... in response to Re: Hello From the Ukraine, posted by Charles on Jan 15, 2002The bottom line.
He found what he describes as a wonderful woman.
I do not think that Mark would have preferred to have had a trip that came off like clockwork, seemed perfect - yet in the end did not produce the woman that would get his true attention as compared to a trip that was not exactly as he wanted but did produce the desired end result.
If Mark had used a big agency would the end result have been better? Not if he is serious about what he says of the lady that he found.
For his personality perhaps the bigger agency approach might be more attune to his nature. But, to do the solo plan does not seem to me to be the way to take advantage of Jack's company as compared to doing his tours. It seems all they can do is make your solo experience better by being their to help.
Bottom line to me is - if you are going to do a solo trip you need to solo a lot on your own and have Jack (if you use Jack) an ad to get leads and coordinate with Jack's people to help you meet them.
IMHO, Mark's posts are just really saying - do not do solo runs if you want the best service. If you rent a boat yourself what will you get? If you go on a cruise ship you get a lot but - only because of others joining you plain and simple.
My final analysis always is - what result occurred.