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Top to bottom:
Costco members Kimberly
Reynolds and Paul Basich
parasailing and relaxing in
Maui. At left, a photo of Maui’s
scenic Kaanapali Beach.
©TOMÁSDELAMO/VEER
we saved $5,000 over the other tour com-
pany—incredible!”
Costco Travel booked everything from
the airline to hotel rooms and transfers in
each city. “We were treated so well at every
turn,” Fotek says. “At each hotel we had a
beautiful room, with breakfast and Wi-Fi
included as an extra perk, which provided
another great savings. In addition, there was
always a special gift, such as a voucher for
dinner, and in Venice, Costco Travel arranged
for a private boat transfer to a Murano glass
factory. We felt so
pampered by every-
thing they did for us;
it was really a luxuri-
ous experience all around.”
Their enthusiasm for Costco
Travel transferred to Fotek’s daugh-
ter and her fiancé. “After the incred-
ible trip we had, they booked a Caribbean
honeymoon through Costco Travel, and also
saved thousands of dollars over other options
they had been considering. In fact, they are
enjoying St. Lucia as we speak,” Fotek says.
“Costco just provides amazing value and
really consistent service. I’ll never book with
anyone else going forward, and I feel I am now
an ambassador for Costco Travel!”
Cruising the world
Cruising is a passion for Lillie Braudy and
Rick Pratt of Berkeley, California, and they’ve
booked a variety of cruises in the past using
both travel agencies and online websites. Their
most recent voyage was a long one, from Hawaii
to Australia, and they wanted to be sure they
got the best cruise at the best value—exactly the
Costco way!
Braudy explains, “We searched online first
and compared prices, and then thought,
‘Costco has a travel service; let’s check it out,’
and, boy, were we surprised.” The reservations
agent provided options and immediately
quoted a $500 credit toward the cost of the
cruise they wanted.
“The [other travel services] had only
offered $150, so this was a great savings on
the overall price,” says Braudy. “The agent
booked us right then and kept in touch over the
months prior to the cruise to see if there was
anything we needed.”
Braudy stresses that customer service is
an important factor in planning a vacation:
“We’ve booked a lot of cruises over the
years, and this was the most simple and
uncomplicated process we’ve ever experi-
enced. In fact, we’ve already booked our
next cruise through them. I would abso-
lutely recommend Costco Travel to others
as an easy resource with the best pricing I’ve
found anywhere.”
Glorious vacation packages
Kimberly Reynolds and Paul Basich of
Chicago had been looking into a long weekend
in Florida when they called Costco Travel. “We
found that for the same price we could go to
Maui for an entire week with one of their great
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© NFSPHOTO / SHUTTERSTOCK
