The "Splurge Affect"

How many times have you or someone else said, "let's splurge" when it comes to dinner choices or while out shopping for various things?  We all like to splurge occasionally and just enjoy ourselves and throw budgets to the wind.  Some of us splurge on a daily basis when we head down to our favorite coffee house and pay $4.00 for a cup of coffee that would only cost us $0.75 if we made it at home.  The splurging we do takes money out of one budget coffer and moves it to another.  Some of us call that other coffer the "fun money" or "mad money" coffer.  It is the money we give ourselves each month to just have fun with and, if you are like me, the fun only lasts for a few hours.

Now think about your splurging that you might do each month how much it might add up to if you took that splurging amount and saved it for a year.  How much are we talking?  $600?  $1200? More?

Ok, you know I am a travel consultant so surely you have figured out that I am going to bring this topic around to travel.  So here it goes.  I deal with traveler's budgets on a daily basis.  Some are good...some are not so good.  I define not so good as those budgets where someone only wants to spend $500-$750 per person on a 6 night trip to the Caribbean.  That is just not good.  No easy way to say it. It is a limburger cheese budget.  So that brings up the splurge affect.  Those same folks or in fact anyone who is looking to travel, needs to look at their splurging that is done on a monthly basis.  Maybe you don't feel like you splurge on anything.  Good for you.  But a lot of us splurge, we just don't call it splurging.  We call it normal life because we think eating out or buying a Starbucks cup of coffee is normal when it fact, that is something a lot of people around the world could never afford to do.  But I digress.

Add up the splurging you do and be honest about it and annualize it.   Now think about that amount and the how much time of enjoyment it really gives you.  Now let me show you how the splurge affect can relate to your next vacation.  Most people will take a 5 to 7 day vacation these days.  So while that upgraded cup of coffee or dessert or entree may bring you enjoyment for an hour or so, vacations bring enjoyment for a minimum of a few days if not for a lifetime.  So if you splurge in the amount of $50 per month, that same amount of "fun money" could get you:

• Upgraded from coach to business class
• Upgrade from an ocean view (window only) to a balcony stateroom on a cruise
• Upgraded from a "garden view" to an ocean view room at a resort

If you splurge on the order of $100 a month, you could

• Upgrade from coach to business or first class
• Upgrade from a balcony to a junior suite stateroom on a cruise
• Upgrade from garden view to an ocean front with premium club privileges or to a larger suite

Naturally these upgrades depend on destination, time of year etc, but I want you to see that we all make choices.  Maybe the ocean view or even the inside stateroom is all you really want and that is ok.  Maybe a tropical or garden view room is perfectly acceptable which is 100% fine.  But make sure you have factored in the splurge affect before saying that your travel budget is all you can afford and that is what is driving your choice of accommodations or cruise choice etc.   Am I writing this in hopes of getting every client to spend more money on their trips?  Not at all.  I respect every client's budget when it it is given to me.  But what I want you to see is how much it actually takes to possibly enhance an experience that lasts a whole lot longer than some of the things we splurge on daily.   Add up that amount and you might be surprised.   I am also writing this because we travel professionals have too many potential clients these days who come to us with incredibly unrealistic budgets and those same travelers need to go back and re-evaluate their budgets before only allotting a certain amount to their family's vacation.  And trust me, I am not immune to the splurge affect.  I have decided to do some upgrades myself for my next trip and take some of my "mad money" and use it for something other than my Frothy Monkey coffee habit etc.

So there it is...the splurge affect.  I am sure economic students will be seeing this phrase pop up in text books very soon.  

Disney "Land and Sea" Preview

We are within the final countdown stage of our upcoming Disney "land and sea" adventure.  I wanted to write this preview because I am excited about some new experiences we are about to have.  Most of my readers know that we have been to Walt Disney World numerous times and have sailed on the Disney Wonder several years back, but this fast approaching vacation will have several first-time moments.

We start our adventure a few days before the cruise on December 6th.  As we normally do now, we are driving down from our home in middle Tennessee and are scheduled to have 2 pre-cruise nights. Our first night will be spent at the Orlando World Center Marriott.  Our plans the first night will be to head to Downtown Disney for a little shopping and eating fun and see how some of the new construction is coming along.  Then on Sunday morning, we will pack up and head out to the Port Canaveral area where our next night will be spent at the Courtyard Cocoa Beach Cape Canaveral.  But one of our first time experiences occurs on this day.  I have always wanted to sit at Fish Lips Waterfront Bar and Grill and enjoy a tasty drink and meal while watching the various cruise ships meander by on their way out to sea.   For those that take a peek occasionally at the Port Canaveral webcam, it sits atop Fish Lips.  So our plan is to get there early, grab a table outside and watch Royal Caribbean, Disney and Carnival ships sail by which will make the excitement build for our cruise that sets sail the next day (Monday the 8th).

So on the 8th is when a lot of new experiences begin and they are all related to the category of stateroom we are staying in on the Disney Dream.  I decided to splurge a little since this is a short, 4 night cruise so I booked us a category 00T which is a one bedroom, concierge suite.  Can I get a whoop whoop?! Uber-excited am I.  So here is why I am so excited; when we arrive at the pier and after clearing security, we will be able to head to a nice, less-congested check in area designated for concierge level guests as well as platinum Castaway Club members.  Once checked in, we will also be in the very first boarding group once embarkation begins.  So that is new experience number 2. Once onboard, we will have the choice of heading to the buffet, which is our normal cruise routine, or heading for the concierge lounge where snacks and beverages are served only for concierge-level guests.  I have a feeling we will be heading to the lounge which will be new experience number 3.  The cool part about the lounge, besides the exclusivity, is that they serve snacks during the day as well as free "adult beverages" at certain times each day. That can actually offset some of the higher cost of the stateroom assuming you are an "indulger" of such a beverage.

So 3 new experiences already and we will be only 3 days into our 9 day trip.  But one of the biggest new experiences of them all will happen once we step inside our one bedroom suite.  The suite has over 600 square feet (including the verandah) and comes with 2 full baths.   The master bath comes with a large tub as well as a walk-in shower, double vanities and a tv built into the mirror while the second bath comes with a single vanity and a walk in shower.  There is a separate dining area as well as a living area with a convertible sofa, 2 chairs and a large flat-screen tv.  The bedroom comes with a  queen sized bed and upgraded bedding.  I am leaving a lot of the little details that are included out because they will be covered in my full review after the trip.  But needless to say the suite is large as well as the verandah and I am excited about it all!

So I will lump the suite into one big new experience making it the new experience number 4 on this trip.   We sail to Nassau and Castaway Cay which will not be new to us, but we have a new excursion planned for our day in Castaway Cay.  We are going to try Parasailing for the first time.  I am a little nervous and excited about it all at the same time.  It will be a great opportunity for some cool GoPro camera footage.  So adding them up so far...that makes new experience number 5.

So before this preview gets too out of hand as far as a word count goes...let me jump ahead now to the "land" part of the trip.  After we disembark on the 12th, we are heading for Disney's Yacht Club Resort.  This will be new experience number 6.  We have stayed at several onsite properties such as the Grand Floridian, Beach Club, Boardwalk, Swan and Dolphin, Polynesian, Caribbean Beach and the Pop Century.  But this will be our very first time at the Yacht Club and we are excited to be back in our most favorite area of WDW...close to Epcot and Hollywood Studios.  No upgrade for us at this resort but excited nonetheless. We are staying 3 nights...yes I wish it was more, but from the time we leave home until the time we get back home, this will be a nice long trip.

So two more new experiences I have yet to mention.  New experience number 7 will be breakfast at Captain's Grille.  We have heard good things so I will let you know what I think again in my trip review post.

And finally...new experience number 8 will be getting to ride Seven Dwarfs Mine Train for the very first time.  I was excited about this attraction when when the first renderings were released and I am anxious to see how the new riding technology really feels.  We have not been back since it opened so getting a little giddy about finally being able to ride it.

So there you have it...a land and sea adventure chalked full of newness.  If any of these new experiences are new to you as well, make sure you subscribe to my blog so you will be notified of my review once we return in mid-December.

The Brilliance of the Seas Review 2014

My wife and I returned recently from our February 10th, 5 night western caribbean cruise out of Tampa aboard the Brilliance and I wanted to give you a brief summary of our experience and explain why we love this class of ship.  The Brilliance is a part of Royal Caribbean's Radiance class of ships.  Back in the day, the Radiance class would have been considered a very large ship (weighing in at  90,000 tons), but compared to today's mega ships, the Radiance-class will look and feel more like a midsize vessel.  This was our second cruise aboard this class of ship.  Our very first cruise ever was aboard the Radiance of the Seas so this cruise held a lot of nostalgia for us.  While so much was still the same, RCCL has added some great features due to the huge refurbishment in May of last year (2013).

It is an easy ship to get from point A to point B which cannot be said of some ship designs and sizes.

The decor is still what I call modern, but elegant which is why I think Royal Caribbean as a whole appeals to a broader clientele.  They tend to not be as flashy (Vegas-like) as Carnival, but also not as dark and stately as Holland America.  But back to the Brilliance.  The additions of Vintages to the Centrum was a nice addition.  I loved the decor.  For wine-enthusiasts, this will be your favorite hangout on the ship.  The new restaurant called Izumi was also a new-addition home run.  I was a bit disappointed in the location of the "library" because it is not really a library anymore; it is more like a area used for photos that happens to have some shelves of books back behind it.  But that was really the only change that I saw that I was not fond of compared to the way it was pre-refurbishment.   I will post a link to the pictures so you can see the decor yourself and I won't have to blather on and bore you with details.

Let's get to the important things that most want to know about in a review:

1) Pre-cruise stay.  We drove to Tampa since we are only about 12 hours away.  It is hard to justify flights these days when you look at the overall cost compared to driving.  We enjoy our leisurely drives to various places in Florida.  So we arrived actually two days early because we were staying at the Tampa Marriott Waterside Hotel and Spa.  We really wanted two days at this awesome hotel.  It is located just steps away from the pier.  By steps I mean it is walkable.  Our room was a standard room but had a great view of the city and was plenty big and comfortable.  There is a Starbucks on the first floor that offers free wifi in its seating area which beats the expensive wifi offered in the rooms.  The best thing about this hotel is its location.  You can arrive, park your car and not have to drive to any shopping or eateries before you head out on your cruise.  I particularly loved waking up early the morning of our cruise and standing by the waters edge as I watched our ship return back to port.  For sports fans, the hotel is across the street from the home of the NHL's Tampa Bay Lightning.  One of the hotel's staff members let us know that one of the stars of that team uses their hotel for his pre-game nap which we thought was quite funny.

2) Embarkation.  I had heard mixed reviews of Tampa's port.  Most of the negativity was directed at disembarkation, which I will get to in a minute.  But as far as embarkation is concerned, we left our hotel around 10:30am, drove the whopping 5 mins from the hotel to the pier and opted for the valet parking service.  For about $20 extra, you drive up, give your bags to the porter and watch your car get whisked to the lot that is right there next to the terminal.  I am all about convenience and I highly recommend their valet service.  You pre-pay for the valet parking right at the bottom of the escalator that takes you up to the check in area.  It took no more than 5 mins to pre-pay and and no more than another 10 mins to get through security and checked in.  We waited another 10 mins or so for our boarding group to get called and we were on the ship by 11:00am.  30 mins from the time we left our hotel until the time we were looking at the decor of the ship...not bad at all.

3) Stateroom. We were in a Category D2 which is the deluxe ocean stateroom with balcony.  One of the highlights, other than the balcony, was the abundance of storage.  We could not fill up all of the storage areas in our room.  The stateroom was spacious and very comfortable.  We were on deck 9 in #9614.  Not too far from the stairs and only 2 decks away from the pool deck and the Windjammer which is the main buffet eating area on the ship.

4) Food and Dining.  Seems like the food is becoming more and more bland in the main dining

rooms and the buffets these days.  We just found the food to be OK.  Breakfast was...OK.  Dinner in the main dining room was...Ok.  The highlight as far as the mass-produced food goes continues to be Royal Caribbean's french fries.  They are awesome!  And if you have had them, you know what I mean.  Our best meal by far was in the new Izumi Restaurant which is near the back of the ship in the area that used to be the Seaview Cafe.  It is a made-to-order Japanese/Asian restaurant and it was excellent.  We did not make any advance dining reservations before we boarded and we were able to call the day we wanted to try it and we got right in.  Great new addition and I highly recommend it. And for the first time, we tried the "My Time" dining option for the main dining room.  Unlike NCL's "Freestyle" dining, RCCL's version is a little more structured, or at least it can be.  With "My Time," you can still pre-select a set dining time for each night of your cruise.  You can select the same time for each night or mix it up a little.  Or you can simply opt to show up at the "My Time" level of the main dining room and wait for the first available seating.  We opted for 6:30pm every night.  We had the same table every night and the same waitstaff, but we had different table mates every night.  Nice option and we may opt for that again on a future cruise.

5) Entertainment.  The comedian was great.  The juggler/comedian was great.  The guest singer was great.  But some of the other musical groups throughout the ship left something to be desired.  If it had not been for the main performances in the main theater, we might have felt a bit bored at night after dinner.  RCCL has added some new acrobatic shows in the Centrum and they were OK, but you need to get to the Centrum early if you wanted to be able to get near the railing so you could have a good view of what was going on.   Our cruise director was good, but not the best compared to our other cruises.

6) Ports of Call.  Since this was only a 5 night cruise, we had two ports of call; Grand Cayman and Cozumel.  This was our 3rd visit to each of these ports.  We hired a taxi driver in Cozumel and negotiated a private tour of the island.  For $35 per person, we had an entire van to ourselves and a nice tour of the entire island including at least 4 stops at various areas of the beach so we could get out, take some pics, get a beverage, shop etc.  It was a great way to see so much of beautiful Cozumel.  One of the stops was at the new area call Paradise Beach which is an area really built for the day tourist.  You pay a one time fee and you are given access to a nice pool and also a great stretch of beach including lounge chairs and hammocks.  Food and beverages can be purchased at an additional cost.  While in Grand Cayman...we opted again to do some shopping and enjoy a day at leisure.  We did happen across a great Thai restaurant for lunch which happens to offer free wifi if you are a patron.  It appeared to be a popular spot for cruise line employees to eat and chat with their family back at home.  We also had to stop in at Breezes and enjoy a cool beverage on their open air balcony before heading back to the ship.

7) Disembarkation.  Ok...here is where some of the negative reviews about Tampa's port were correct.  This has nothing to do with Royal Caribbean.  Royal Caribbean is at the mercy of the customs department when it comes to how quick guests can actually get off the ship.  The customs area at the pier is chaotic at best.  They just don't seem to know how to organize everyone.  The Getting off and getting your luggage is the easy part.  But then the line to get through customs just seemed to be a mess as if no one seems to know what to do.  Employees were trying to get people to follow a certain line path, but nothing was marked very well and the lines were backing up fast.  So here is a very important tip; when it is your time to disembark, grab a porter as soon as you get into the baggage claim area.  Porters are allowed to escort you to the front in a different line and you can be out of there in no time at all.  That is what we did and it took no time at all and we were off the ship and in our car in about 15 mins.   And this is where having your car valeted helps. We walked out, handed our claim slip to an attendant and our car was quickly brought to us curbside.

Regardless of what some might consider negative comments, the cruise was awesome.  Can't say enough about the beauty of the ship.  Our stateroom was kept spotless and our attendant was there if we needed him.  Our service staff in the dining room was wonderful.  Everyone we came in contact with on the ship was friendly and helpful.  The public areas, including the restrooms (keep in mind that this cruise was shortly after the big moro-virus news aboard another RCCL cruise), were spotless.  The weather was ideal...lots of sun and warmth.  The Brilliance is, well, Brilliant.

If you have any specific questions about any part of the cruise or the ship that I did not address, please leave a comment and I will make sure I respond.

For more photos of the ship...you can click on these links:

Brilliance of the Seas Part 1
Brilliance of the Seas Part 2



Caribbean Cruise 2014 from Oeshpdog2 on Vimeo.

The Cruise Industry...Is It Safe?

An editorial-style response from me regarding the cruise industry.  The Carnival Triumph accident was just that...an accident.  I felt the need to give you my opinion related to that accident and also due to the amount of questions I have received related to that unfortunate event.

Freedom of the Seas...Here We Come

Been awhile between posts.  So much going on lately, personally and professionally.

Personally...we have bought a new home and, naturally, that has taken up a lot of time and energy.  Professionally, Disney's Free Dining Offer and honeymoon planning season has kept me hopping which is a really good thing.  The only negative is that all of the busyness has kept me from blogging.

So here I am...blogging only so that all of you will know what will again keep me from blogging over the next 2 weeks or so.  Another piece of professional and personal exciting news is that we are heading out this weekend (9/21/12) on a much needed vacation aboard Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas.  Uber-excited does not encapsulate how giddy I am about this trip.  The itinerary is a repeat for us (Eastern Caribbean) and so is the ship.  That just means I will spend less time trying to take a bunch of pictures and more time getting some much-needed rest and relaxation.

So stay tuned for my review again of the ship and the ports of call when we return.  But in the meantime, if you are an avid cruise enthusiast like us, you might be interested in checking out this cool webcam that is strategically placed along the bank (atop Fishlips Waterfront Bar and Grill) in Port Canaveral.  On cruise line arrival and departure days, it monitors the the various cruise ships in port very closely.  They will zoom in on each ship as it is pushing away from the dock and as it starts heading out to sea.  The camera is so clear and the sound so good, that you can see the faces of the passengers and even hear some of the sail away party going on onboard.  So...if you happen to be checking it out this coming Sunday (Sept 23rd), look for the guy waving and smiling really big...that will be me.

Port Canaveral Webcam

2011: A Look Ahead

First of all...thanks to all of you who made my 2010 the best year I have had the travel business thus far.  I made a commitment when I started in this business to grow only through providing the best service possible which in turn will make me referable.  I can now say that over 90% of my business comes from the referrals that my friends, family and past clients send my way.  I may not grow as fast and get as big as some of the more aggressive travel companies, but I am also not willing turn to my attention away from my clients in order to spend more time in the realm of mass advertisement and marketing schemes.

I set out in 2010 to make it the year I really become an expert in certain areas related to travel.  I decided to continue my focus into cruise vacations and Caribbean destinations.  I targeted courses and programs that helped me do just that.  I was also able to travel myself throughout 2010 which gave me that all-important first hand knowledge of most major cruise lines.  Book smarts are one thing, actual experience is another in my humble opinion.  While I may not quite be an "expert" yet, I am for sure on the track of becoming someone who you can turn to for help and guidance in those areas along with my continued knowledge of Disney.

Now, looking ahead to 2011, it is my continued goal to further my education in the area of Caribbean destinations including both the Eastern and Western Caribbean (including Mexico on the Pacific side as well).  I already have courses I am looking to take along with 1 personal trip already booked for May.  My trip will take me once again to Cancun and the Riviera Maya.  I will be staying at the Secrets Capri Riviera Cancun Resort and Spa (more details on that as the time gets closer).

I also have a very important and exciting trip planned for Walt Disney World later in the year to celebrate my parent's 50th wedding anniversary.

Somewhere between May and September, I might just have to plan another trip to a new destination in the Caribbean, but we will have to wait and see.

In addition...I hope to further develop my skill in the area of travel writing.  This blog has seen continued support by readers from all areas of social media; Facebook, Twitter, Youtube etc.  I hope to be able to better understand what readers are interested in and provide honest and sometimes thought-provoking content.  Some who have come in contact with me are not completely open to the idea of me being candid with my reviews and honest even if that means criticizing places or companies that they might hold near and dear to their heart.  But I have refused and will continue to refuse to write some middle-of-the-road article or gloss over glaringly negative aspects of any destination or travel provider.  I figure...if you didn't want my opinion, then why did you read my review?

So that is what is on the agenda this year.

I have some growth goals I am excited about which again means I will maintain my current course and put clients and their referrals first.  Thanks to all of you who support me through encouragement as well as your patronage.

So sit back and stay tuned...2011 is going to be a great year.

Carnival Conquest Review Part 4--The Summary

If you had read all of the review up to this point, hopefully you see that I am trying to be objective and fair along with offering my opinion about certain things.  I hope you keep that in mind as you read this section of the review.

In summary, let me just say that we did indeed have a great time on this cruise.  It would take a lot for my wife and I to say that we thought a cruise was horrible and this cruise was no where near something like that.  We enjoyed the peace and quiet that our stateroom afforded us.  We enjoyed the time spent together up on deck enjoying the sunshine and the WATER-SLIDE!  We found the majority of the staff to be pleasant and helpful and again our dining and stateroom staff were superb.  We loved our dinner table mates.

But I do want to mention some things again that we noted as different than our previous experiences.  It seems that Carnival is doing everything possible to get more money out of you while onboard (I know other cruise lines do that too)  and they have kept their cruise prices lower than others in the industry which has created the need to nickel and dime you for everything that seems to be included with other cruise lines.  For example...we always purchase the soda packages.  With Royal Caribbean, NCL and Princess, you get the souvenir, refillable mug as a bonus for purchasing the program.  With Carnival...the price is about the same for the program, but then they make you pay an additional $6.00 for the mug.

I already mentioned the cookies and sweets found at the coffee bar and how they charge for any of their better-made desserts.   If you wanted some quality treats, you had to pay for it.

I had also mentioned the photography in an earlier post.  I have never seen such an abundance of photo ops in all of my previous cruises as I did here on Carnival.  The promenade is laden with one photographer after another waving you over trying to get you to pose in front of such cruise-appropriate backdrops as a rose garden or a flowery trestle or a grand piano.  And to my shock...hoards of guests were having their pictures taken with these.  Normally you will want to have your picture taken with something like oh...the cruise ship in the background which will help others see when and where you had your picture taken.  But for the life of me I could not understand why so many were lined up to have pictures taken with backdrops that you would find back home at your local Glamour Shots.  These photo ops were available EVERY night of the cruise and were EVERYWHERE!  This issue brings me back to the congested photo area where you could go check out your pictures and purchase any that you liked.  They were taking SOOO many pictures, that they ran out of room on the walls and had some of the older ones stuffed in plastic containers where you had to wait to rifle through them in hopes that you actually found the one with you in it.

It is obvious that it is a money-maker for Carnival which is why you felt like they were pushing you to stop and have your picture made at every turn.

We again found it surprising that the cruise director was not that visible.  We also found it a bit shocking that the dining room Maitre’d never ever came by our table to ask if there was any special food requests or to make sure we were all satisfied.  It seemed that he was more interested in putting on their dinner shows than he was making sure guests were actually satisfied with their dining.  If you do a little research about the employees of Carnival and the shows they are made to put on, you will find that most look at it as humiliating and degrading.  Not sure why anyone in a nice dining room needs to see service staff get up on tables and dance to the song “Apple Bottom Jeans.”  Is that an appropriate song for a family dinner or nice dining experience?

This was also the first cruise in which there was a need for the Maitre’d to make an announcement that ball caps are never acceptable in the main dining room.  I was thankful for his willingness to announce such a thing, but I was also noticing a large contingent of guests who completely ignored the dining room dress code completely.  This may have something to do with where this cruise embarks out of.  This was the first cruise I had been on where the majority of the guests were all from one State...Texas.  We saw a large amount of camouflage all throughout the ship.  I actually saw one gentleman wearing a camouflage baseball cap with a fish hook in it to dinner.  This was also the first cruise out of 6 where you could hear an abundance of country music.  The last thing I want to hear while cruising the Caribbean is honky tonk music, but if you like that sort of thing, then this was the cruise for you. 

Cruises that embark out of ports like Miami or Ft Lauderdale etc seem to be a bit more diverse and have guests from all over the Country and world.  Due to this port only offering a limited amount of cruise choices and being so far south in the big State of Texas, it seemed to mainly appeal to those from the region and to a large amount of first time cruisers.  Again...if you are from Texas and you were a first time cruiser on this cruise, I am not intending to offend, but simply point out what I observed from my perspective.  I personally like to be around a more diverse crowd which to me is one of fun things about cruising...meeting all types of people from all types of places. 

Some of the clientele also found it appropriate to have balcony-to-balcony conversations with one another.  I am not talking about connecting balconies...I am talking balconies far removed from one another which required a bit of yelling which again tends to take away from the peace and quiet of your own balcony.

I know some are not going to like what I am saying when it comes to the demographics onboard, but I would rather someone go into their cruise prepared than being surprised. 

I say all of that to say...this is not a cruise for everyone.  We found what made us happy and stuck to it for the duration of the cruise.  We enjoyed the cruise but I doubt we will ever sail again on the Conquest out of Galveston again.  This is not a reflection on Carnival as a whole, but only my opinion about this specific ship out of this specific port.

I hope this helps you when pondering your next cruise option.  Everyone has an opinion and this review reflects mine.

I am already looking forward to my next cruise which may either be on Holland America or Celebrity...I am still trying to decide.  Or I may head back to Royal Caribbean and give the new Allure of the Seas a try.  Thanks again for reading and feel free to comment or ask any sort of cruise related question.

Carnival Conquest Review Part 3

This edition of my review will cover the entertainment and ports of call.

The Entertainment:

Boo!  That should pretty much sum it up.  There were 4 comedians onboard during this cruise.  One was very funny (Mutzie), one was ok and 2 were simply awful.  This was also the first cruise out of 6 where there was not some form of show every night in the main theater.  They opted for “adult laser tag” instead on some nights.  But after watching a couple of the shows...I see why.  They tried to make up for the lack of dancing and singing talent by wearing practically nothing (at least for the ladies in the production).  These were not family shows.  These were Vegas showgirl style shows.  I am sure the costumes cost a lot of money, but maybe they should try to pay for better performers instead and go with cheaper costumes.  We always try to see the shows, but we missed at least 2 of them on this cruise and we wish we would have missed at least 2 of the comedians and one more of the shows.  We have seen a lot of shows at sea and these were the worst by far.

The cruise director was heard but not necessarily seen.  All of my previous cruises had a cruise director that would come out before each show and talk to the crowd and joke and sort of get things started.  Not on this cruise.  Chris Jefferson would be heard over the speaker as an intro voice, but rarely made an actual appearance.  The same was true for the comedy shows.  You would hear an announcement by him before the show, but it was always one of the assistants doing the actual introduction.  They played Bingo in the main theater every night right up until it was showtime. 

The musicians were good.  The calypso band (duo) that played out by the pool were excellent and kept things “groovy” as they liked to say.  The best entertainment we found on board was us actually going down the water-slide which was a real hoot for us.

But the overall entertainment onboard gets a C- grade and that is me being nice.

Ports of Call:

Jamaica.  We have been to Jamaica before so our intent with this port was to hop off the ship, buy some goodies in the cruise ship center, and hop back on to take advantage of a practically empty ship.  We stuck to our plan and did just that.  Jamaica is not a port that I feel visitors should get out and explore on their own.  Safety is a concern and I only recommend doing “planned and organized” excursions through reputable companies.  We heard a few comments from folks who did planned excursions and some were not thrilled with how far most excursions are from where the ship docks in Montego Bay.  Jamaica is not our favorite port which is why we opted to take advantage of the quiet ship

Grand Cayman.  In contrast to Jamaica, this is a port that is easy to get out in and explore on your own.  We opted for a nice leisurely day of shopping so we waited until about 9:30am to try to tender into shore.  Carnival’s tendering process went very smoothly.  We were actually “anchored” very close to shore compared to some of the other ships in port that day.  We were onshore in about 10 minutes.  We took in some of the scenery, shopped and then found “Breezes” for lunch.  You get good food and a GREAT view from Breezes so I recommend checking them out the next time you visit Grand Cayman.  The cruise lines need to skip Jamaica and offer an overnight stay in Grand Cayman instead...in my opinion.

Cozumel.  I love the Puerto Maya area where our ship docked.  Good places to eat right there by the pier and lots of shopping.  We chose to do an excursion that we booked through Shoretrips.com.  We took a short 5-10 minute taxi ride ($10 each way) to the Fiesta Americana where we had full access to their pools and beach.  Lunch and open bar was also included.  The staff at the resort were great.  The food was good and it was a great day.  It was a bit windy, but still warm and enjoyable.  Give Shoretrips.com a try when looking into excursions.

Stay tuned for part 4 in which I will summarize the experience and give my overall grade. :)

Carnival Conquest Review Part 2

This part of the review will cover my overall impression of the ship as well as the food and dining venues.

The Ship:

The Conquest was the first one built in the “Conquest Class” of ships back in 2002 and therefore shows some of its age.  The Degas Lounge had some fairly outdated light fixtures.  The bathroom fixtures in our bathtub/shower were very outdated compared to what is being installed in newer ships today. There were a few stains in some carpeted areas which the staff was trying to get out during our cruise.  The one quirky area that I found was where the internet cafe was located.  You had to go down to deck 4 and then walk around and through one of the lounges just to find it.  Most internet cafes on other ships are located more centrally with some of the other public areas such as the library, coffee cafe etc.

The promenade on deck 5 is the main entertainment area on the ship.  The disco, the casino, the wine bar, one of the teen lounges, the sushi and coffee venues, the gift shops are all found along the promenade or forward on this deck.  If you wanted loud music and dancing, this was the deck for you.  There was either recorded music blaring or a live band playing each day and night.  It was also the area where so many of the photographers were perched trying to get you to take a picture with one of the hundreds of backdrops that we saw.  I will also come back to that also in a later post.

The pool and deck areas seemed to have an abundance of deck chairs and space.  We mainly found deck chairs early on in the day near the main pool area on the Lido deck.  This was also the area that featured the large TV screen and waterslide and 3 hot tubs (although I heard that only one of the hot tubs was actually heated).  On sea days, you needed to get out on the Lido deck no later than 10am if you wanted to get deck chairs near some of the action, which we did.

Overall, the ship is very nice and the public areas (not including the dining) seemed designed well for traffic flow with the photo area being the exception to that.  The photo area where you could go view some of the pictures you had taken was very congested at certain times and made it almost impossible to get around.  The ship’s staff was always out and about cleaning and sprucing which is always something nice to see.

The ship itself gets a B grade.

The Dining:

Ok...now we are getting to the important stuff.  This is where my perspective comes into play a lot.  I am going to compare the dining areas and the staff to what I have experienced on 5 previous cruises with 4 other cruise lines. 

First, the buffet areas were not designed well for the size of the ship.  Unlike Royal Caribbean’s Windjammer Cafe which has “food islands” or stations, the Cezanne Restaurant was designed more “cafeteria style.”  You get in line to get a plate and tray and then you wait with everyone else and you SLOWLY make your way through the food options, even if what you really want is more at the end of the buffet line.  Lines, during the busier parts of the morning and afternoon, were very long.  Seating on the other hand was actually better than I had seen on some previous cruises.  There was a lower and upper seating area along with more seating out by the pool areas.  You should not have a problem getting a seat once you actually have a plate of food.

The food in Cezanne was just ok.  After a few cruises, I have lowered my buffet expectations and the food on this buffet was similar to what I have seen on the last two.  It is what it is.  Everything that was supposed to be warm or hot was warm or hot and the staff was doing their best to keep things in stock.  Along with the normal buffet choices, you could also opt to visit a wok station, a fish and chips station or a deli sandwich station.  But again, depending on when you got there, the lines could be VERY long.  The fish and chips were good and so were the made-to-order deli sandwiches.  We never got a chance to try the wok station due to the crowd, but some friends of our did and said it was excellent.

2 things Carnival should simply eliminate; the "late night Mexican buffet" which now replaces the full midnight buffet and the midday "chocolate buffet." These were supposed to have been special occasions, but were pretty uneventful and lackluster. The "Mexican buffet" consisted of a few nicely carved fruit items on the 2 dessert stations and one ice sculpture. The food was no different than what you would have found during lunch or dinner in Cezanne. We walked down to see it and chuckled and walked away. The same goes for the chocolate buffet. It was a waste of money and resources.

The thing I wish Carnival and even some other cruise lines like NCL would think about changing is their beverage service in the buffet areas.  Royal Caribbean has staff that roams around asking if they can get you juice, milk, tea or coffee once you get your food and find a seat.  Carnival does not. You have to find a seat and then go to one of the drink stations to get tea, juice or coffee.  That can be an additional hassle after you have stood forever in the food line.  Just a little difference in service that I have noticed as I get more cruises under my belt.

You could also opt for the traditional hotdog, pizza or hamburger from those areas out by the pools.  Again...the food there was ok and edible. No complaints.

Now on to the dining room and specialty restaurant.  We ate dinner almost every night in the Monet dining room which is the “assigned time and seat” dining option.  The anytime dining can be found in the Renoir dining room.  The service was stellar.  Kate and her team were very attentive and the food always showed up quickly and at the right temperature.  This was the 1st time that we had at least 3 servers attending to our table (actually 4 when you consider we even had a “specialty beverage server” as I will call him).  The food was good overall.  Some dishes were better than others, but they were all good.  The one difference again that I will note is that it seemed that Carnival offers less in the way of dessert choices at dinner.  You were given 2 different options every night along with their standard offerings that are on the menu every night.

I was waiting for that “wow” dining experience when it came to the food with Carnival and I just never got it.  I had heard so much about the lobster tail that you get with Carnival and I was a bit disappointed when I saw the portion that you were given.

We did decide one night to try the Conquest’s specialty dining venue, the Point.  You pay $30 per person extra to eat at the Point, but I do recommend giving it a try.  The food was great and so was the very attentive service.  I had the best dessert of the cruise while dining here.  The only con to this venue was its location.  You were seated with a view of one of the outside decks on deck 10.  Other specialty restaurants on other ships are usually placed in a quiet area with a nice view of the ocean which adds to the ambience and experience.

We did order room service a few times.  They were very prompt.  We ordered lunch one day during a sea day and it only took 10 minutes from the time we place the order until the food showed up at our door.  We also opted to have breakfast in our room one morning and it showed up precisely at the time we had asked for.  The only negatives were that our breakfast showed up without a spoon which made eating cereal a bit of a challenge with a fork and I do wish they offered a better room service selection.  For example...we asked if we could get fries with our sandwich instead of potato chips and were simply told no.  I know enough about cruise ships to know that the food pretty much comes from the same galley and I am not sure why they would not try to accommodate what seemed like a simple request.

Before I end the discussion about the food, I need to touch on the sushi venue and the specialty coffee area.  I was excited about the sushi since I LOVE sushi.  But I was disappointed to see that you only had 3 choices each day.  Basically you had a tuna choice, a crab choice and a non-fish choice each day.  The good news is that it was included in the price of your cruise.  Not so though with any of the sweets from the specialty coffee area.  Unlike Princess, NCL, Disney and Royal Caribbean, you had to pay extra with Carnival for a decent cookie, piece of cake or any of the other food choices found here.  The prices ranged from $1.50 up to $3.00.  And after trying some of the dessert choices on the buffet, it really made you crave something decent as far as treats are concerned which must be Carnival’s plan.  Cookies on the buffet were very small and hard so if you wanted a decent, freshly baked cookie, you had to pay for it.  Again...same galley, but different levels of food quality.  I am not a fan of that practice at all.

The food and service in the dining room and and specialty restaurant gets an A- grade while the other food options get a C grade.

Stay tuned for part 3 where I will be discussing the entertainment, and the ports of call.

Carnival Conquest Review Part 1

I hope everyone has had a chance to watch the short video in the previous post so that you will understand the perspective from which I am writing this review from.  This part of the review will cover our most recent 7 night cruise aboard the Carnival Conquest and will discuss our pre-cruise hotel, the port of embarkation, and our stateroom. 

Pre-cruise Hotel:

We drove to the pier from our home in Missouri and spent the night in Galveston at the Four Points by Sheraton on Seawall Boulevard overlooking the Gulf of Mexico.  This hotel is brand new.  The rooms were comfortable and very clean.  The hotel is conveniently located within about 5-10 minutes of the pier.  I have read some reviews where someone was complaining of the price of sodas and snacks at the hotel.  For Pete’s sake...it is a hotel!  Since when is anything like that ever cheap at a hotel?  The hotel itself is close to fast food venues if someone is looking for cheaper food options so  I say that the cost issue is not really an issue at all.

The only thing that I hope they consider is some form of pre-cruise package including transfers to the pier.  It was not an issue for us since we drove down, but for others, they will have to call a cab to get from the hotel to the pier.

Port of Embarkation:

This cruise left out of the Port of Galveston.  We arrived at the pier at approximately 11:40am and dropped off our bags with one of the porters and then proceeded to park the car in the open air parking lot (lot B) which is about a quarter mile from the pier itself.  A shuttle bus runs every few minutes between the pier and the parking areas and we were back at the pier within 10 minutes or so.  The lines to get through security were getting quite long.  They only had 2 security areas open for general boarding which was creating quite a bottle neck.  Luckily we were considered VIP guests since we were staying in one of Carnival’s suite categories and we were escorted to a much shorter security line.  Once through security, we were then led to a nice quiet room where a Carnival employee was waiting to officially check us in.  This  again was due to the fact that we had VIP priority check in status.  Checking in was a breeze and we were quickly led up the gangway to the ship.  It took less than an hour from the time we dropped off the luggage, parked the car, checked in and were finally walking onboard the ship.  You could choose to park closer in one of the valet parking lots, but be prepared to pay for that convenience and service.  I can’t say enough about the benefit of having the VIP status.  I estimate that it saved us at least 30 minutes or more by not having to stand and wait in the security line for general boarding.  I am not sure why the only had 2 security scanners open with the amount of people trying to get through.  Out of 6 cruises, that was the longest security line I had seen to date.

The Port of Galveston, in general, is an easy port to get to and is close to several hotel and eating venues.  The only other issue or warning I will make about the port is concerning flying into Houston versus driving to the pier.  Both of Houston’s major airports are at least 45 minutes from the pier (assuming no traffic issues) and transfers can be quite costly so just be aware and plan/budget accordingly.  Driving to the pier was a breeze.  I give the port a “B” grade. 

Our Stateroom:
As I mentioned, we were staying in one of the suite categories.  We were in an OS category on deck 7 (Empress) and our stateroom number was 7273.  We were a little more forward than what we had been on previous cruises, but conveniently located to main lobby stairs and elevator.  The stateroom was GREAT!  It had a nice little entry way with hardwood flooring and a cozy seating area with a couch, small table and chair.   It had granite counter tops and crown molding throughout.  There was an abundance of storage and I mean an abundance.  Lots of room to hang clothes and tons of drawers to  keep everything else out of sight and neatly organized.  The bathroom had 2 sinks and an actual whirlpool bathtub/shower combo and a separate vanity area.  The balcony was large and came with 3 reclining chairs and a small table.

Tip:  when choosing a stateroom, make sure you know what is below or above you.  Deck 7 is sandwiched in between 2 other decks filled with nothing but staterooms which makes it a very quiet deck.  We never heard any of our neighbors next to us nor above or below us.  The only time we heard anyone was if they were out on their balcony where noise seemed to travel much further. 

We spent a lot more of our time in our stateroom than we did on any of our prior cruises.  It was a nice retreat away from some of the noise and people onboard (I will get to that in another post).  One of our sea days was very windy up on deck and we found out that our balcony was big enough for 2 adults to recline our chairs and enjoy the sunshine out of the wind.  If you ever have a chance to upgrade to a OS or GS suite category, do it.  Don’t listen to those who try to say that there is not much difference between a regular balcony stateroom and one of the suites.  That is simply not true. I give our stateroom an A+ grade.

Stay tuned for part 2 where I will be discussing the ship itself and the various food venues.

Cruise Review--Keeping Things in Perspective

Accidents Do Happen

You know the old adage “we are all human”?  Well...it is amazing how quickly we chuck that idea aside anytime someone makes a mistake or when things don’t go exactly as we planned. 

The latest cruise crisis aboard the Carnival Splendor will go to prove that it does not matter what someone does or tries to do to right a wrong, it will never ever be enough for some people.  Some people will decide that this is the end of their cruise vacations forever based on what has transpired over the past week.  That is a knee-jerk reaction to what is simply...an accident.  Angry travelers will lose site of those crew members who worked tirelessly and fearlessly to put out the fire.  They will lose site of those crew members who had to work without any sleep at all so that necessities such as plumbing could come back online.  Others will never comprehend the massive coordination that it took to get the navy involved so that certain items could be airlifted aboard.

Nope...some will just blame an accident on the company and the crew and spew all sorts of venom towards those who did everything in their power to get them back into a port safely.

I am not here to simply be a fan of Carnival. In fact, as I type this, we are getting ready to embark on our very first Carnival cruise in less than 3 days.  I am simply a fan of those who do their job when a crisis or accident strikes and I applaud the Carnival organization and the crew of the Splendor for getting everyone back into a port safe and sound.  I know some will discount what Carnival has offered them and say it is simply not enough, but trust me, they are doing what they can do in light if what has happened. 

Do any of us claim that we will never take a vacation that involves driving across country when we are delayed or involved in a large traffic accident?  Do any of us claim we will never ever fly again when we hear of an aircraft that had to be diverted due to mechanical failure? Think about that if you are one who is looking at this accident as a reason why you will never consider a cruise vacation or consider sailing with a certain cruise line.

Those are just some thoughts I wanted to share.

Travel Reviews: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

By the title, you probably are assuming I am going to list some hotels, cruises or some of my other travels as my good, bad or ugly experiences.  But I am not.  This article is strictly for the purpose of addressing reviews themselves....again.

The more popular travel forums and review sites become, the more critical it is for readers to take them with a grain of salt.  Here is why I say that.  Below is an example of how the same cruise experience can be shared on some of these forums by 2 different travelers:

Traveler 1--”This cruise was the absolute worst I have ever been on.  The service was something near what you would get at K-Mart the day after Christmas.  The staff were all ogres.  The food was rancid and sent 95% of the passengers to the infirmary to have their stomachs pumped.  Our stateroom smelled of musty gym socks mixed with a hint of septic system.  The shows were at the pre-school talent level. NEVER take this cruise.  RUN RUN!!”

Traveler 2--”We just got back from our cruise aboard XYZ ship and we had the best time of our lives.  The service was 5 star.  The food was something we would expect to get while visiting the Queen of England.  Our stateroom was superb and even had the faint scent of lilac which added to the ambiance. The entertainment was straight off of Broadway.  Can’t wait to get back on this ship again.”

Now think about those 2 reviews for a moment.  How is it possible for the same ship to get 2 different reviews at such extreme opposite ends of the spectrum?  Well...the truth of how the cruise actually was and actually will be is probably somewhere near the middle as most are.  All trips, hotels, cruises etc have their good and not so good points or maybe I should call them “areas of improvement.”  But what bothers me about reviews is that so many of them are extremes and some take them as the gospel truth and make decisions based on them. 

I recently was reading on a travel forum and someone had posted some negative news and I was shocked to see how many believing that one post and acting as if it were enough for them to make a decision.  NOOO!!  Don’t do that.  Those that write VERY negative reviews are most likely in one of the following categories:

1) An extreme fan of a competing cruise line or company
2) A spoiled traveler who has a very unrealistic view of reality
3) A very unhappy person in general and nothing will make them happy
4) Someone who had a very unfortunate experience that was not typical and resolution was not to their satisfaction

Even if the negative review came from the someone who had a very unfortunate experience, other travelers should give more weight to the overall rating and not base a decision on one person’s skewed perspective.  And trust me...if you see someone who says, ”the food was hideous” on their cruise, they are not someone grounded in reality.  If someone says, “the food was always cold,”  maybe they were eating only on the fruit buffet or maybe they were coming to breakfast at a time when the buffet was about to be changed from breakfast to lunch.  Those are the details that most negative reviewers leave out of their synopsis.

So in summary...read reviews with a grain of salt if you read them at all.  Understand that every traveler has their own viewpoint of the level of service they receive and they may not be giving ALL of the story.  The "Good" reviews, in my opinion, are those who offer more than just the good side or the bad side; they will usually give detail about the good and also about why they may view something as not so good.  They are balanced and you can tell that the writer was trying to be objective.  Look for those if you want to get a true picture of how a place or a cruise might be. 

Your Most FAVORITE Cruise Line

This is just a quick, non-scientific poll to see which cruise line you would most likely choose for your next cruise vacation. 

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Carnival Cruise 2010-a Preview

We are excited to be just a little over 30 days away from taking our first cruise with Carnival Cruise Lines.   This cruise will make a total of 6 cruises for me.  I will also be able to say that I have sailed at least once with Royal Caribbean, NCL, Princess, Disney and Carnival.  I had a goal early on where I wanted to personally sail with these cruise lines because, in my opinion, they have the broadest appeal among mainstream cruisers from all age groups.  I have always taken pride in my knowledge of certain travel products and it is hard to beat personal experience when it comes to speaking to others about their cruise options.

So with that said, I will be blogging about our cruise as usual once we return and will be giving my personal opinion of the ship’s staff, food, accommodations, ports of call etc.  But for now...I want to give you all a preview of the ship we will be sailing on and our personal trip plans.

Cruise Date and Length:
We sail away on November 14th for 7 nights.

The Ship:
I am thrilled that my first cruise with Carnival will be aboard the Carnival Conquest.  I have studied the Conquest class of ships and they appear to offer a something for everyone.  The ship weighs in at a modest 110,000 gross tons and first entered into service on November 15, 2002.  It can carry up to over 3700 passengers and normally sails with just over 2900 happy cruisers. It measures in at just over 950 feet in length and has 13 passenger decks.  Over 32% of its 1487 staterooms have balconies. 

Accommodations:

I am even more thrilled to say that we have chosen an OS Category stateroom which is one of 3 suite categories aboard the Conquest.  Our suite has an entry area, a separate dressing area, a bathroom with 2 sinks and a whirlpool tub/shower combo and an extra large balcony where I plan on spending a lot of time each morning enjoying my cup of coffee.  It also has an abundance of closet space, a couch, table and chair and nice king sized bed.  The OS Category was once called a category 11 for those who may still not be accustomed to some of Carnival’s re-categorization of their staterooms. The OS stands for “Ocean Suite” and the only categories above ours would be the GS or “Grand Suite” and the “Captains Suite.”  We are on the Empress Deck in stateroom 7273. 

We are also excited to test out Carnival’s VIP embarkation and disembarkation process which I have heard or have read some mixed reviews about.  I will explain more about it in my review upon our return.

Port of Embarkation
We start our 7 day cruise out of the Port of Galveston.  This will be our first cruise as well out of this port.  So far, without question, my favorite port of embarkation is Port Everglades (Ft Lauderdale).  I like how close the airport is to the port along with the abundance of hotels that are within view of the port itself.  So I will be curious to see how things go on this cruise.  We will be spending the night before our cruise in the brand new Four Points by Sheraton which is very close to the port.  The hotel offers free shuttle to and from the pier and my goal is to wake up early the morning of the 14th to see if I can catch a glimpse of the Conquest returning to port from its previous 7 day cruise.

Ports of Call:
This cruise will make stops at 3 different Western Caribbean ports of call; Jamaica (Montego Bay), Grand Cayman and Cozumel.  In addition, we will have 3 full days at sea...we LOVE sea days!

Our Plan:
Here is what we have arranged for this trip.  For the first time we will be driving from our home in Missouri to the Port of Galveston.  It is about an 11 hour trip so we will get on the road Friday afternoon and head for Dallas TX where we plan on spending the night at a La Quinta Inn.  The next morning we have a special breakfast planned before heading the rest of the way down to Galveston.  For the first time in 42 years, my wife is about to meet her birth mother who did the most courageous thing in the world over 42 years ago which is give her daughter up for adoption.  After our much-anticipated breakfast, we will head to Galveston where we will be spending the night at the hotel I mentioned earlier, the new Four Points by Sheraton.

Once aboard the Conquest, our goal is to relax and take full advantage of the full sea days before we arrive in Montego Bay.  We have been to Montego Bay back a few years ago when we sailed with Royal Caribbean on the Radiance of the Seas and our plan is for me to hop off the ship, buy some Blue Mountain Coffee, snap some pictures of the ship and hop back on to take advantage of a ship that is practically empty.

We will then sail to Grand Cayman where we have our only excursion booked.  I again have booked our excursion through Shoretrips.com and I highly recommend that you check them out when thinking about excursions for your next cruise.  They are reasonably priced (cheaper than the cruise line in most cases) and very reliable.  We have a beach day planned which also includes a nice lunch at a local restaurant down on a stretch of Seven Mile Beach that is less populated. 

Our last port will be Cozumel where our only plan is to disembark and take a stroll through some of the shopping areas at our leisure and potentially find a nice local restaurant for lunch before again getting back on the ship to take advantage of more available poolside seating and possibly an “in port spa special.” 

I think you can see by our plans that they are skewed heavily towards R&R and less towards scheduled activities.  My other goal is to see as much as the ship as I can and eat in as many of the ship’s dining venues as I can so I can adequately discuss its pros and cons upon our return. 

So please stay tuned...

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Travel Question: Do I Need A Passport? (U.S. Citizens)

This is by far the most frequent question I receive from clients and potential travelers. So here is my answer...YES! Please, if you do not have a passport already, make plans to get one soon. Look at it as a travel necessity as you would luggage or a camera or anything else that would always be on your packing list.

Now before you go off and cite the U.S. State Department's official answer to the question and claim I am off-base, hear me out. If you plan on visiting Canada or Mexico from the United States by car, you need a passport (or the passport card). If you plan on flying to ANY Country outside of the U.S. including Canada and Mexico, you need a passport.

But...if you are going on a cruise and the cruise leaves from a U.S. port and returns to a U.S. port, then your cruise is considered to be a "closed loop" cruise. In this case, you are not required to have a passport or the passport card even if your cruise visits foreign ports during the cruise. The key is that it has to leave from a U.S. port and return to a U.S. port. As of the time of this article, you only need a State issued driver's license AND a copy of your State-issued birth certificate.

So again, before you go off and decide now that you do not need a passport because you only plan on taking a cruise, let me throw you some curves that might make you reconsider. First, the U.S. does not control other Country's requirements when it comes to entry documentation. You may go on your cruise and get to a port only to find out you cannot enter that Country because they require you to carry a passport. But here is the one scenario that I hope will make you rethink and hopefully go ahead with getting your passport; Assume you go on a cruise and go to a port such as Jamaica. While you are in port, you go on an excursion and, during that excursion, you break a bone and are transported to the nearest hospital. Now imagine sitting there and looking at your watch and realizing that your ship left port an hour ago. So you start thinking about flying home from Jamaica, but soon also realize you will need a passport to fly back into the U.S., but you had decided to save the money and NOT get your passport. Now what ya gonna do?  Now we all hope that this would never ever happen, but the question is...what if it does?

The above scenario is not far fetched and I wish more travelers understood the pros of getting their passports instead of only looking at the one negative which is always the cost. Look at it as an investment (I know that is bit of a stretch). The passport for an adult is good for 10 years and the sooner you buy it, the cheaper it will be since passport prices are constantly going up, not down.

I HIGHLY recommend for you to visit this LINK where you can get the latest and greatest passport info and costs for adults and children. If you are pondering a vacation of a lifetime that will take you outside the U.S. borders, don't put the passport decision process off, make it a part of your advance planning and get it checked off your to-do list and let the real fun part of the planning process begin.

Cruise Stateroom Selection, Which Do You Usually Choose?

So much is said and written in regards to cruise staterooms. If you have spent any time at all on various cruise-related blogs and forums, you will see some pretty strong opinions when it comes to answering the question, "which stateroom category is the best?" You will hear (read) people saying that they always choose an inside stateroom because "ocean view or balcony staterooms are a waste of money. Who ever goes and sits on their balcony anyways?" Then you will get the natural rebuttal from those who will always choose a balcony stateroom and hear them justify their upgrade by arguing that they enjoy the "quiet moments sipping coffee on their balcony as they pull into each port of call," etc.

But I will tell you that most of my clients usually make their choice based simply on their budget. If their budget only allows a cruise with an inside stateroom, then they will choose an inside stateroom versus forgoing the cruise because they can't afford a balcony and so on.

So here is my "non-scientific poll" related to the subject; which is it for you? Chime in and share an opinion as well.

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Princess Cruise 2010--A Summary

You know you either had a great vacation or a really bad vacation when you find yourself sitting and reflecting on all the different things you did on your trip days and even weeks after the vacation is over. Well…I have already stated that our vacation with Princess Cruise Lines was a GREAT vacation and I still find myself pondering all of the great things we were able to experience. Some of the things I have continued to think about even include more of the “pros” that the Emerald Princess has to offer and Princess Cruise Lines in general.

My previous two posts did not mention some of them that I feel should be pointed out before I leave the subject entirely. In fact, I can’t believe I had forgot to mention this one in Part 1. Those of you who have cruised before with other cruise lines know that, in most cases, you cannot access your stateroom on the day of embarkation until sometime after 1:30 or 2:00PM. That means that, if you board the ship before that time, you have to carry some of your carry-on luggage with you as you go to the “welcome aboard” buffet or as you tour the ship. It can be quite a burden if you were one of those who probably packed too much in your carry-on. With Princess we were able to get into our stateroom as soon as we boarded which was just a little past 12:00PM. This may seem small to some of you who have never cruised before, but trust me, it is a big deal for those of us who have waited in some cases until 2:30PM before we were allowed into our staterooms. So again…thumbs up Princess.

The last pro I will mention is another one that I am mad at myself for overlooking in the previous posts. Again, for those of you who have at least one cruise under your belt, most likely you were directed to a check-in line at the cruise terminal where you either waited in the general boarding line or you were lucky enough to be in one of the “frequent cruiser” or suite passenger line. I am a fan of how Princess breaks the lines up into deck categories. So, for example if you are on the Plaza Deck, you only have to go wait in the line designated for that deck. That makes it easier for the personnel as well since the stateroom keys are already broken down by deck and placed near that line. I know…you are probably thinking that I am really getting too detailed, but trust me, those little things can make the whole process go much smoother and can get your vacation off to a great start.

So with all of this said…I will leave you with a video showing the pictures and visuals of why I say that our vacation was one of the best ones we have had so far. Please leave comments, questions, opinions etc.