Day 2..."Live" from the NCL Sky

Well...woke up this morning in the Bahamas but it sure did not feel like it. Our first port of call was Freeport/Lucaya in Grand Bahamas. Everyone was hoping for Bahamian weather only to wake up to cloudy skies and temps in the 60's. Stayed mostly cloudy all day but cruisers are hard to deter from trying to sit outside on the pool deck which many did today even though the temp stayed closer to the high 60's (not typical at all for the Bahamas).

After eating a quick breakfast, I headed off the ship and into town. Here is something to know about Freeport; the main part of town is about a 15-20 minute taxi ride from the pier. The pier has your standard cheesy souvenir vendors which I strongly recommend for you to avoid. Take the time to stand in the taxi line and pay the $10 round trip to go into the main part of town. With that said...still not a huge fan of the shops and restaurants there, but it is worth getting off the ship and taking in some of the palm laden streets and colorful buildings.

I happened to get dropped off in town adjacent to the Radisson Resort and Spa. I was given a very nice tour of the spa facilities and I highly recommend it as an optional (personal) shore excursion. You can make arrangements ahead of time for your treatments while in port and also arrange for a private transfer to the hotel via Dudley Seide who runs a company called "Hall of Famer" Tour and Taxi service (contact me for his info). The resort is beautiful and would make for a great day in Freeport.

After that personal tour I decided to make my way back to the ship and indulge in one of the "in-port" spa specials that the cruise line offers for those who choose to spend their time on board the ship. My spa therapist was name Princess and she was simply awesome so ask for her when making an appointment at the spa on the NCL Sky. :)

Last but not least...I want to mention my dinner. This cruise ship has several specialty restaurants and one of them is called "Cagney's." It specializes in steaks and it exceeded my expectations. The New York Strip was incredible and the service was impeccable. It was worth the extra surcharge of $25 per person. My full meal consisted of Crab Cakes, Lobster Bisque, 10oz New York Strip and a wonderful warm macadamia nut brownie ala mode.

Ok...enough for now. We will be docking in Nassau in the morning so stay tuned.

"Live from the Norwegian Sky Cruise Ship"

I am out somewhere in the Atlantic between Miami and Freeport (Grand Bahamas) in windy conditions. The ship is rolling a bit which may cause some issues for new cruisers, but here is a tip; buy and wear a "BioBand." They are specifically made to ease or alleviate motion sickness. I have one on now and am feeling 100% fine and have worn one on previous cruises. It is a small wristband that has a pressure point that applies pressure to a specific area on your wrist which controls your equilibrium and thereby prevents you from feeling motion sickness.

I boarded the shuttle at the hotel and was at the pier in 20 minutes and, thanks to a very smooth embarkation, was on the ship 15 minutes later. My ritual is to head to the "welcome on-board buffet" which I did. The NCL Sky's buffet restaurant is not designed well for large numbers of guests. The food stations were not marked well and the crowds were hard to navigate around so I grabbed what I could and then headed out to tour the ship. I like some of the common areas that this ship has to offer which I will touch on later in a different post.

For now...I will say that things are going well. I have been on newer ships with more updated decor, but that is not saying that this ship is not something pleasant to look at, but it is showing still some of its age. But that is to be expected with this smaller class ship and is common from cruise line to cruise line.

I will say one thing about the "Freestyle dining" here on NCL; it is nice for those who do not like the formality of other cruise lines. I waited about 5 minutes to be seated at a table and had a wonderful meal and was greeted and served promptly in the main dining room. My goal is to try one of the specialty restaurants tomorrow which carries an additional surcharge so that also means that my expectations will be much higher.

So please stay tuned. If the satellite internet connection allows...I will attempt at uploading a picture or two from each day. I am not feeling confident that the connection will be strong enough for my intended video uploads. But we will see and thanks in advance for following along with me on this journey

Live from the NCL Sky...Day 1

The time is finally here. Today I will be embarking on the Norwegian Sky cruise ship and head for warmer weather in the Bahamas.

As I always do...I flew in last night to make sure I was in town already on the day of departure. I chose to spend my pre-cruise night at the Fairfield Inn and Suites Miami Airport South by Marriott. I will mention more about this hotel in the attached video. So stay tuned for more broadcasts and installments coming soon from the cruise ship.

Live from the NCL Sky...Coming Soon

Stay tuned to this blog because I am about to embark on my next travel adventure. On January the 11th, I will be setting sail with Norwegian Cruise Line on the Norwegian Sky for a 4 night cruise to the Bahamas. My itinerary will take me from the home port of Miami with stops at the ports Freeport (Grand Bahamas), Nassau (Bahamas) and NCL's private island of Great Stirrup Cay.

I will be reporting live (with video and picture) so that you will be able to see the ship and the ports of call right along with me.

The video below shows some great outside shots of the ship of choice for this adventure.

NCL Norwegian Sky departing from Port of Miami from Len Kaufman on Vimeo.

When I embarked on my travel career, I knew I needed to devote my time and money to getting as much training as possible so I can be in the best position possible to help my clients. I set a goal to receive my Certified Travel Associate (CTA) designation within the first 3-5 years of being in the business and I did just that. But I also knew that personal experience is priceless and of greater value to my clients than anything learned in a book or during an online training course. So my goal is to keep myself out "in the real world" as much as I can to make sure I am seeing what my clients see in the way of service levels at various resorts or on the different cruise lines, the quality of food served and the overall condition of the hotel, cruise ship or all-inclusive property.

So stay tuned and become a follower and be a part of my upcoming journey.

Read and post cruise reviews

Concerned about your safety while traveling abroad?

Being the victim of a crime while traveling abroad would undoubtedly put a damper on anyone’s vacation. The U.S. State Department occasionally puts out warnings making us aware of the dangers of traveling to certain areas of the world because of the threat of violence against U.S. citizens. Most of the time it seems that those warnings are valid when you take into consideration that some of the areas we are warned about experience a high level of terrorist activity.

But I am not talking about those very few in number violent hotspots in this article. I want to address the constant warnings or news stories that keep making headlines for such places as Mexico, Aruba, and now even the Bahamas. Our media is quick to pick up on a story of a U.S. citizen being attacked while on vacation in some of these popular tourist destinations. In regards to Mexico, most stories are not even about Americans being attacked as much as they are about drug related violence in the towns along the U.S./Mexico border. Sensationalism is a major issue when it comes to our media reporting such events. There is a teaching in the Bible that says a man should not try to get the stick out of another person’s eye while he has a large beam in his own eye. That seems to be true about American Journalism. Our media seems to be one that likes to point out the trouble in other areas of our world while ignoring the major trouble right in our own backyard.

This sort of problem bothers me because of the fact that so many listen to such reports about a crime in “XYZ” Country and then decide to no longer vacation in that area of the world. An entire Country’s economy can be devastated by what our media reports when it shines such a negative light.

Now I am not saying that we should not be aware the potential for crime in various tourist areas, but I am saying that we need to sift through the hype and realize what the facts truly are before rushing to judgment or decision.

So let’s get down to the facts about crime for a moment. First…do you know where the U.S. ranks in the world when it comes to assaults? Out of every nation in the world, the U.S. ranks 6th! That is right…6th. Do you know where Mexico ranks? 20th! They rank lower than Great Britain, Canada, Australia and even Jamaica. When was the last time that you saw someone in our media write a story about the dangers of traveling to Australia or Great Britain? Wonder how many foreign media outlets are writing stories warning travelers of the dangers of traveling to the U.S.?? There have been stories recently about assaults against tourists in Nassau in the Bahamas. Cruise lines even started warning their passengers about getting off the ship while in port in Nassau. Do you know where the Bahamas rank in overall assaults? They are not even on the list. Guess where the U.S. ranks in total crime? If you guessed 1st, you are correct. That is right, more crime happens right here in the good old U.S. of A than any other nation in the world. Even if you break the statistic down to a per capita basis, the U.S. still ranks 8th. Mexico again comes in 39th well below the U.S. But we like to ignore those stats and jump on other countries when one of our own becomes a victim of crime inside their borders and put out travel warnings that may take a huge toll on those who live modest lives and who rely on tourists coming to visit their small part of the world.

So what is the moral of this story…be a smart traveler. Be vigilant no matter where you are. Don’t cut down side streets if you are not familiar with an area. Stay in populated areas or choose to go on guided tours. Keep your belongings close to your side and locked up. Appear that you are sure of yourself and where you are headed, or in other words, don’t look like a “tourist.”

And don’t be quick to take the media’s version of a story or report and keep things in perspective. You are in as much danger living and visiting areas of our own Country as you are traveling abroad. So get out there and don’t let fear rule your decisions and experience life through travel.

If you would like to see the statistics for yourself…you can click here.

Tips For a Less Stressful Holiday Travel Season

Family memories are what the holiday season is all about. It is a time for us to take a break from the stresses of life and remember the things that make life more meaningful. But for some...their holiday will get off to a less than relaxing start and the sad thing is, most of the troubles that come with holiday travel could have been avoided. I hope these tips in this short video help you have a more enjoyable holiday season if you are among the thousands that will be flying to and from their holiday destination.

Stay in the Moment

How many of you are like Clark W. Griswold when it comes to travel? Do you have a checklist of your must-see items and every minute of the trip scheduled down to the “T?” That sort of vacation planning makes me think of the Griswold’s in National Lampoon’s “Vacation” movie. Clark had everything planned out that he wanted his family to see so much so that the schedule trumped any sort of enjoyment at those sites.

Are your vacations like that to some degree? Does the schedule become so rigid that you fail to fully take in the things that are seeing and doing on your trip? If that is the case, here is my tip for you...stay in the moment.

Looking back at my years of traveling and the different locations I have visited, the things that I remember the most are those moments when I was fully engulfed by my surroundings. For example, I have been to Jamaica. Now you would think that the beach or the lush tropical rainforest would be the things I remember the most about that beautiful Country. I remember them and how beautiful they were, but that was just part of the trip. One of the most memorable moments on that trip was the ride my wife and took with our private driver to the resort. His name was Perry. He was full of life. He helped us get a vision of his country through explaining the Jamaican philosophy through speech and music. That short 30 minute ride made me see his homeland and his people and we will never forget Perry and it was a moment where we were fully engaged and not just watching things pass by out the window of his car. Time seemed to move much slower during that trip even after we arrived at the resort.

Other examples include standing in a small town at the base of Mt Fuji and watching the uniformed school children make their way from school to home. Our ultimate stop naturally was the half way point up Mt Fuji, but that small travel break in that tiny Japanese village brings back such a vivid memory and it was one where I stopped and just observed life going on around me. That does not mean that I do not remember or cherish my time actually up on Mt Fuji, but it shows that the journey held as much importance as the destination because I allowed myself to stay in the moment no matter where we were during the trip.

Are you seeing my point? So many get caught up with getting to each destination so they can check it off their list that they lose sight of the journey itself. Stay in the moment no matter where you are on your trip. Maybe it is a side trip in a small town to eat a meal on your trip. Stay in the moment and look around and you might be surprised what you will see that will make a lasting memory. I promise you that if you slow things down to that level, your trips will end up being less stressful and much more enjoyable and memorable.

Do you have moments and memories like that from your trips? If so...I would love for you to share them so please comment and become a follower of my blog as well.