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.

Most cities forgive a fuzzy plan. Venice does not.There are no cars. No quick Uber when you're running late. No straight...
09/14/2026

Most cities forgive a fuzzy plan. Venice does not.

There are no cars. No quick Uber when you're running late. No straight line between two points, because every route bends around a canal. Most people arrive assuming a city is a city and this one will work like all the others they've visited. It won't, and Venice has a way of billing you for that assumption, in hours, in euros, and in the slow leak of the magic you came for in the first place.

It shows up in small ways nobody warns you about. The water taxi you didn't budget for. The bridge your suitcase has to climb with no elevator in sight. The hotel that looked perfectly central online and turns out to be on the mainland, a boat ride away from everything you pictured. The dinner you settle for because you're too tired to keep wandering and looking for something better.

None of that is on the list of famous sights. All of it is what actually shapes how the trip feels.

Here's what I'm asking before I book a single thing: what you're picturing, and why Venice at all. How much luggage your group is hauling, and whether arriving by boat right to your door actually matters to you. The bridges, and how they'll work for everyone's mobility, not just the strongest walker in the group. Whether you want a neighborhood feel or to be in the center of it all. The water-taxi cost almost nobody budgets for. How much planning you want your meals to take, and whether you'd rather have a plan each day or just wander. How deep your love of art and music runs, since that changes everything about where you stay. Whether you want the big, famous sights or a quieter, local Venice where the best experiences are the ones you have to know to book. And if you're traveling during acqua alta season, there's one more question I always ask.

That's the difference between visiting Venice and actually experiencing it. My job is figuring out who you are before you ever step off the boat, so the city meets you as yourself.

Thinking about Italy for your next trip? Drop a comment and let me know what's pulling you there, I'd love to help you plan a Venice that actually feels like yours.

One thing people don't realize about Disney Cruise Line: there's a sailing for almost every kind of trip you could dream...
09/12/2026

One thing people don't realize about Disney Cruise Line: there's a sailing for almost every kind of trip you could dream up.

Want sunshine and beaches? Caribbean and Bahamas sailings out of Florida, visiting Disney's private islands. Want a bucket-list moment? Two ships are in Alaska this year, cruising past glaciers and wildlife. Want Europe? The Mediterranean and Northern Europe are on the map too.

And then there are the themed sailings, which are pure magic. Halloween on the High Seas in the fall, with costume parties and trick-or-treating onboard. Very Merrytime holiday cruises in November and December. Marvel Day at Sea for the superhero fans.

The hard part isn't whether there's a perfect Disney cruise for your family. It's narrowing down which one. That's exactly what I help with.

Everything is laid out in my Disney Cruise Line guide, every destination and special sailing. Comment GUIDE and I'll send it your way.

Switzerland has a reputation for being expensive and a little formal. What people don't expect is how warm it actually f...
08/19/2026

Switzerland has a reputation for being expensive and a little formal. What people don't expect is how warm it actually feels once you're there.

It's a country where chocolate is still a craft, not an industry. Where you can stand in an alpine dairy and watch Gruyère AOP made the same way it has been for generations, then sit down to fondue prepared by someone whose family has been making it their whole life.

It's cobblestone streets in medieval hilltop villages, castle ramparts looking out over pastures so green they seem unreal, and trains that treat the scenery as the entire point. On the GoldenPass Panoramic, the windows are so large the mountains feel like they're in the seat next to you.

And here is the thing that surprises my families most: Switzerland is genuinely easy. The trains run on time. The distances are short. You can be in a city in the morning, in the Alps by lunch, and back for dinner without anyone melting down.

What it isn't is obvious. Which valley, which village, which season, which rail pass, and which order you do it all in makes the difference between a good trip and one your kids talk about for twenty years.

Sorting that out is the part I love.

Curious about Switzerland? Comment SWISS and let's talk about what yours could look like.

Every corner of Greece tells a story. Wine on a seaside terrace in Paros. A hidden beach in Crete that isn't on any map ...
08/18/2026

Every corner of Greece tells a story. Wine on a seaside terrace in Paros. A hidden beach in Crete that isn't on any map worth sharing. A village square that hasn't changed in a hundred years, still humming with the same easy rhythm every evening.

The hard part isn't finding a story worth telling. It's knowing which island fits the story you actually want, and how to string the right ones together without losing days to inconvenient ferries or overbooked towns.

That's where I come in. Let's find your perfect island escape.

Drop GREECE in the comments and I'll send you my Greece planning guide to get started.

Everyone books Lake Como for the villas.The pastel facades stacked along the water, the ferry ride between Bellagio and ...
08/18/2026

Everyone books Lake Como for the villas.

The pastel facades stacked along the water, the ferry ride between Bellagio and Varenna, the aperitivo with the mountains going gold behind you. All of it earns the hype.

But here is what most itineraries skip: Como has been one of Europe's great silk capitals for centuries. The fabric behind some of the world's most recognizable fashion houses started right here, on looms in this city, made by families who have been doing it for generations.

You can actually go see it.

There is a Silk Museum where the historic machinery still sits, telling the story of how one industry shaped an entire city. And then there is the Antonio Ratti Foundation, which holds a textile archive most people never hear about: rare fabrics, historic garments, velvets, centuries of design work in one collection.

If your idea of a good day includes a glass of something local, there is a version that pairs the silk history with an afternoon in the hills of Brianza. A boutique winery, a guided tasting, a long traditional lunch. The kind of afternoon you are still talking about in December.

This is the difference between seeing Lake Como and understanding it.

Most travelers get the ferry, the photos, and the gelato. That is a lovely trip. But when you know what else is there, and you know who to call to arrange it, the whole thing shifts into something your family will actually remember in detail years from now.

That is the part I handle. You get the trip. I get the logistics, the reservations, the timing, and the local contacts.

Planning Italy in the next year or two? Comment ITALY and I will send you what I would build for you.

She came to me with one clear goal and a whole lot of question marks.She wanted to give her son, her daughter in law, an...
08/16/2026

She came to me with one clear goal and a whole lot of question marks.

She wanted to give her son, her daughter in law, and her 6 year old granddaughter something none of them would forget. A trip where nobody had to plan a thing except what to pack. But somewhere between four ships, multiple private islands, and a hundred cabin categories, she was ready to give up before she'd even started.

So we talked it through. Which ship actually fits a 6 year old and three adults who also want to relax. Why Castaway Cay and Lookout Cay are worth building an itinerary around instead of treating as filler days. And where the connecting staterooms are, so Grandma is one door away from her granddaughter at bedtime and still has her own quiet corner at the end of the night.

Now they're sailing the Disney Dream out of Fort Lauderdale, with a day on each of Disney's private islands, one sea day in the middle for doing absolutely nothing, and not a single decision left to make.

That's the part people miss about Disney at sea. The magic is real. So is the overwhelm. My job is to take the second one off your plate so you get to enjoy the first.

If a Disney cruise has been sitting on your list and you have no idea where to start, comment DISNEY and I'll send you my Disney Cruise Line guide. It walks through the ships, the itineraries, and both private islands in plain language.

I want to tell you about a bar I visited at sea.Every bar on the ship had its own cocktail menu. Each one different. The...
08/15/2026

I want to tell you about a bar I visited at sea.

Every bar on the ship had its own cocktail menu. Each one different. The bartenders were making cocktails with house-crafted syrups and ingredients so carefully chosen it felt like stepping into a private speakeasy in New York City. They were finishing drinks with handmade foam, edible flowers, smoke. And there was no bill at the end.

That was my experience on a small luxury ship, and it genuinely surprised me. Because I didn't expect the beverage program to be that exceptional. I didn't expect to feel that level of care and intention in every single detail.

That's what separates small-ship luxury from everything else. It's not just the suite (though the suites are stunning -- marble bathrooms, daybeds on private balconies, some with soaking tubs overlooking the sea). It's the fact that every single touchpoint has been considered. The chef sources ingredients from the market in port that morning. The wine list reflects the region you're sailing through.

The entertainment features local artists. You're not just floating past a destination.

You're immersed in it.

This is the version of cruising most people don't know exists. I'd love to change that.

What would a trip like this mean to you and your family? Tell me below.

Portugal has a way of sneaking up on people. They expect charm, and they get that, tiled alleyways that beg to be photog...
08/15/2026

Portugal has a way of sneaking up on people. They expect charm, and they get that, tiled alleyways that beg to be photographed, ocean breezes rolling through every coastal town, pastéis de nata that genuinely ruin every other pastry for you afterward. But what catches most travelers off guard is how much range this country has packed into one small footprint.

Wine country in the Douro Valley feels like stepping into a different world entirely, terraced vineyards cascading down toward the river, quiet and golden and completely unhurried. Head south to the Algarve and you're in an entirely different Portugal, dramatic cliffs, hidden coves, and beach days that feel like a secret the rest of Europe hasn't caught onto yet.

That contrast is exactly why Portugal has become one of my favorite countries to plan. It rewards travelers who want more than one kind of day.

If Portugal has been quietly calling your name, let's start building your trip. Drop PORTUGAL in the comments and I'll send you my planning guide.

There is a moment every travel advisor lives for: when a couple becomes family.I booked this couple a multigenerational ...
08/14/2026

There is a moment every travel advisor lives for: when a couple becomes family.

I booked this couple a multigenerational cruise with their kids and grandkids last December. Then their own trip to Rome in May. This time I just confirmed their biggest adventure yet: ten days sailing from Copenhagen through the Norwegian fjords and into Iceland, with both daughters, both sons in law, all four grandkids, and even a set of in-laws joining the fun.

Fifteen family members. One incredible ship. Fjords, glaciers, and Icelandic hot springs waiting on the other side.

This is the kind of trip grandkids will be telling stories about for decades. Waking up to a new fjord out the window. Deck views of Norway's coastline. Everyone together for ten days without a single logistics headache landing on Grandma and Grandpa's plate.

Getting fifteen people on one trip, happy, comfortable, and stress free, takes real planning. That is exactly where I come in.

If your family has been dreaming about a trip like this, comment FAMILY and let's talk about what it could look like for yours.

Step into a world of gods and legends, then stay for the luxury villas, private transfers, and handpicked experiences th...
08/13/2026

Step into a world of gods and legends, then stay for the luxury villas, private transfers, and handpicked experiences that make a trip feel effortless. Greece has this rare gift of blending ancient wonder with modern indulgence, and getting that balance right takes more than a guidebook. It takes knowing which villa has the view worth the splurge, which driver actually shows up on time, and which experiences are worth building a whole day around.

That's the kind of planning I do. Not just where to go, but how to make every piece of the trip feel like it was made for you.

Ready to start? Drop GREECE in the comments and I'll send you my planning guide.

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