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Love for travel turns into business for couple
5/28/2015 8:53:34 AM


Splash photo by Staci Lehman
Penny Rowell and her husband, Todd, recently launched a Cruise Planners American Express business out of their Liberty Lake home.

By Staci Lehman
Splash Contributor

What if someone else could book your next vacation? For free. 

That's the business pitch Todd and Penny Rowell are banking on - free travel agency services - with the new business they recently opened in their Liberty Lake home.

Despite the ship-centric name, Cruise Planners American Express offers services on all kinds of travel, including beach vacations, destination weddings, European river cruises and fun excursions. 

Penny Rowell said many people think that travel agents are no longer important in the age of the internet, but she said the reduced amount of stress and work is a big reason clients seek out her business. 

"Why should you spend the time researching destinations, looking into airfare and trying to figure out what excursions are available where you're going when I can do it for you?" she said. 

As to how the services can be free, Rowell said clients don't pay Cruise Planners; the companies and vendors that Rowell books her clients with do. A "personal shopper for travel" is how she describes it. 

Rowell added that budget-conscious travel is right up her alley. 

"We've always enjoyed travelling, but with four kids, we had to get creative to make it happen," Rowell said. "I spent a lot of hours researching destinations and finding travel deals for my family so know where to look and thought it would be fun to do it for others, too."

The most popular vacation requests from Rowell's clients are Alaska and the Caribbean. But the sky is, literally, the limit, she says. For instance, the latest trend with cruise lines is activities for cruisers of all ages, such as the "Sky Ride" on the newest Carnival cruise ship, the Vista. The Sky Ride is a track suspended around the top deck that passengers hang from in capsules. The passengers pedal like on a bike and the capsules are propelled along the rail, giving passengers incredible views as they hang above the water.

Rowell said among the current travel trends are European river cruises and altruistic vacations. The river cruise boats are smaller with a more intimate environment and stay in port cities longer than traditional cruises, allowing passengers to soak up more of the local flavor at each port. 

As for the do-good traveling, "You can work in a soup kitchen in Belize, for instance, or read to the elderly," Rowell said. "My best friend travels a ton, and she took her family on a tour through a tent city in Mexico. They saw children making bricks. Her kids never forgot that."

In addition to their home business, Todd Rowell works as a teacher at Central Valley High School and a football and basketball coach at Greenacres Middle School. Now that they're in the business, though, they have some big future travel plans. 

"I want to go to Tahiti and stay in one of the huts over the water," Penny Rowell said of her bucket list travel destinations. "And after that, my next choice is Italy."

For more information about the Liberty Lake installment of Cruise Planners American Express, visit www.facebook.com/GetSandyToes, call 844-400-SAND (7263) or email penny.rowell@cruiseplanners.com.

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