Wishes and Waves Luxury Travel

Wishes and Waves Luxury Travel Luxury travel agency specializing in unforgettable vacations.

We've been where you're going—expect insider knowledge, meticulous planning, and concierge-level attention to detail that transforms travel dreams into the extraordinary.

I've had this conversation more than once.A client has sailed the same line for years. They're loyal. They have status. ...
06/19/2026

I've had this conversation more than once.

A client has sailed the same line for years. They're loyal. They have status. They get free laundry at a certain cabin category and priority boarding and a few other perks they've worked their way up to over a decade of sailing.

And they can't imagine switching. Those perks feel too valuable to walk away from.

Here's what I gently point out: the perks you've been earning on the big lines? Most of them come standard on the small luxury lines. From day one. For everyone.

Priority embarkation. Premium drinks. Specialty dining. The kind of service that actually remembers your name and knows you take your coffee black. You don't spend years earning those things -- they're simply included in how these ships operate.

I'm not saying loyalty isn't valuable. I'm saying: before you re-book out of habit, let me show you what you could have instead. You might be surprised how little you're actually giving up -- and how much you'd be gaining.

Curious? Send me a message and let's compare your current situation side by side with what's out there.

If you've always been curious about cruising but never quite ready to commit to a full week at sea, I want to tell you a...
06/12/2026

If you've always been curious about cruising but never quite ready to commit to a full week at sea, I want to tell you about the best kept secret in travel right now.

Three and four-night river cruises.

Some of the most beautiful river cruise lines have started offering shorter sailings specifically designed for first-timers. A few nights in Burgundy. A long weekend through Provence. Enough time to fall completely in love with the experience without the pressure of a seven-night commitment.

I've started recommending these as a "taste test" for clients who are on the fence, and it works every single time. They finish the short sailing wanting more. They come home and immediately ask when we can book the longer itinerary.

The best part? You can pair it with a land experience. Finish your three nights on the river in Provence and then spend a few days in the South of France or Monaco. You get the best of both worlds.

Cruising has a funny way of converting skeptics. And a short river cruise is the gentlest, most beautiful introduction there is.

Have you ever tried river cruising? I'd love to hear your thoughts below.

Someone said to me recently that river cruising was "for old people."I smiled and pulled up a photo of a couple in their...
06/12/2026

Someone said to me recently that river cruising was "for old people."

I smiled and pulled up a photo of a couple in their late 30s celebrating their 40th birthday on an Antarctica expedition. And another of a family of four, kids included, sailing around the Croatian islands on a yacht with 40 guests. And another of a group of women in their early 40s on a Mediterranean small-ship sailing who described it as the best girls trip they'd ever taken.

The age range on today's small luxury ships skews 40 to 60. Some lines are entirely adults-only with a more social, vibrant atmosphere (Virgin Voyages, for example, is 18+ and leans into fun in a very intentional way). Others welcome multigenerational families with grandparents and grandchildren on the same sailing.

The idea that cruising is a passive, older-traveler experience is simply outdated. Today's luxury sailing is active, immersive, and genuinely exciting. You can dive in Indonesia one day and watch whales off the coast of Antarctica the next.

When Final Jeopardy stumps all three contestants but your travel advisor already has the answer.The clue: the world's no...
06/11/2026

When Final Jeopardy stumps all three contestants but your travel advisor already has the answer.

The clue: the world's northernmost town, where most flights connect through one national capital. The answer is Oslo. I know because I've been there! I flew through Oslo to reach Longyearbyen, Svalbard, for an unforgettable Arctic and Norwegian cruise with Hurtigruten. Standing at 78 degrees north, surrounded by Arctic light and nothing but open sea and tundra, remains one of the top five trips I have ever taken.

This is the heart of how I work. I don't sell destinations from a brochure. I go, I experience them, and I come back able to tell you exactly what the journey is like, from the flight connections to the moments that make it unforgettable. When you travel with me, you're working with someone who has been there.

When Final Jeopardy stumps all three contestants, but your travel advisor already has the answer. Anywhere you've been dreaming about, I would love to help you make it real.

A client came to me recently with what she thought was impossible. She wanted to cruise the Greek Islands. She wanted lu...
06/10/2026

A client came to me recently with what she thought was impossible.

She wanted to cruise the Greek Islands. She wanted luxury. Exceptional food, intimate atmosphere, nothing like the big-ship experience she'd had before. She also had a three-year-old.

"Is there even a ship that does both?"

There is. And finding it is exactly what I do.

The smaller luxury lines aren't marketed as kid-focused ships, but many of them genuinely welcome families. Dedicated kids' spaces. Babysitting services. Staff who will happily help with children's meals and never make you feel like your toddler is an inconvenience. And because these ships call on a different port every single day, your child gets to run around, explore, burn energy, and then you all come back to a beautiful ship and a dinner where someone else does the dishes.

She booked the smaller ship.

If you've been holding back on a luxury cruise because you have little ones, let's talk. There are more options than you think.

Here's something nobody talks about when comparing cruise ships: where you actually end up.On a large ship, you might do...
06/10/2026

Here's something nobody talks about when comparing cruise ships: where you actually end up.

On a large ship, you might dock two miles outside of town and spend an hour on a coach just to get to the port village. Your time in destination is limited. Your excursion choices are crowded group tours because that's what works logistically for 5,000 people.

On a smaller ship? You dock right inside the harbor. You walk off and you're already there. Some itineraries have overnight stays, letting you stay for a local dinner, wander the evening markets, and come back when you're ready. I once had an overnight in Ibiza on a small ship and went out for the night -- and came back to my suite when I was done. That's just not possible on a larger vessel.

The smaller the ship, the better the ports. That's not marketing. That's just how it works. You get to places the big ships can't go. You get more time when you arrive. You get a private car and a curated experience instead of a bus and a headset.

The itinerary itself becomes something worth talking about.

Want to know what's actually possible? Send me a message and let's build something worth coming home and telling everyone about.

Most families book a resort without ever asking: what am I actually getting for this?I'll tell you what you're NOT getti...
06/09/2026

Most families book a resort without ever asking: what am I actually getting for this?

I'll tell you what you're NOT getting at a land resort: the ability to fall asleep off the coast of St. Thomas and wake up in St. Kitts. Broadway-caliber shows. A FlowRider. Complimentary world-class dining. And the freedom to unpack once while your backdrop changes every single day.

Here's what surprises most of my clients when we start comparing cruise vs. resort options: the cruise often wins on value, hands down. Not just on price, but on experience per dollar.

Think about it. At a typical resort, you pay extra for dining, transfers, entertainment, and excursions. On many cruise ships, most of that is already included, and the ship itself IS the destination.

I've helped hundreds of families make this exact comparison, and the ones who choose to cruise almost always tell me the same thing afterward: we had no idea it would be like this.

If you've been defaulting to resorts because cruising feels unfamiliar, let's change that. Drop CRUISE in the comments and I'll reach out to walk you through exactly what your family could be looking at.

You know that feeling when you finally make it to Santorini, and then you spend half the day fighting crowds, hunting fo...
06/07/2026

You know that feeling when you finally make it to Santorini, and then you spend half the day fighting crowds, hunting for a beach chair, and trying to figure out transportation between the towns?

That part just got so much easier.

Royal Caribbean has opened Europe's very first Royal Beach Club, and it's right on Santorini. It's tucked along a secluded stretch of volcanic black sand beach with endless Aegean Sea views, and everything is already handled for you.

Transportation, a shaded lounger with your name on it, unlimited Greek favorites fresh off the buffet, beer and house wine, a live DJ, private changing cabanas, even the frozen yogurt machine. You just show up and soak it in.

And it pairs with a three-stop day that takes you to the blue domes of Oia and the cliffside cafes of Fira, so you still get those iconic Santorini moments without the logistics headache.

This is exactly the kind of thing I love finding for my families. The magic of Santorini, none of the guesswork.

If a Greek Isles cruise is on your dream list, let's chat and I'll send you the sailings that stop here.

Let me show you some math that might change how you look at cruise pricing.You find a cruise for $3,000 per person. Soun...
06/06/2026

Let me show you some math that might change how you look at cruise pricing.

You find a cruise for $3,000 per person. Sounds reasonable. But then you add:

$17.50 per person, per day in mandatory gratuities. Wi-Fi. Specialty dining. That cocktail at the pool bar. Your daughter's $25 kids meal that she took two bites of.

The shore excursion you had to book because the "included" ones were already full.

By the end of the week, you've spent $2,000 more than you planned AND you tracked every single charge on an app that kept pinging you every time you swiped.

That is not a vacation. That is a spreadsheet with a sunset view.

Now let me show you a different way. A small-ship, all-inclusive sailing at $5,500 per person. It looks more expensive on paper. But specialty dining? Included.

Premium cocktails? Included. Wi-Fi, gratuities, excursions on some lines? Included.

And you walk off the ship at the end without a bill waiting for you.

Same destination. Completely different experience. And when you do the real math? Often closer in price than you'd ever expect.

This is the conversation I have with my clients before they book, not after. Want me to run the numbers for your trip? Drop a comment below or send me a message and let's talk.

You've spent six days in Europe. You've dragged your suitcase up three flights of stairs in Florence, repacked at midnig...
06/05/2026

You've spent six days in Europe. You've dragged your suitcase up three flights of stairs in Florence, repacked at midnight in Rome, hauled everything onto a train to the Amalfi Coast, and spent two hours of your vacation trying to figure out the Italian highway system.

Sound familiar?

Here's what the same trip looks like on a small luxury cruise ship:

You unpack once. Your floating hotel moves while you sleep. You wake up in a different country. You walk off into a sun-drenched coastal village, spend the day exactly how you want, and walk back to your suite for a pre-dinner cocktail on your private balcony.

No train strikes. No wrong turns. No checking in and out. No hauling luggage.
Just the places. The food. The people. The moments.

I booked myself on a similar experience and I still think about it regularly. The commute between destinations on a small ship isn't dead time -- it IS the experience. You're sitting in a hot tub with a glass of something cold, watching the coastline fade behind you. That's not a transfer. That's part of the trip.

Which would you choose? Tell me in the comments.

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1151 W Milham #2271
Portage, MI
49024

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