Making Sense of Too Much Information
Hank Schrader, USMA '71, Europe Destination & Europe River Cruise Expert
Anne Schrader, Certified Travel Counselor & Certified Luxury Cruise Specialist
To me, there seems to be an endless stream of too much information about every subject in the world, and it is quite true for European River Cruising and travel options for most trips.
New lines are entering the river cruise market, older lines have upped their marketing, AI is becoming a big factor, and it is overwhelming to say the least.
I also have to cite the spam and downright inaccuracies on the web—you may not know we have the worst website for river cruises even though we rank number 1 in many significant search engine categories and we get daily offers of $200,000 to $300,000 to help grow our business unsolicited. Completely out of touch with reality!
As of 24 September 2026, our website has 85,125 unique visitors who viewed 101,859 pages (source our Squarespace analytics).
I guess 162 day-by-day river cruise itineraries from 8 river cruise lines posted on our website with our pictures of the port excursions makes our website horrible—just web developers looking to make money without any relationship or knowledge of who we are.
I suspect you face similar excessive bombardment as many companies try to get you to spend your travel dollars with them.
So, let’s take a deep breath and think about how we can help you make more sense of way too much information.
5 Key Problems of Too Much Travel Information
Decision Paralysis. You are trying to sort through too many reviews, blogs and deal options, so the trip planning becomes a pain to deal with for you. Some sources I read say that “do it yourselfers” visit as many as 38 websites during their trip planning.
Mental Burnout and Stress. Comparing too many options results in conflicting schedules, and too many “must see” tips which become exhausting. Do you really want to spend 8+ hours planning a trip?
Overscheduling. I promise you doing too many things ruins a trip rather than having a relaxing break. You don’t have to do it all.
Privacy and Security Risks. The online world can take advantage of your trip planning when you really just wanted to share your trip with friends and family. You also face conditions in the world which make travel unsafe and may not realize the risk.
Misinformation and AI Errors. Unvetted planning sources can and will ruin your trip. Examples are too tight airport connections, completely misidentified attractions, booking travel to similar named towns or regions that are not the desired destination, unvetted travel suppliers, and outright deception of the hotel or travel service. Trip cost information is also a big problem, especially with AI. 68% of travelers worry that online reviews may be manipulated or false (source Phocuswright).
Our Role as Top Travel Advisors
When you hire us, you are trusting our research skills and experience to help you find the right trip that matches your travel style (not many advisors have been on 31 Europe River cruises and helped folks for 30 years plan trips worldwide). We handle all aspects of the trip (except direct flight booking) to save you time and money.
Here a some sample pictures of our 31 river cruise sailing adventures:
Colors of Provence River Cruise in Tournon, France
Anne and Hank in front of the AmaMagna on Magna on the Danube Cruise
Anne and Hank on the Christmas Markets of the Rhine 2018
Regensburg Christmas Markets
At the Chef’s Table on an AmaWaterways cruise
Good advice is priceless and our role is to help you make wise choices by filtering the available options that make the most sense for your trip.
Most importantly, the overwhelming choices from too much information is not an obstacle for us. We have the knowledge and experience to avoid the confusion of way too much information. Clarity brings calm, sound judgements and good outcomes.
Best of all, we want a good relationship with you, not a quick sale. We will put your needs and priorities first. Closing a sale quickly is the mantra of the supplier, not us.
Basically, we plan and manage the trip by providing you with expert advice and support to enhance your travel experience. This includes the obvious trip plan itself but includes insurance options, regulations concerning the trip like visas, keeping accurate records of all trip details and handling any travel issues that may arise. Details matter.
Somehow in travel, it confuses some clients or potential clients that they are actually hiring us to help them, as we do not charge fees. Some even get confused during the booking process that you are actually making a contract between the travel supplier and yourself. By making the deposit or other monetary transactions, usually by default, you are agreeing to the suppliers’ terms and conditions.
The only downside of using us is loss of direct control of the reservations but in most cases our advocacy on your behalf far outweighs the slower action on our part if you are used to making instant updates or changes.
It is always a better solution to contact us with any questions or updates you want us to add to your reservation, or issues you want to get resolved with the supplier. One of the reasons you give up control is we know your preferences, as often direct contact with the travel supplier leads to multiple sales representatives who do not really know you, and long hold times on the phone. It is far better for you to allow us to solve this pain point for you.
Our Compensation
Since we do not charge any planning fees, we feel we are adequately compensated by the travel supplier in most cases (although many agents do charge fees for specific services and we have been told by many in our industry we should charge fees for the superior knowledge we possess). At present we do not charge fees except for exceptional research for very complicated trips or unique vacations that require unusual research efforts.
This is a business-to-business transaction between the vacation supplier and us, and it is already built into the fee cited by the travel supplier. It is not an upcharge.
Parity is important for the travel industry, as most suppliers honor the same rates as booking directly with the supplier, so it makes little sense to not use our expertise. This is especially true in the cruise industry fares, as any legitimate price savings you could get from the supplier directly, we can also match.
The best way to think of this is to realize the supplier cannot get enough direct bookings they need or desire and they count the commission as a built-in fee to reward us for bring them business and sales. It is clear that we both need each other to be successful.
This relationship is important to you, as we can often get upgrades or other perks due to this relationship. In return, we ask you respect our time and processes. Some take advantage of us by looking to compare prices with other advisors searching for a better deal and sometimes it makes us want to charge planning fees. Clearly, we do not seek clients who only care about price of a vacation, as we seek to add value for your trip to enhance the experience.
So, the bottom Line
We can solve a lot of the hassle of travel. It won’t be at the speed of light, but it will provide safe meaningful trips you will remember for a lifetime. We know what is possible and what is not. The choice is yours
If you are happy with our service, the best compliment is a referral!
Our Final Thoughts
There is too much confusing information available currently on the internet and it is very overwhelming and conflicting. We are here to remove the clutter and confusion. Simple but amazing is the standard we go for and the reward for you is less stress and a better vacation.
We hope you find this blog interesting and meaningful to you. The better we can connect with you, the better we can serve you. Please reach out to us with news of your life, any travel dreams even if you are not quite ready to travel and, of course, a trip you want us to plan.
We are travel experts, ocean and river cruise specialists, and Europe destination experts. We have first-hand knowledge of almost anywhere you want to visit in Europe. We know our products and the vendors who sell them to you. We have designed special tours for dozens of clients, led several and will continue to find just the right vacation that will exceed your expectations.
When you are spending your hard-earned money for a vacation, you want an advisor who can match you with the right trip. You want someone who will understand your expectations and fuel your anticipation (or excitement) to get you the best possible trip experience. And, you want someone who can help you with the decision-making process. We think we have all these qualities.
Whatever your Dream Destinations are, we are here to help you get the best possible vacation based on what is important to you! We will provide you with high quality, expertly planned travel. Please give me a call 713-397-0188 (Hank) or email me at hschrader@visitdd.com . We want to help you: Savor life…make memories…Visit Dream Destinations! Your journey begins here!
ANNE has earned a degree from the University of Houston in Hotel and Restaurant Management. Serving as the President of Visit Dream Destinations, LLC, since 2016, she is uniquely experienced professional travel advisor with over 30 years’ experience in the travel industry. Among her numerous certifications, she is a Certified Travel Counselor (CTC) by the Travel Institute, considered the gold standard in travel agent certification and she is also an Accredited Cruise Counselor (ACC) by the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), as well Luxury Cruise Specialist also from CLIA. Having traveled often to Europe since 1989, she has expanded on her certification as a Destination Specialist in Western Europe (DS) with extensive first-hand experience in luxury vacations. She holds numerous other specialty designations from individual vendors. An expert photographer, she delights in capturing the true essence of destinations to share with all.
HANK is a certified Western European Destination Specialist (DS) who has been traveling to Europe for 55 years. He is also an Accredited Cruise Counselor (ACC), conferred by the Cruise Line International Association (CLIA). His last major certificate is a Verified Travel Advisor (VTA) certificate earned from the American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA). This recognized expert in cruise and leisure travel is a retired Army Officer, and taught World Geography for 8 years. He is a `71 graduate of West Point and has earned 2 master’s degrees. His other Certifications:
AmaWaterways River Cruise Specialist
Avalon Waterways Specialist
CLIA Riverview Certificate
Emerald Waterways Specialist
Riverside Luxury Cruise Specialist
Scenic River Cruise Specialist
Viking River Cruise Specialist
Brit Agent
