2025 in Review: The Miles, the Milestones, and the People Behind Them

As 2025 winds down, I keep finding myself doing the same thing—scrolling through client photos, rereading trip notes, and smiling at the small details that made each journey personal. Some trips were bold and long-anticipated. Others were gentle, grounding, and exactly what was needed in the moment. All of them mattered.

This year reminded me (again) that travel isn’t just about where you go. It’s about who you’re with, what you’re celebrating, and the memories you carry home long after the suitcase is unpacked.

Here’s a look back at the year.

2025 By the Numbers:

• 35+ unique trips planned

• ~140 travelers served

• 25 countries across 5 continents

• 18 cruises and all-inclusive stays

• 2 hosted trips

• ~180 flight segments booked

• An estimated 1.5–2 million miles flown (collectively) ✈️

And as I write this at the very end of 2025, two sisters are wrapping up the year with an epic New Year’s Eve adventure in New York City—Rockettes, Broadway, holiday lights, and a ball-drop view room right in Times Square. What a way to close out the year.

Milestones Worth Celebrating

Milestone travel was the heartbeat of 2025.

This year included anniversaries, graduations, honeymoons, milestone birthdays, spring break escapes, and multigenerational trips designed around simply being together. Some travelers were celebrating something big. Others just needed time away after a long season. Both are worthy reasons to go.

Being trusted with those moments—especially the ones that only happen once—never stops feeling meaningful to me.

The Destinations That Shaped the Year

Every year has its patterns, and 2025 definitely did.

Alaska had a big moment. We planned multiple Alaska journeys by land and sea, from cruise tours that combined rail and wilderness lodges to classic Inside Passage sailings with glacier-filled sea days. Each Alaska trip looked different—families, couples, friends—but all shared that unmistakable sense of awe.

The Mediterranean stayed front and center. Italy and Greece continued to draw travelers who wanted history, beauty, and food that tells a story. From fast-paced, multi-country itineraries to slower, more immersive experiences, these trips reinforced how powerful it is to travel with intention.

And beyond those themes, the year was wonderfully varied—safaris, river cruising, national parks, city stays, theme-park class performance travel, ministry trips, and holiday journeys that replaced “stuff” with shared experiences.

Two Hosted Trips I’ll Never Forget

2025 marked an important milestone for Toastable Travel: we didn’t just plan trips—we hosted them.

Mediterranean Milestone Cruise (September 2025). Chris and I began with time in Barcelona before sailing the Mediterranean aboard the Sun Princess with five new friends. It was celebratory from the start—sea days for rest, ports full of history, and the joy that comes from sharing the experience with others.

Italy Foodie Experience Tour (October 2025). Eight of us traveled together through Rome, Florence, Bologna, and Modena. We cooked, tasted, wandered, laughed, and lingered. This trip captured everything I love about hosted travel: connection, pacing, and moments that feel both joyful and grounding at the same time.

Those two trips affirmed something I already believed—travel is richer when it’s shared.

One Personal Note

Behind the scenes, 2025 was also a very hard year at home. At the beginning of the year, my mom was genuinely close to death, and caregiving became part of our everyday life while Chris and I were still running Toastable Travel. I’ve been behind more than I ever want to be, and I want to say this clearly: thank you to my clients for your patience, kindness, and grace. I felt it all year, and it mattered more than you know.

This year was also a milestone professionally as we expanded our team. While my longtime friend and operations assistant, Dacoda Maddalone, will be moving on to full-time work in London in the new year, I’ll continue working with Armaine in the Philippines, who supports data entry, blogging, and newsletters, and Temie in Nigeria, who is training to support our trip planning processes. Their help made it possible to keep moving forward during a very full year, and I’m deeply grateful.

Looking Ahead to 2026 (and Even 2027)

I’m stepping into 2026 hopeful, energized, and genuinely excited about what’s already taking shape. We have two hosted trips on the calendar so far—a Panama Canal cruise in late January and Amsterdam in April, perfectly timed with tulip season—with plans likely forming for one additional hosted experience (possibly domestic) later in the year.

Cruises, the Caribbean, and Alaska continue to be a strong anchor for next year’s travel. Several clients are celebrating milestones with Caribbean sailings and Alaska voyages, including multigenerational Disney cruises, a Celebrity spring break cruise with access to The Retreat, and an Alaska cruise aboard Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth. We’re also planning transatlantic sailings paired with extended time in Europe, and a Caribbean second honeymoon in St. Martin designed around rest, reconnection, and unrushed time together.

Beyond cruising, a number of international, across-the-ocean trips are taking shape that center on culture, history, and meaningful moments. These include a honeymoon through iconic Italian cities, a graduation celebration through France and Spain, two separate trips to Normandy, a special concert journey to London, and extended European travel over Easter that includes Easter Mass with the Pope in St. Peter’s Square.

Closer to home, U.S.-based travel continues to focus on shared experiences and celebration. Plans are underway for a three-generation adventure through the American Southwest—from the Grand Canyon through Zion and ending in Las Vegas with a show at the Sphere—along with two couples heading to Yosemite with time in Napa and Sonoma, a friends’ national parks journey through Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons, a classic American Cruise Lines river cruise, and a family trip built around the Fourth of July in Washington, DC, followed by time in New York City and Niagara Falls.

And quietly, in the background, we’re beginning to sketch out ideas for 2027 adventures, which always feels both surreal and exciting.

Closing Thoughts

If 2025 taught me anything, it’s this: travel and real life always happen side by side. When people lead with patience, grace, and connection, something truly meaningful is created—long before the bags are packed.

If you’re dreaming about 2026—whether it’s a milestone celebration, a family trip, a cruise, or a much-needed pause—I’d love to help you shape it.

And if you'll be travelling in this coming year, here’s my small request: take the photos of the people you love, not just the scenery. And if you’re willing, send me one of you toasting. 🥂

Here’s to 2025—the miles, the memories, and the grace that carried us through.

And here’s to 2026—more presence, more joy, and more trips worth remembering.

Cheers!

2025 in review

2025 in review