Ocean Cruise Expert

Booked a Fall cruise up the coast of Canada thru Rusty several years ago. He made it easy and was right there on the ship with us the whole trip.

We have used Rusty Pickett and Shellback Cruises for a number of years for both domestic and overseas trips. His expertise, attention to detail, friendly and prompt service make him an exceptional agent.

Rusty Pickett is the best travel agent I have ever come across...he goes above and beyond and then some. You will not be sorry if you use him! He is experienced and very pleasant to work with. You will NOT be sorry!

Rusty has halped us for years----we have complete faith and trust in his advice and guidance. I really don't know what we would do without him------I guess we would just not travel.

Rusty Pickett is the best travel agent I have ever used. His knowledge of the industry and concern for details makes him someone that I would recommend to everyone. As a matter of fact anyone who has asked me about the cruises I have been on gets referred to Rusty. He is a genuine and kind person and will go out of his way to make sure that his customers are comfortable. I would highly recommend Russell A. Pickett

When Rusty is handling my travel plans, I am at ease and know that my best interest are being taken care of by a professional.

We don't travel without checking with Rusty first. He can always answer our questions, and is so knowledgeable that he gives us answers to things we hadn't even thought about. We trust him completely and have enjoyed many great cruises/travel experiences because of his expertise.

Rusty made friends and learned my travel desires and when the opportunity was found helped me partake. I especially appreciate how he made my dream of seeing Antarctica.

I have traveled several cruises with Rusty and he has made the trip very enjoyable and memorable. We just sat back and let Rusty do all the work. Rusty provided us with group pictures and shares with us his other trips that we did not go on. On one unfortunate cruise that was cancelled due to the ship mechanical issues, Rusty worked very hard to help us get our refunds, providing additional support we needed and reviewed all necessary documents.

Rusty is our "go to" man when I comes to traveling. Yes, we can do our research online, but having some one "in the business" offering expert advice is priceless to us. We are glad to call Rusty our travel agent and friend!

Rusty ensured that we knew and understood every detail of our trip from tipping to planning outings. His suggestion of purchasing the insurance package was spot on as I did have to use the medical benefit. His planning and wealth of knowledge allowed my wife and I to enjoy a worry and trouble free vacation.

Rusty has wonderful insight into the travel world, and shares his knowledge with his customers. Any question that is posed to him is answered exceedingly quickly. My friends and I value his input.

Rusty is organized and always available. He lets you know if he'll be out of the office, and he always answers emails. He made every trip easy and answered every question we had. Plus he always does special things for us to make the trip even more fun. He definitely makes vacations worry free. We have traveled numerous times with Rustys help for 10 years now and have never been disappointed. He is a professional!.

We have used Rusty on several of our cruises and extended stays - everywhere from three weeks in Europe, ten days in Hawaii, all sorts of Caribbean cruises, etc. Because he is so well travelled, he is always willing to share his knowledge to ensure you get the most out of your vacation. I would absolutely recommend him to new cruisers, large groups of people (reunions, weddings, etc.) and anyone who is celebrating special occasions. We would not use anyone else. I appreciate his prompt replies to all communications - phone calls and e-mails. Our vacations through Rusty have made some wonderful memories to be treasured forever. Richard and Ginger Schroeder

It's always enjoyable to work with Rusty. He is knowledgable and efficient. He knows the deals and how to find the deals for our cruises. We cruise 3-6 times years and he always treats us like his most important client.

Since 2007 Rusty has been planning our trips and cruise/tour trips with friends that will not be forgotten. He's the best. He gets all of your wants, desires and must haves and then plans a trip that will be remembered for years to come. He does all the leg work for you with itineraries, accommodations and especially cost. He has gotten better pricing for us than anyone else we have used. We appreciate him......and he is so much fun to travel with on our group excursions.

Rusty is THE consummate professional when it comes to travel assistance. We would never even consider exploring the services offered by others in the industry. He is definitely our "go to guy" for everything.

Very responsive, helpful and knowledgeable.

Rusty helped with all the phases of our cruise. His experience and knowledge made it easy. Would definitely use again, and recommend to friends or family.

This was our first trans atlantic crossing and we had many questions both at the beginning and during the trip. Russell responded to all of them in a timely and helpful manner. We ofter changed details of the trip and he was equally helpful in making arrangements and canceling them in favor of others. I fear we were a bit of a pest but his responses never reflected that possibility. Rusty was a big help in making the trip a success. Not only would we recommend him to a friend we have done so many times.

Always helpful

Rusty Pickett is a great travel agent....always reliable and honest and very quick to meet your travel needs.

Rusty has been my travel agent for several years. I wouldn't think of using anyone else. He has arranged some great cruises and a very good price for my wife and I, and friends. He has always been there to answer any questions I have. He keeps me informed of special cruises. Very reliable.

Before I started working with Rusty, I was one of those travelers who thought that I could make my own arrangements online, and thought I did not need a travel agent. Rusty changed all that. He has an in-depth knowledge of so many itineraries and especially cruise ships, that he makes travel planning a real pleasure. His enthusiasm and love of travel are contagious. He answers questions very promptly. I would not use anyone else to plan my trips.

We've had wonderful dealings with Rusty for many years. He always has the best ideas & seems to know just everything about the business.

Rusty has arranged a number of cruises for me and each one has been perfectly scheduled, overnights prior to sailing have had the same attention to detail as the cruise. He has a big heart as evidenced by the trip he arranged in a hurry for my daughter and I before she died. I have recommended him to friends in my community and everyone has been pleased with his services.

Rusty is on top of every detail of a trip. When booking a year ahead any number of changes can occur. Rusty ensures they are addressed immediately and without impact on a long awaited trip. His recommendations have always been excellent. He occasionally will book himself on a cruise with a large number of his clients and is in a position to solve any problems that arise. Kind of like having your own personal cruise director. I would not think of booking any type of cruise or overseas trip with anyone other than Rusty Pickett of Shellback cruises. We have booked at least 8 cruised both ocean and river through Rusty's company and they have been uniformly outstanding.

Rusty took care of everything. What ever needed done for us to have a wonderful trip he took care of it. He has traveled the world so he knows from first hand experience what is good and what is not so good. He is awesome with large groups. Rusty went along with us on our trips to make sure all our needs were taken care of.

Rusty took great care of us in setting up an Alaskan vacation that included both a week on land and a week on board a cruise ship.

Rusty has made all of our travel plans for the last 10 years. After being the travel agent planning for our senior development travel club for 100+members, we started using Rusty as our personal travel agent. Rusty takes all the difficulty out of traveling plans. We just call her, with our destination and times available and the rest is taken care of. We highly reco,,end Risty Pickett for any travel needs!

Very knowledgable and helpful. He takes care of everything necessary for your trip. Rusty provides worry-free trip planning.

Rusty excels at finding and organizing vacation packages. He is the "go-to" for any travel related issues. He places customer satisfaction at the top and does everything to ensure a great vacation. His attention to detail is unmatched in the industry. You can count on outstanding service across the board. There are no surprises when traveling on a vacation Rusty has planned.

Have used Rusty many times and have had no bad issues. Very responsive and knowledgeable. I would recommend him to anyone that asks.

Rusty has made several cruise arrangements for me, and all have gone smoothly. He is extremely knowledgeable, and very prompt in his responses. He has coordinated my travels with other relatives and friends, and has been able to arrange upgrades and other perks. We're soon to leave on our second Alaska cruise (arranged by Rusty, of course) and look forward to it.

Rusty is the best. It's as simple as that.

This is a bit of an unusual review - in that we ended up not traveling. My wife, Pat and I, are neophytes at ship travel. Rusty took the time to help us understand what our options were, was frank when we asked or tried to do things that were not practical - and despite our not being profitable for him (this time)... made us feel very comfortable asking for his help. When we are ready to travel we will definitely return and use him.

We met Rusty on a cruise, found him to be knowledgeable and helpful, and decided we needed someone like him who we could trust with our travel needs. Since 2009 we have used him for some ocean cruises as well as two river cruises and fortunately he was also taking both river cruises. We have not been disappointed in any of his plans for us and we highly recommend him for your travel needs.

Just tell Rusty where and when you want to go and he handles it with expertise and grace. He is a true pleasure to work with

Rusty, has planned trips to Germany, Mediterrain, China, Alaska, Mexico. He has booked travel with Avalon, Tauck, Princess and Norwegian. He is prompt, professional and knowledgable. I have referred him to several friends that had similar experiences. He has been a big help with excursions and extensions. My first trip with Rusty was in 2010. I have been fortunate to travel all over the world for many years. Rusty is the real deal!

Rusty has arranged a number of trips for us and everything has always gone smoothly. We've even had thepleasure of traveling with him and particularly enjoyed his company and knowledge. We keep coming back to Shellback Cruises and would and have recommended him highly to friends and family.

Rusty has been incredibly prompt, thorough and helpful on all our trips! In fact I plan to contact him later this week to plan our next cruise...a celebration family cruise! Celebrating 50 years of marriage and a victory over Cancer by one of the family! I trust Rusty to do as he has always done for us!

A phone call to Rusty was all we needed. He went beyond the call of duty in order to make out trip fantastic! He has planned our team trips for many years!

Rusty was on top of the planning and was very responsive and helpful with suggestions

Rusty has been our primary travel agent for the past ten years. During this time he has helped us in booking several cruise vacations and some other travel. He is always timely, responsive and helpful. We will continue to use Rusty and Shellback Cruises!

I have booked several cruises with Rusty at Shellback Cruises. He is on top of all the details..

"Rusty" Pickett, in our personal experience, certainly demonstrated his knowledge and experience in the travel industry and ultimate destinations. He was helpful with special needs and possible accommodations for such. He was always responsive by phone or email, and communicated when his plans included being out of town or out of pocket for given dates. We highly recommend him for his expertise, his knowledge of travel and destinations, his helpfulness and responsiveness, and his ability to be communicative at all times.

Excellent personal service, very responsive, offers knowledgeable advice and competitively priced. I don't know how he does it, but Rusty responds almost instantly to emails. He must have a mobile device as a body appendage the way he promptly responds to emails.

It is always a pleasure to do business with someone that you can trust to look out for your best interests; that is what Rusty does.

My wife and I have booked several cruises with Shellback Cruises. They were all fantastic. He guided us to the best locations on the ship. Some friends we traveled with on our last cruise booked themselves, online. They got a good deal on a balcony cabin. Rusty told me they would be sorry. They were, the balcony was partially blocked by a lifeboat. The room he booked us was midship, and unobstructed. Just a few steps from the elevator to the dining room. Guess where everyone hung out...in our cabin, of course. On my birthday cruise, several years ago, we were upgraded from a mini- suite to a penthouse suite. That was a great surprise. Rusty has always recommended the best shore trips too. Much cheaper, and better, than the ones the cruise line sponsors. I wouldn't consider using anyone but Shellback Cruises.

Rusty is very knowledgeable about booking cruises. He always made us feel special, like we were the only client. Give him a call if you ever need to book a cruise. He knows the answers to the questions you may have. He has booked several for us in relation to going as a group. You will not be disappointed.

Rusty Pickett has proved to us on several occasions his knowledge of the travel industry as well as of the destination we wish to visit. His unusually prompt response by either phone or e-mail to any question/concerns one might have is certainly appreciated. We had to cancel a Baltic cruise, and Rusty took care of all the travel insurance paperwork leaving us relieved. We definitely recommend him for his travel expertise, his helpfulness, and the fact that one can easily communicate with him even though he may be traveling himself.

Rusty has always been responsive and tries to get us the best deals possible