If you have never been on a cruise or it's been awhile since your last onboard adventure, you may be in for a surprise with how much cruises have changed over the last decade.
Travel Insurance can make or break your vacation. I had an experience once where I did not purchase travel insurance and due to a flight delay, I needed to spend an extra night in Florida. It cost me $250 out of pocket, but travel insurance would have covered it. Lesson learned!
In River Cruising, the ship is not your destination, the destination is the destination.
River Cruising is:
1. Relaxing - a relaxing alternative to other travel ways
2. Unique - every-changing mural of scenery from your ship
3. Comfortable - convenient with no packing/unpacking as you explore the destinations
4. Discovery - dock in the heart of historic cities and villages to learn more about the culture and history
River cruise ships are small and intimate, giving travelers a relaxed environment to socialize after a day exploring on land. Many cabins feature large windows or French balconies, allowing you to sit in the comfort of your room while enjoying the passing scenery. Once docked, guests are able to walk right off a river cruise and into the heart of town. Local guides lead both walking and bus tours designed to immerse you in the destination’s culture and heritage.
If your interest is sparked, then a river cruise is right for you!
Who wouldn't want to save more time on a vacation to spend it enjoying the trip? These tips can help save minutes here and there which add up to more time for relaxation and fun.
1. Pay for your bags at the time of airline check-in. You may then be able to skip the line and hand your bags directly to the attendant. Better yet, only take carry-on luggage if possible. This will eliminate the possibility of a lost bag and you won't have to wait at the baggage claim for your luggage once you arrive at your destination.
2. Sign up for the Global Entry Program. This will decrease your wait time in lines with the TSA and customs. You can also sign up for TSA pre-check which has 97% of its passengers waiting less than 5 minutes to be screened.
3. Get a ride to the airport. Ask a friend, call a cab, or request an Uber or Lyft ride. You avoid the parking charges for keeping your vehicle at the airport while you are away and you have no wasted time in the airport parking garage.
4. Be prepared. Have a folder in your carry-on with any paperwork you need to have on hand. Be sure to pack necessities for the airplane in your carry-on and anything you may need for the first day at your location in case your bags are delayed or lost. If you are going somewhere warm, always try to pack your swimsuit and sandles in your carry-on bag.
5. Stock up on supplies. You don't want to waste time and money searching for essentials, such as sunscreen, aspirin, bug spray, sunglasses, and bandages. Odds are these will cost more at your destination and you'll have to search for where to purchase them.
6. Plan ahead. Have all your desired activites and excursions booked ahead of time. This will prevent the activity from being sold out and you'll have more time to enjoy what you had planned instead of starting to research what to do after you arrive.
7. Let your travel agent do all the work. Don't spend hours and hours researching the best price for your trip. That's what a travel agent is for and educated in. Let the travel agent use their knowledge and expertise to put together a great vacation for you to save you time and money.
Follow these simple tips to ensure you have the best group travel experience with your group and travel agent!
1. Proactively Communicate
~Communicate throughout the whole process so no one gets left out which will help contribute towards stress free travel. Assign a group leader who talks with the travel agent on a regular basis and sends out email updates to the group so nothing gets lost in translation. Find an agent who has a group reservation system and web portals to help manage your groups.
2. Talk Money
~Make sure everyone is on the same page when it comes to what each traveler is willing to spend. Be transparent with your agent when it comes to the group’s finances so you’ll have the best vacation within budget.
3. Be Flexible (this is a hard one for me, I admit it!)
~Keep in mind that you are traveling with a group and need to accommodate everyone. The travel professional will do his or her best to make sure everyone is happy and can help choose a resort or cruise with activities for everyone. Have an adventurous spirit and you may find yourself enjoying a new experience that you love.
4. Set Your Schedule
~Build a day-by-day schedule for your trip with your travel agent, having a schedule is essential for stress free travel. While traveling, this will make it easier for each member of your group to know where they have to be and when. Cruise Planners travel agents have access to special tools and price trackers so you can access every little detail throughout your entire trip whether it be by mobile app, computer or print-out. Remember to build in free time so members of the group can relax and go off on their own.
5. Plan Ahead for Excursions and Special Events
~Because travel agents are the experts, they have all the best connections. Special tours you want to go on can be done with a private guide who can show you once-in-a-lifetime experiences. If your group is celebrating a special occasion, let your travel advisor know ahead of time. They are there to add those memorable details and make sure your celebration is truly magical.
If you follow these key tips with a Cruise Planners travel advisor, you’re sure to have stress free travel, after and during your group vacation.
Did you know that the U.S. Department of State recommends travel insurance for anyone traveling abroad? In fact, they think travel insurance is so important they even say so in every U.S. passport. Just take a peek inside your passport. If you don't have a passport yet and plan to travel abroad soon, make sure you allow at least 6 weeks for the application for your passport to be approved. If you already have a passport, did you know that it needs to be valid for at least 6 months past the date of your travel?
Travel insurance can protect your financial investment (up to the amount of your policy limits) should your trip be cancelled or interrupted for a covered reason, as well as provide additional benefits like baggage protection and emergency medical and dental coverage.
Allianz travel insurance offers a 24-hour hotline that is staffed with multilingual specialists who can help you with all types of situations from anywhere in the world, from reporting lost baggage to getting emergency medical treatment. They can also help you replace passports, refer you to legal assistance, secure cash in case of emergency and guarantee payment to gain admission into a hospital.
Allianz even includes Concierge service in most of their plans. This service provides you with information about your destination before you travel and can help you reserve restaurants, reserve golf tee times, or secure tickets to local events.
As you can see, travel insurance goes far beyond just protecting your initial trip investment. It's risky to travel without it - you never know when it will come in handy.
If you have ever been to Vegas or another fast-paced city for a vacation, have you ever felt you needed another vacation to recover? I've experience this feeling a few times after traveling to a destination where there is so much to do that you get sensory overload trying to fit everything in. On more than one occasion, my husband and I have said to each other, "Wow, I feel like we need a relaxing vacation to recuperate from that trip!"
That has me thinking, why not spend 2-3 nights in one of the fast-paced destinations so that you can experience all it has to offer, then head to a tranquil destination for another 3-5 nights before returning home? This will give you the opportunity to enjoy those must-see and must-experience areas, while still feeling relaxed and refreshed before returning home.
Many people go on vacation to escape everyday life and the stresses that come with it. Having a peaceful and calming experience at some point during the trip will rejuvenate people to come back to their normal life and give them that revitalized feeling, while still allowing them to make the most of their trip.
One of the current travel destinations growing in popularity is Cuba. I think the reason it is such a hot topic and destination is because it was 'off limits' for us for so long. Now that travel there is open, we want to see what we were missing.
Travel to Cuba comes with different rules and regulations than we are used to with Caribbean trips. There are various types of travel to Cuba that are not permitted, such as a beach vacation, and there are specific types that are permitted, which include:
-family visits
-journalistic activities
-professional research and meetings
-educational activities
-public performances
-religious activities
The most common way people from the US travel to Cuba is through person-to-person travel which promotes meaningful exchanges between US citizens and Cubans. The best way to accomplish this type of trip is with an escorted tour operator or through escorted shore excursions.
I believe a cruise is the easiest way to experience Cuba and abide by the regulations of the government all at the same time. With the cruise, you know the type of accommodations you will be sleeping in, your transportation is set, and there are great shore excursions that are available which allow you to get an in-depth experience of Cuba while following the guidelines of person-to-person travel.
The regulations may loosen up in the future for travel to Cuba, but for now, why not consider a cruise to experience what this Caribbean country has to offer.
The web and travel guides are useful for initial research, but the firsthand knowledge and resources of a professional travel agent adds value to your vacation.
Preparing for a cruise involves many components. One component I always recommend is a hotel stay before the cruise to ensure you are near the port in time for embarkation because flights and other travel delays are always a possibility. I also feel a post cruise hotel stay is beneficial as well.
It can be very risky to schedule flights the same day your cruise is scheduled to leave, but can work out just fine in most cases. You must consider the stress involved though and if it's worth the hassle of waking up to catch a flight, then be transported to the port to wait in line to get onboard by a certain time. Sometimes the stress of cramming it all in during one day can be overwhelming.
On my recent cruise experience, my family and I arrived in the port city one day early. We were supposed to arrive by 4pm (after leaving our house at 6:30am), but because of flight delays, we did not check in to our pre-cruise hotel until after 6pm. I could not have imagined flying in and dealing with delays while rushing to get to the port all in one day. It was a very long travel day as is. It was refreshing to have time to spare and a relaxing night in the port city before starting the cruise (and we were lucky enough to stay in a hotel with a complimentary welcome beverage which definitely helped with relaxation!).
We also chose to stay one night after the cruise in the port city before flying home. This has its' advantages and disadvantages. We did not feel rushed to get off the ship by a certain time and were luckily able to check in to the hotel early and utilize all the facilities. However, one downside was having to slightly unpack again after we had just packed up the night before on the ship. We tried to unpack as minimally as possible to make the next morning easy for getting checked out of the hotel and to the airport. Overall, it seemed to minimize the stress of going straight from the cruise ship to the airport and either rushing to get to your plane on time or waiting for several hours until departure because there never seems to be a plane that leaves at a precisely convenient time following a cruise.
A cruise is a great vacation in and of itself, but make sure to consider if either a pre-cruise or post-cruise (or both) hotel stay is something that will make your next cruise vacation even better.
