Tak & Yuriko N.
Tahitian Cruise

Hi Joni

We had a great time. Weather was fine, hot and humid, 2 squalls but we did not get wet.
At Hiva Oa, it was fine but with the swell we could not land, missed a visit to Gauguin's grave.
Princess' service was good and well organized, we could stay on the ship until plane left.
Mail you when my pictures are ready.

Thank you very much for your help.

Tak & Yuriko N.

Tamara, Kim & Rashaan W.
Maui, Big Island Holiday

Hi Joni

Thanks for the 'Welcome Home' email. And THANK YOU for the delicious caramel corn. That was so nice of you. My son tried to consume it as a 'pre-breakfast' treat upon seeing the container; however, I stopped that as quickly as possible. When you're 6, you'll do anything for sugar....

We had a wonderful time!! Maui was absolutely beautiful. The weather was outstanding. The Hyatt was great. We also checked out the Marriot Luau. One of my uncles and his wife told me to go there, and it was pretty cool. Not too cheesy, yet entertaining. The lead guy was quite the comedian. My son really enjoyed himself. Hard to hold a 6 year old's attention, but the show was very entertaining from beginning to end. All in all, everything went very smooth. No problems with any of the travel details. We had a slight delay with Island Air (delayed 2 times, ...about 2 1/2 hrs later...), but I guess that's to be expected with smaller airlines. Hey, at least we got to Hilo.

Thanks for all of your help. I have already recommended you to several people. I will definitely contact you for our future travel needs. We may be traveling to Hilo quite a bit, as we put a bid in for some land. Exciting!!

I'm sorry we couldn't meet, but I'm sure glad your knee is feeling better!

Take Care,
Tamara, Kim & Rashaan W.

Naomi & Matt S.
Fiji Honeymoon

Bula Joni,

I apologize for taking such a long time to respond to your email. We had a fantastic time in Fiji. Qamea was particularly wonderful-rustic, authentic, beautiful, and communal. Staff members were incredibly friendly and always very accommodating. Namale was spectacular and definitely more upscale. Our bure was so elegant and we had a private deck overlooking the ocean that was phenomenal. We appreciated the remoteness and feel of Qamea over Namale, however, so we were delighted to have been there longer. I would certainly recommend Qamea to anyone traveling to that area of the world.

Thanks again for arranging this remarkable trip. It was incredibly unique and one we will remember always. We're both grateful to you.

All the best,

Naomi & Matt S.

Michelle & Scott L.
Four Seasons Maui Wedding

Joni,

The Four Seasons Maui and your recommendations for the other island resorts we visited were wonderful. The Four Seasons Maui is impeccable, as we also enjoyed the Halekulani on Oahu and the Hyatt at Poipu on Kauai.

Thank you so much for your attention to detail, your availability every step of the way planning our honeymoon and assisting our guests. Your surprise gifts to us and our guests were extra special touches, and I can't rave enough about you. Even through the most stressful times I endured, you always kept your calm and made sure we were taken care of. You went above and beyond for us, going to the Four Seasons to take pictures of the construction before we got there for the wedding so we would be prepared, calling around to local stores to help me find items for gift baskets, giving us the scoop on where to shop, eat, etc.-all in such great detail as well!

You really are a true, experienced travel agent that doesn't just book trips, but travels to and knows the areas and resorts in which you book your clients and you become a trusted friend. It is with the utmost gratitude we write this in appreciation for everything you did to help make our honeymoon dreams come true for us and our guests.

Warmest Aloha,
Michelle & Scott L.

Robert & Veronica H.
Fiji Honeymoon

Bula Joni!

The Trip was Excellent. We were so pleased. I did make a mistake on the money exchange place, but oh well. We had a wonderful time, it was the perfect length too, we were starting to miss Burgers, Movies and the like. LOL But I can't tell you how happy I am, that I decided to use you as a travel agent. Maravu was great, the staff were so friendly, and our place was beautiful, along with excellent food. A couple times we had fresh fish for lunch which was caught that morning, it was wonderful. I will try to write some more quotable lines for you later, because I was so pleased with the arrangements you made for us.

Thanks so much for all your help, on our wonderful vacation.

Robert & Veronica H.

BettyLou & John M.
Fiji Wedding & Honeymoon

Joni,

Thanks for your message. We enjoyed our trip but came home early because John was ill. He had emergency surgery a week ago and is now doing well. Thanks for your suggestion re: travel insurance as we plan to submit a plan for the costs associated with canceling the Auckland portion of our return trip.

Lomalagi was marvelous. We also liked Crusoe's (especially with the dive operation right at the resort). Found the a la carte food at Crusoe's better than the meal plan. Didn't get to surf due to illness.

More later.
BettyLou & John M.

Angela & Mom
Group Wedding Maui

Aloha Joni!!!

AHHHHH How I miss the sunsets!!! I wish I was still in Hawaii!!! UGH!!!

How did you know I was going to write to you today! We just got back yesterday and I am having withdraws already!! THANK YOU SOOO much for the Chocolate/Toffee covered Macadamia Nuts - THEY WERE YUMMY!!! Michele did not have any because she does not like nuts, so obviously you can see why I have returned home to Chicago 10 lbs heavier!! UGH!!! (I don't think the wonderful buffets helped any either!!) Also, Michele and Lou were gracious enough to share their wine - which from what I could remember was pretty Yummy as well!!!

We had a WONDERFUL time!! Great condo, great company and great shopping!!! Ask the Michelle's I shopped 'til I dropped!!!!
Michelle made a BEAUTUFUL BRIDE!! Thanks again for all your help and patience with me/us. YOU were wonderful!!! My hips also are thanking you!!

Aloha & Much LOVE,
Angela S.

Kisha and Russell M.
Fiji Honeymoon

BULA Joni!

Fiji was SO incredible! We loved every single thing about it - especially the people. Our only thought was that we wished we'd stayed longer. We LOVED the Hideaway and vowed there to definitely return. One of the Fijian employees said it is the place where "you come as a guest and leave as a friend" and it's so true! It is an expensive flight from the states but please let us know if there are ever special packages that you have. Otherwise, we'll start saving and let you know when we are ready to go back!

We packed so much into our honeymoon and felt we really got to experience Viti Levu. Our favorite things were meeting kind, loving people, learning about the Fijian history and culture, village visits (we even got invited and went to church service) and Natadola Beach - SO GORGEOUS! We also went to Suva and enjoyed the beautiful ride and seeing the "city life" in Fiji. We had a great time horseback riding, hiking, snorkeling, dancing and just relaxing! WOW!!!!

Thanks for EVERYTHING - you were great. I will surely pass your name on to others planning tropical holidays!

VINAKA!

Kisha and Russell M.

Thanks for the nice email Joni. We had a great time. Road to Hana was an adventure, but worth it, was so pretty there. Thanks for everything, and I’ll be sure and let anyone I know interested in going to Hawaii to give you a ring!......

Thanks again!! Ted & Nina T.

Bob & Annita T. with Mom
Family Holiday Big Island

Hello Joni,

Annita and I have very mixed feelings about the Kona Village Resort. There were entirely too many people there, especially kids. We are not used to that I guess, having gone to small, adult’s only resorts for the past five years really spoiled us.

On the positive side the food was excellent and the service was great. There is a lot to do on the big island and my Mom did everything we did including a helicopter ride over the volcano, a Hum V ride in the back country, the glass bottom boat ride, the sunset sail and the luau.

Thanks again,
Bob & Annita T.

Sara & Jerry A.
Wedding on Maui

Hi Joni!
Got home yesterday. Thank you so much for all your help, as well as the Champagne, and extra treats at the Kea Lani. The day went perfectly; the Kea Lani was a great recommendation. I just loved it there, especially the swim up bar. Capische was amazing as well. Thanks for all your help with our guests! We will definitely be in touch when we plan our next trip to Hawaii, or elsewhere. You're the greatest!

Sara & Jerry A.

Claudia & Kevin
Jamaica Vacation

Hi Joni,

First of I would like to thank you so much for all your help in making the process of planning a trip for two very difficult people so enjoyable. We loved the hotel and all about Jamaica. Our only complaint was to Mother Nature who decided to give us 3 stormy days. That was okay because we still did activities in the rain. We decided to do river tubing in the rain and it was a blast. We even had an actress with us, her name is Rena Sofer. We also saw Trista and Ryan from the Bachelorette at the airport. So all in all we came back tan and with a couple extra pounds but very content. I hope you had a great time during your vacation. I am enclosing a picture from the Canopy Tour we took.

Again thanks so much.

Warmest regards,
Claudia & Kevin

Stephen D.& Ed F.
Maui Holiday

Aloha Joni:

I got your message about the changes, congratulations on your new business venture. I have already given your name and contact info to a couple of friends.

We had a great time. The condo was great and had a fantastic view. We never did use the pools but they were very nice and mostly private as not too many other people appeared to be using them. Our only problem was with > the rental car. The SUV just didn't suit us right. We went back and changed it to a Lincoln Town Car. Much more comfortable and to my liking. I don't know why I thought I should get a SUV in the first place. Oh well, live and learn.

We a lot of time at the beach. Also went to Makawao a couple of times. I love Sheri Reeves' gallery there and spent way too much money.

Can't wait to return to Maui. Probably not next year but the year after. We're thinking about a three week getaway. Most likely the first week in the Kona Kailua area and then two weeks on Maui. I'll be sure to look you up when we get ready to make plans.

Mahalo!
Stephen D.& Ed F.

Bob & Annita T.
Cook Islands - Aitutaki

Joni -

We just returned home from a week at the Aitutaki Lagoon Resort and Spa (formerly the Aitutaki Pearl Beach Resort). With the recent change in ownership the resort is in a bit of a state of flux. The resort is situated in an ideal location on what has to be one of the most beautiful lagoons in the world. We stayed in one of the five beachfront suites and considered these to be the best rooms at the resort. Mosquitoes were a bit of a problem and surprisingly there were no mosquito nets on the beds.

The six hour lagoon cruise, which includes a stop at One Foot Island, is not to be missed. A combination bar and post office is on One Foot Island. They will even stamp your passport there with a One Foot Island stamp. The food served at the resort was fantastic and the main courses consisted primarily of fish, chicken and beef.

Things to do on the island include the lagoon cruise, visits to the small town, a guided "pub crawl" to the four local bars on Saturday night, snorkeling, paddle boating, hiking, climbing the highest hill on the island for a great view of the lagoon, fishing, watching local dancing (both of our shows at the resort were cancelled) and just relaxing. Very little is available in the small shops on Aitutaki and most souvenir shopping needs to be done on Rarotonga. The island totally shuts down on Sundays. Most of the resort guests were from New Zealand and Europe along with a sprinkling of Americans. The sky is extremely dark and the nightly views of the Milky Way and of course the Southern Cross were spectacular. Air Rarotonga is the local airline used to get to Aitutaki from Rarotonga as is very well run by the New Zealanders.

Cheers,
Bob & Annita T.

Laura & Nico
New Zealand Vacation Adventure

Aloha Joni -

Finally got around to checking the email.....we are in Wanaka at the moment on our way to Milford Sound area....Sydney was FABULOUS!

Anyhoo, so far Milford Sound got the big thumb's up from the entire crew, we stayed at a lovely Motel in Te Anau whose proprietor found us a lovely motel in Queenstown, so all was mighty well! Both places were 1 or 2 bedroom with full kitchen and right on the lake! wheeee
Queenstown was fun, Wanaka was beautiful and Arrowtown had the best pies we have tasted.

Thanks for the tips about Nelson, Nico loves the Little Manor the best, and we are just in awe.

Well, we made it out of the Marlborough Sound with some wits about us! What a mind blowing nature overload! We found this incredible resort place on a secluded bay and WOWOWOWOWOWOWOW!

We took the Lynx over to Welly today, (a day early,) and we are now overfed and over stimulated after the Lord of the Rings exhibit at Te Papa.....
All is well and the troops are happy!

We are in Auckland and the hotel is oh so very chic and cool, we were like the Clampett's blowing in with our growing number of bags and the bags under our eyes from overdosing on Mother Nature.....wheeeee!

We ended up spending two nights in Taupo, which was awesome, mom actually got on a jet boat into the Huka Falls! Then we breezed through Rotorua, stayed at an awesome place called the Regal Palms, very luxurious and cheap, went to the Maori Luau and took off to Coromandel town where we just spend two days in an awesome hippie cottage in a place that looked and smelled alot like Haiku.

The last week has seen many many hot springs and hot pools as well....ahhhhhh

Now we are underdressed and over-touristed in Auckland and loving our marble palace with lots of skinny model teens in the lobby and lots of chic folks on the sidewalk.....Oh I can't wait for the haute couture of KIHEI. No shoes for me!

Yeah! We're Home! NZ was great, we were channel surfing last night and came upon a story about Hawaii canoe racing in New Zealand and they were touring around and talking to Maori, and we got all bleary eyed about it.....

It's hard to take it all in while you are there! The METROPOLITAN in Auckland ROCKED!


Thanks! Really, I mean it. Aloha and Mahalo nui loa,
Laura & Nico

Edward & Hiromi N.
Wedding in Tahiti

Hi, Joni!

Okay. Got some time to write this from the office.

In general, we (just referring to me and Hiromi) had a good time, and the beauty of the French Polynesia was up to our expectation and more. We were a little disappointed with Tahiti/Papeete and the service/attitude at the Sheraton. I didn't realize how urban Papeete was ... not really a resort area. We were upgraded to a suite at the Sheraton Tahiti on the first leg, which was great, but promises of meal vouchers didn't come, and I had to pick them up every morning with the morning rush checking in and out. The people in the dining area were just plain rude at times, but the people at the front desk were quite pleasant, and housekeeping and room service also were prompt. The rooms themselves were okay with the exception of a broken air conditioner for the room on our last leg (they never did get it fixed once it was reported), although we can't complain since they let us stay in our room until our pick up at 23:00 to take us to the airport. Food was standard although the dinner show was cancelled that week while we were there ... we ended up going to the Beachcomber and seeing the show there ... fantastic!

Bora Bora and Nui was unbelievable. It truly was heaven and then some. It was a perfect place to have a wedding ceremony ... but but but ... it rained the whole day of our wedding, and just our luck it was perfectly fine the day before, and day after. They let us do the ceremony in the gazebo-type area on the docks of the overwater bungalows in front of the beach bungalows (we were all accommodated pretty much together, so that was very convenient), prepared a beautiful bouquet and boutonniere, lined the gazebo with coconut leaves, and had chairs for us. The problem was that we asked for a non-Polynesian style ceremony with little speaking since Hiromi doesn't speak English, and we got a Polynesian minister in his traditional garb with his musical accompaniment with lots of repeating after him in English ... Hiromi was devastated. It would have been a perfect wedding if that was what we were looking for, and looking back it was quite nice, but it was a bit of a shock to us both while we were going through it ... we're too shocked to look at the video footage since I'm laughing in disbelief at the scene in front of me at times, and Hiromi with a calm face hiding behind her shock. The photographer was great, and took some nice pictures for us ... we couldn't take any pictures on the beach since it was pouring (we did that after with just ourselves the next day since it was absolutely gorgeous). The dinner was not so good ... we had lobster, but it probably wasn't too fresh (we were pretty disaspointed with this). We were supposed to have the dinner in the small gazebo by the beach, but due to the weather we had private dining in the main dining hall (they had their dinner show that night, and all the guests were all in the beach dining area that evening). The Japanese staff, Sakiko and Terumi (I think was her name), were quite helpful, and made things easier for the group. I couldn't believe how many Japanese guests were there. The check out was a disaster especially sorting out the room charges for the meals for 11 guests in 5 rooms. I spent 1 hour with the front desk staff sorting it out ... the amounts seemed okay (I gave up, and took their word for what was on the bills), but I had to hassle them on the prepaid meals and vouchers ... restaurant billing was a mess.

We did a day tour to Moorea the day after we got into Papeete. Swimming with the sting rays definitely lifted Hiromi's spirits after the ceremony. We heard that Moorea was beautiful, and we should spend more time there, but we didn't realize how beautiful it was until we got there. It was almost Bora-Bora-esque. The tour guy with Albert Tours (Blanc Blanc ... his family owns the company) recommended we get out of Tahiti, and spend time at the Sheraton Moorea, and that's what started the chain events, which led to your enomorous help in getting us to our second paradise (many thanks, again!). I think the best time we had was at Moorea. We didn't have to worry about the families since they already left, and it was sort of like being back at the Nui (a lot smaller though) and do it all over again just the two of us. We never left the hotel, and spent pretty much the whole time in the ocean. The service was good, the food was great, and we were finally able to relax. The weather was pretty good, too, although it was windy at times.

Overall, it was a great time, and worth all the time, money, and energy spent in making it happen. It was nice to have our families with us (we were the biggest 'family' group) especially at the ceremony. We saw another Japanese couple who got married in the chapel just the two of them, and we realised how lucky we were to have everyone there. It would have been nice just to stay at the Nui and Moorea and skip Papeete altogether, but it'll be something to look forward to again some time. We got back, and the next day we were already discussing what warm place we want to go next ... and without the families ... Hee Hee! I never felt lonely leaving somewhere I visited before, but coming back home, and thinking about our 2 weeks there almost brought me to tears. It was a really special and wonderful time for us.

Thanks for everything, Joni! We thought we saw you standing among our families during our ceremony ... you were there in spirit. Thank you so much.

I sent another Japanese couple your way who are interested in going to somewhere similar. I'm sure he'll be emailing you some time. Please take care of them for us ... I know they will be in good hands.

Until the next time,

Edward & Hiromi N.

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