that said it would rain, it did not rain. It rained for like 2 seconds. So she had like, this 30 day kind of chart for July and August, and out of, I think, all the days it rained, like twice total. Wow.
Yeah.
Even though the app was showing, like, rain every day or whatever, and even those days it rained, it was like.
Barely at all, you know? Yeah.
So I bring that up to my clients who are like, oh, well, it's hurricane season. Like, I don't know. And I'm like, listen, I'm not going to let hurricane season stop me. And here's why. It's a huge, it's a huge window, June through November. I mean, that gets up a lot of, of time that you can go, so.
Especially, like, families with kids and stuff, like.
Right.
A lot of times that's when they can go. Is June and July.
Exactly. Summer. Yeah. People who are teachers, like, they can't go other times. So I'm just like, look, it's a risk. Get insurance. The chances are low that an actual hurricane is going to come.
So. And so. I know I've kind of picked your brain a lot, but I'm just going to ask a couple more questions. So when you're thinking about an all inclusive, I know that there's a million factors that go into any quote that we do, but in general, do you have, like, a base recommendation of what kind of room to get? Like, do you just recommend that, you know, the standard room is perfectly fine, you're going to be good to go, or is it really worth moving up to, like, a nicer room with maybe like a spa tub on the balcony or a swim up suite or something like that. In your experience, have you found that specialty room to really be worth the extra money?
Yeah, this is a good question, because, again, I think this is one of those things that is totally going to depend on so many factors. As a general statement, I would say that what is worth the upgrade typically is going to be an ocean view or ocean front room, in my opinion. I'm like, you're here. Don't you want to see the ocean? I feel like a garden view room is not it, at least for me. And I feel like the price difference is usually not so huge.
Right.
Um, unless you are on, like, the tightest of tight budgets, which I totally understand sometimes it's just how it is. Um, but if there's some flexibility in there, I would say the ocean view or ocean front, um, specifically, is. Is really the way to go. Because, I mean, just you wake up and you look at your balcony and, like, there's the ocean.
That's right.
That's part of it, you know, I'm sure.
And.
Yeah, exactly. The swim ups. Um, it depends. I think a tub on your patio is better than a swim up because the tub on your patio is yours and it's private. Um, and by private, I mean mostly no one's looking. Probably people are paying attention to their own lives for the most part. Um, but usually a swim up is not private at all. It's going to be attached to either a pool or, like, a full swimming lane of other swim ups. And I think people have an idea in their head that a swim up is going to be this private pool, and that does exist in some capacities, but it is not the norm. And so I find that if the swim up is a lot, a lot more, I would say save it for, like, a spa treatment or something and just get that ocean front room. Because the swim ups, like I said, for me, it's not private. Whenever I'm at resorts and I see the swim ups, almost nobody is in them, which I guess can make it private if you're the one person going in them.
Yep.
Yep. That just tells me that, you know, people probably aren't using them as much as they thought they would, which, you know, is kind of a bummer. Some people absolutely need to swim up, and that is fine. I still think they're cool. It's just important to know that they're mostly not private, so.
Right.
Privacy is not it? Yeah, yeah, definitely.
So I think my last question kind of pertains to, along the lines of, like, the food. I know that the food varies from every resort, just like it does every cruise ship and all of that, but typically, when you stay in an all inclusive, does there tend to be like, some fresh catch options, especially if you're not all inclusive near the beach, where you would be able to experience more of, like, that authentic food from the location that you are in, where it maybe doesn't feel quite as, you know, what is that word I'm looking for?
Like, mass produced? Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Something that makes it kind of elevate the food experience for anybody who might be foodie out there.
Right? Absolutely. And this is where that saying comes back, where I said, you get what you pay for. So if you're going to go to, and not just Cancun, any all inclusive destination and you are just wanting to spend the bare minimum, but in your mind, you have an idea that you are a foodie and that you want, like, amazing fresh food, like you're talking about, it's. It's not going to go hand in hand with super low budget and nice food. It's just unfortunately not because they are catering to the masses, um, especially large, large resorts. Now, if you go to the a la cartes, which is the restaurants where you can go and order and not just bay, the choices are going to be better pretty much at any resort. That's just overall true. Um, but if you are a foodie or you want those really fresh options, I would expect to pay a little bit more. My favorite resort that I mentioned earlier has really amazing food. Super good, really fresh. I'm not a huge seafood fan, but people that I was with, like, seafood and they had some really great fish options at lunch one day. The shrimp thing they got was amazing. And then. Same with, like, hotel ish. Correct. Again, it is more expensive, but the food here is truly phenomenal, really adventurous, which I am not, but plenty of options for the non adventurous. And for the most part, buffets are kind of like, eh. But the buffet at that resort is fantastic. I mean, truly, everything under the sun that you could ever want.
I've seen all of your posts that you've done from when you went and I want to go so bad.
Yeah, it's like the buffet was mind blowing. Truly. I couldn't even record it all so much. There's like a, there's like a hanging wall of like, bread and cookies. Like, I can't explain it. And there's just so good. So if you're foodie, you are going to have to spend a little bit more or you're going to have to be okay with kind of generic food is probably the best sentence that I can say to describe how that is. And food is subjective. We know there are some brands out there that are known for having really not good food, but people still come back and love those resorts. So take it with a grain of salt, but just know that when you do spend more, the chances are much higher that the food is going to be really great and you're going to have really awesome, like, fresh catch options like that and not so much at the lower. At the lower end resorts.
Perfect. Thank you for letting us know.
Yeah.
Can you think of anything that maybe people should know about all inclusive that.
I didn't ask yet? Yeah. Something that comes to mind is all inclusive versus not all inclusive. And I have a lot of people who come to me and they're like, well, I don't drink at all, and we just eat basic food. I've even had people tell me that they don't eat a lot, which can't relate, but.
Me either. Like on vacation. Exactly. I go on a cruise, I come back weighing, like, at least 510 pounds heavier on a cruise, and I have no regrets.
Right. So. So can't relate to those people, but I want to answer their question. And so they're like, I don't drink a lot. I don't eat a lot somehow, or I don't eat a lot of whatever fancy food, they're like, let's let me go to Mexico. But I just want to stay in a non all inclusive, which is called european plan. So if you ever see a hotel that says EP or european plan, that means it is not all inclusive. There's nothing included except your hotel. And to them I say, you are going to spend more money going to that EP hotel versus the all inclusive hotel because most of the time the EP hotels are very high end, super luxury, small boutique, which is awesome. I mean, it's a great choice if that's what you want. But they think they're going to be saving money and they're not. These are more expensive resorts. Again, they're high end luxury, very small, and you're paying for food, you know, bit by bit. And so a burger might literally cost $80 american. Just a cheeseburger.
Whoa.
Yeah, I know. My colleague went to one recently, a really nice one, and breakfast for her and her teenage son was $300 whoa, that is. And they just got regular stuff. Like, it wasn't even like they were like eating caviar, you know, it was like pancakes. So. So to those people, I'm always like, well, here's the deal. It's a better value to go to the all inclusive and get virgin drinks. Just get yourself a virgin, you know, margarita, a virgin daiquiri, and still imbibe in those yummy, fruity tropical drinks without alcohol. If you ever so wish, have the chance to eat whatever you want. Even if you claim you don't eat a lot, you, you can eat as much or as little as you want and it's still going to be cheaper than if you would have went to that european plan hotel because their, the all inclusive is mass producing and mass catering, whereas the EP resorts are not. They have like 80 people who are staying there or like 150 people or whatever. And so they can charge that much. And then the room alone is also going to be a lot. So if you think that you're going to be saving money by doing that, you're not. So I always like to make that clear because I think people are like, well, I don't drink a lot. Why would I go to an all inclusive? Which is a fair question. I mean, you're thinking that you're paying all this money for the drinks and you're not. And a lot of the times, all inclusives do not have to be $10,000. Absolutely not. I don't book that many $10,000 packages. You know, it can be way cheaper than that. So it's all about finding the right one.
Well, thank you so much for letting me pick your brain today. Heather.
Yes.
Can you please share how anyone listening who would like to get a hold of you can do so.
Yeah. So my email is h goen, which is spelled gowenm agent.com. I'm also on TikTok, which is where I've gotten a lot of clients. And my name on there is Heather, the travel agent. Just all one word. I post tons of videos about all inclusives and a lot of Disney cruise stuff because that's my other baby. Um, and so if you want, want to see content like that, um, definitely go follow my TikTok. And there's been some drama on there lately. So if you love drama, you know, check it out. Not drama from me. Commenters.
Oh, yeah, I have audacity.
Yeah, they have the audacity. It's fine, it's fine. We can we move on.
That's right, you can say anything from behind a little screen.
Yeah. Yeah. Well, thank you for this. Like, I'm always happy to talk about all inclusives. Whenever we get together next, we can surely dive deeper into them more and hopefully after you go in June, you will feel, you know, feel more ready to. Yeah.
Start booking those more.
Yes. That's what happened to me when I went for the first time. I, I was blindly just don't know what I'm doing and then went and I was like, oh, well, now I've physically seen it with my eyes. I know what I can do now.
Right.
It changes things when you actually go. It really does change things. So I'm sure that you will feel really confident after you go at least that one resort, which is all you need to do. I sell a handful of resorts that I love, so.
Right, right.
You know.
Well, thank you very much for coming on. I really appreciate it.
Yeah.
For anyone listening that didn't catch Heather's contact information or you need it or anything like that, you know, feel free to reach out to me. I'm happy to share her information with you if you'd like to get ahold of her. Heather is also the agent who covers me quite a bit when I travel. Thank you for that.
You're welcome. Always, always happy to.
So for any of my clients out there that are listening when I'm you gone and it's like, reach out to Heather. This is, this is her now. Now you know Heather a little bit.
I gotcha.
Well, thank you so much, Heather and I will catch all of you guys next month.
Thanks.
Thanks for listening. If you're planning a trip or are interested in my complimentary planning services, if you have any questions or suggestions for the show, please give me a call at 301 C or shoot me an email at Katie. K a t I e, white spelled just like the color@mmvagent.com. See you next time.
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