Catherine Mackey - Travel Counsellors - Manchester

andrew cunliffe

Myself and my girlfriend booked our trip to America in September 2024 with Catherine. This was the first time booking with her and most certainly won’t be the last. I found out about Catherine by looking for a travel company on google. We then had a telephone meeting to discuss where we wanted to go and the reasons why we wanted to visit New Orleans, Dallas and San Francisco. She gave some great advice on the phone about areas and was very knowledgeable on things to do in these places. The trip was organised incredibly and I don’t think we could’ve possibly had stayed in any better locations. Thanks to her, we had the holiday of a lifetime. Also, on the day of leaving New Orleans, a hurricane hit and our flight to Dallas was cancelled, meaning our trip was delayed by only a day. We were so grateful to know that Catherine and her team were there for advice on what to do and they sorted everything. We would have been so lost and stuck on what to do with the organisation of the trip. All we had to worry about, was what food to order for tea at the hotel.

Would recommend Catherine to anybody and we can’t wait to use her again for future holidays. Thank you.

Jackie Wilson

Catherine arranged a fantastic holiday for us with a great deal of care and attention. Our trip to New York was so special, our hotel was in a brilliant location with amazing views and excellent service. Thank you Catherine we can’t wait to book our next trip!

Rowena Wilding

Absolutely amazing experience with Catherine - she made our holiday to Disneyland extra magical. She took away every single stress and dealt with every detail. She listened to our needs and budget and booked the perfect holiday for us, then walked us through the entire journey, making sure we had the right insurance, that we were checked in, and that all our documents were correct and up to date. When our plane was delayed she was there making sure the transfer car would still be there at the time we needed. I cannot recommend Catering highly enough. I'll never book my own holiday again!

Derek Munday

I booked a journey with Catherine in January 2021 after taking part in a Zoom presentation she had organised about Hurtigruten's services. I had been planning for three years to go to Antarctica for the total eclipse of the sun in December 2021. She very quickly arranged a place for me on MS Roald Amundsen for this event. This was during the worldwide Covid pandemic of course and arrangements changed regularly. Despite Hurtigruten's and Catherine's best efforts, which included a personal visit to my home, the UK Government's failure to enter the Covid booster on the vaccination certificate meant that I could not enter Chile to board the ship.
Fortunately, I had full credit for the lost journey, which was transferred to the MS Fram journey in November 2022. Catherine handled the new booking efficiently, including business class flights from Heathrow to Santiago de Chile via Madrid, and shuttle flights from Manchester to Heathrow (and back of course). The arrangements seemed to change on an almost weekly basis, but Catherine kept me informed at every stage and I successfully joined the ship and was able to stand on my seventh continent, during a most enjoyable 26 days.
The return flight from Madrid to Heathrow was on the 500th Airbus A350, which had been brought into service in September without being properly fitted out, meaning that the business class cabin did not have proper seats and was not in use. Having paid for and been given business class seats I was somewhat miffed, and my complaint to the purser was fobbed off.
Catherine, however, would not be fobbed off, and negotiated with Hurtigruten for a refund, which has landed in my bank account today.
As a much-travelled first-time customer, I was impressed with the service that Catherine provided, going beyond normal expectations, and I would have no hesitation in recommending her to anyone, particularly those making unusual expeditions. Well done!

Emma Jepson

Loved working on our dream trip with Catherine. She was so helpful, sorted everything for us and made everything run so smoothly. I won't hesitate to use her again and would highly recommend Catherine to anyone booking a holiday.

Jacqueline Corbett

Catherine's help was invaluable in creating a holiday of a lifetime to Australia for our family. Flawless organisation meant we saw Sydney, Melbourne and the Gold Coast with easy internal flights and transfers which were hassle free. Catherine also gave us great advice on what and where to visit. I recommend her help and support wholeheartedly. Thanks for an unforgettable holiday!

Carole Nettleton

A massive "Thank you" to Catherine and her team for helping us with our train trip to France and Spain. It was amazing. I gave Catherine a list of the cities we wanted to visit, Catherine sorted the train tickets, found us fantastic hotels and made our ' adventure ' so fabulous. Thank you so much. I will use you to sort out all my holidays in the future. It was just fantastic. I would absolutely recommend Catherine.

Louise Ball

Recently took my two young daughters to Zakynthos on a holiday organised by Catherine. It met every one of our requirements and I had zero stress in organising and feeling confident everything was in hand. As a solo adult this back up is so amazing for peace of mind. Can't wait to book the next one ?