Vegas, Baby!

Living in Southern California, I have seen Las Vegas from so many vantage points. I remember so many shows showing Las Vegas and making it the exciting place to be. I also remember all the campaigns on Las Vegas including the infamous "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas." Being someone who has visited many times, I have to admit I have seen it change so much. I remember the days before all the major building when people used to just hit Vegas to elope, gamble or drink. I also remember the old Vegas reviews that every teen boy yearned to see knowing that at least one topless dance number was going to be performed.



Things I recommend for those visiting Vegas:
1) Never go through a travel agent unless that Agent is willing to book all your hotel packages with zero commission. Because there is not much of a benefit to you as a customer unless you have a large party going with you. If you have a large party going with you, go ahead and work the travel agent and if it is for an event, make sure you have your agent partners with a coordinator for that event. Don't pin one agent against another to see who can give you the best deal. In reality they will be presenting you different options and that will not help you. It is highly unusual if not almost impossible for two agents to bring you different quotes for the exact same hotel and flights. I personally will never work for a client that does that, as it is an indicator they do not trust me. For me, I want to open the world of travel to my customers and to myself. So in a lot of cases I offer commission free deals and exclusive service to the customer. I know in the long run I gain customer loyalty.

2) These days it is not hard to do reseach on where to go in Vegas. There are lots of solid resources of information. If you like clubbing check out and make sure to get your VIP passes in advance. If you are in a hotel with Concierge, get to know your concierge and have them work your show tickets for you. If you want to do shows on the cheap, look them up in advance and buy them. I got third row center seats just by watching when they were going to go on sale and buying them within the week they posted. This will not work for one-off concerts in Vegas, in cases like that best bet go to ticket consignment firm on the web for good seats like ticketmaster.

3) If you go to Vegas to do a combination of shows, hanging out and gambling. Make sure to get your hotel frequent flyer card. If you gamble $100 US worth in the hotel they keep track and that little card can get you good deals and notifications when you can stay for less or even on the resorts dime if you gamble enough. This is done a lot by seniors and it would not be if it was not cost effective. Granted pick a hotel that you really like to do this in and only gamble there. It will encourage that resort to extend greater priviledges to you. Maximum benefit comes from mid range hotels not in the public spot light. The highlighted hotels will extend these benefits to celebrities and other rich vips and care very little of Joanne or Joe Smith visit and gamble a couple of hundred bucks every six months.

More tips and ideas to come in our next edition of Vegas, Baby!

Short Cruises 101 Part 5

Kevin and I reached our final day at sea and could not believe how amazing our journey had been. Even with changes in port stops, service never waivered. I have to admit, If I had my way I would have added an extra day to our stop in Catalina, we had so much fun on our excursions on the island that I would have preferred returning their to an extra day at sea. One thing that I do remember quite clearly is that time really is important on excursion days, you fill time so easily and don't realize your day is over before you know it. I remember our last day at sea bittersweetly. By that time, Kevin and I had become friends with every ship location of interest knew our way around and really gotten used to our stateroom. We joked and looked with expectation to see what goodies towel pet our steward left for us at turn down service. And oh yes, I took photos of my favorite towel pet. At that point, we were in our groove, relaxed and appreciating all the moments remaining on our time at sea.

What I learned during our last segment:
1) The people who you have dinner with can become friends you keep in touch with.
2) Attend the debarktion seminar, it walks you through what happens the last morning when you leave the ship.
3) The ship is pretty much empty by 9:30 am, so don't party too hard the last night as you will have to be up and about early the next day. Packing after a hard party night really is as hard as it sounds.
4) Be generous to your Maitre'd in your final dinner tip envelope. In their quest to bring good service to us on Carnival they did a little song, joke or other entertaining thing as a group each time we were on board. As corny as it was, it was endearing on the last night. I may have covered my ears as they guys could not sing, but had a smile on my face the whole time.
5) You can leave an extra tip for your Steward. Most people do when special service is rendered.
6) All non-US citizens are required to put out their luggage the night before for customs inspection. Kevin, who is Canadian, had to put his luggage out and we both put together our luggage and left it outside our cabin prior to dinner. The next morning, it was actually pretty nice not having to worry about our stuff. We actually enjoyed a leisurely morning, had breakfast and made our way off the ship. In the end, all we really had to do was check out with our sail and sign card and then proceed to stand in line hand in hand at customs and lastly pick up our luggage at the luggage room.
When all was said and done, I have to admit Kevin and I truly enjoyed our adventure on the ocean and I happily would love to do another cruise in the future exploring other great locations. I hope you enjoyed Short Cruises 101 and look forward to writing on other locations and vacations all over the world. Please feel free to comment on anything you have read.

Short Cruises 101 Part 4

Changes, Changes, Changes

It's the evening of day 2 of the cruise and we just got back from a tour and a eco jetraft ride on the ocean. It is the last few days of April, 2009 and Kevin and I are quite contented about our day's adventure. When we returned to the ship, we heard an announcement. Due to the recent directive from the CDC resulting from a recent outbreak of the swine flu, we will no longer be disembarking in Ensenada. A quick maintenance stop will take place, all excursions will be cancelled and instead the ship will have an additional full day at sea. Not great news as we were looking forward to stopping in Ensenada the next morning, however, I really appreciated the effort the cruise line made in sending us information on the change, providing us with a new itinerary of activities and fun things to do on our extra day at sea and what felt like their truly caring concern over our safety. Throughout the entire cruise they actually provided us with suggestions on how to stay healthy, informed us of areas throughout the ship where we could use alcohol based sanitizers that were between bathroom locations and even equipped each stateroom with Zycam in case anyone was even remotely feeling the sniffles. For the previous 48 hours, in most of the public areas on the ship with television, CNN was on and blasting updates constantly on swine flu. The previous day we heard there were an estimated 138 victims, the next day the numbers almost quadrupled. Needless to say, we were disappointed. Both Kevin and I were really looking forward to our Jeep Adventure and Winery Tour. So suddenly the ship was on hyperdrive, all staff would have to gear up for another full day of service. On port stop days, most passengers leave the ship so service staff can pare down and rest. For our cruise that was not an option. In the upheaval, the staff was wonderful and did not waver in their quality of service, for that, I am very grateful. Kevin and I found a comfy spot watched sports and had a fun time just hanging out and having some cocktails after lunch.

Things I learned on this segment of the trip:
1) Carry sunblock. You can burn when you are on a ocean raft even on a not so sunny day. And for the ladies reading this, good makeup can sooo hide an icky sunburn. Yee Ha!!!
2) Make sure to charge up your cameras prior to excursion days, you will need them ready to go in the morning to ensure you capture all your photos and video.
3) Depending on the port, you actually can get things you need on the port stop. I picked up some video tape at Radio Shack on Catalina Island and it was comparably priced to what it was in Los Angeles.
4) A change might be disappointing but you never know what activity can take its place. Even though we were disappointed, we remembered the most important part. It is not the activity that makes a vacation, it is the company.
5) Cancelling an excursion guarantees additional money in your sail and sign account. So yeah we were onboard ship for another day, but we had cash to spend any way we wanted on incidentals. I almost sprinted to the $10 store on the Lido deck. Far be it from me to not enjoy my financial windfall.
More to come in our final installment of Short Cruises 101

Short Cruises 101 Part 3

So after a busy day of boarding and unpacking, Kevin and I ventured out to check out our new home for the days to follow. One of the first things we found upon boarding was a cute little fold out card map of the ship. It had all the decks listed and showed cabin number ranges, elevators, restrooms, restaurants, etc... That little map was the handiest thing in my possession along with the cruise newsletter telling me what activities were happening for the rest of the day. By the time we boarded ship we had taken photos done by Carnival photographers. First stop on our explore and learn was the ship's gym and spa. On our way to it, we found the very first buffet. Between our Carnival basket and the buffet, we both felt like we had arrived.

Things I learned at this stage:
1) The professional photographer photos were going to be expensive.
2) Every single day on board ship there is a cocktail of the day and with that cocktail is a souvenir glass. We were just walking along and I was offered a cocktail. The server did not have his sign up noting that it was $7.25 each. So leave it to me to think they were free until Kevin told me what I had done by handing the server my sign and sail card. That's right yours truly was paying almost $15 worth of mildly alcoholic punch and a couple of souvenir glasses. If you like fruity drinks, get the fun card as the drink of the day is less expensive that way. If you don't, and I admit I am not really a fan of that type of beverage, skip it.
3) I love a good spa and normally don't mind going and getting a treatment or two done. What I found out, ship spas are a bit on the pricey side. Use of the gym on board is totally free but any treatment will easily run over $150 per person. The other thing is if you sign up for any body composition analysis or training course, expect to sit with the instructor and learn about the health products the ship is promoting which may also seem pricey if you are on a budget.
4) They actually do walk you through emergency procedures before you leave the port. This means you and the people on your floor get step by step instruction and are guided to your life boat to ensure you know what to do in an emergency. What I remember most? I had no emergency while on board.
5) Like Virginia getting confirmation that Santa Clause exists, I found my version of electronic Santa. Yup, these days you can get internet access onboard ship. With the exception of a few spots, you can go wireless. I know, who knew? Oh, btw, connecting to the internet is not cheap. The price per hour was $24. And they only ran specials from 4 - 6 pm during the day where if you bought time, you got and hour and a half vs. just one hour.
6) Dinner on board ship is really nice, it is a multi-course meal with a lovely dessert and all menus are posted right at the entrance of the restaurant. The menus for the day are posted in the morning and you can decide in advance what you want if you are sitting for dinner.
7) Did you know that ships have Art Galleries on board? They actually have an Art Auction on our last day at sea. They even had a contest running to guess the price of a Picasso print. Anyone could participate but you had to be present at the auction to win the prize they were giving away. And no, it was not the Picasso print.
8) Formal night on board was the 2nd night of the cruise and it was really nice to dress up in a gown for the event. On the Lido deck that night I saw so many families, couples and friends pose for photos by the Carnival photographers looking happy, relaxed and elegant.
9) And, last but on least, I have to admit there is something sweetly romantic about walking hand in hand on board ship. Some of my favorite moments were enjoying the views with Kevin all around the ship.

More to come in Part 4 - Changes, Changes, Changes

Short Cruises 101 Part 2

Now for the fun part, you have decided to go on a short cruise, you picked the time and the duration and you want to set up for a magical time on the ocean. Some of the simple things you can do to ensure a smooth trip are choosing your excursions in advance, buying some souvenirs and goodies prior to boarding and reviewing ship policies and procedures. Granted policy review was not the most fun task to do, but, I was glad Kevin and I were ready and knew exactly what was going on prior to boarding.

The great things I learned during this stage were:
1) As a US citizen, You only need a passport card if traveling by ship to a foreign country. For non-US citizens, cruise travel really does not require any extra effort
2) Prior to boarding you need to complete a sign and sail card which will be for any incidentals you buy on board. I funded my sign and sail card with cash and Kevin with his credit card. Not only did handling my incendentals account in cash make for a nicer trip, I knew exactly how much I had spent throughout. When we bought our onboard excursions, Kevin easily was able to cover his excursions by adding cash to my account. You can actually cross fund each others accounts or even have one account for both of you. One of the most relaxing things about our trip was that fact that I budgeted cash for incidental expenses and know I do not have a pile of bills coming my way to cover those expenses.
3) Pack intelligently. For ladies that means pack clothes you will be comfy wearing. Take a couple of cocktail dresses and a formal gown if you really want to dress up for formal night. You really won't need more than two pairs for shoes (one pair of heals and one pair of walking shoes).
4) Handle all your paperwork and information early and do pre-boarding registration, it will save you lots of time on embarkation day.
5) Carry a decent monetary tip if you are checking in your bags (recommend between $2 and $5 each) and make sure you label everything clearly in advance. Keep in mind, the guys loading you up will absolutely love you if they are tipped well and have no problem acknowledging the generosity.
6) Remember to keep a stash of cash for parking at the port either in your car or on you when you leave the ship. If it is too costly to park, check into shuttles and see if that is a viable alternative for drop off and pick up.
7) Ships start boarding passengers as early as 4 hours prior to departure. Get there early, embark the ship and explore it. Not only will you have time to unpack, but you can start socializing right away and get to know the awesome staff on board.
8) Bring a video camera and digital camera for photos, there are lots of awesome photos you can take on board and everyone is so accommodating you will easily find a friendly face to take your picture or say hello on video.
9) Did you know you can actually buy souvenirs prior to boarding? You can also order special desserts to be served any night at dinner to honor any special event while you are on board. Some of these expenses are really reasonable and add just that little special touch and memory you might not have otherwise. One of the best items I found online was the Carnival basket that included: 4 drink coupons, 1 photo coupon, one bottle of sparkling wine, two lovely engraved champagne flutes, two pocketed t-shirts, two sun visors and a large beach towel. I might have looked like an absolute nerd/geek in my carnival gear but I felt I was posh and styling.

More to come on this, watch for part 3 of this post.

Short Cruises 101 Part 1

Until my first cruise, I did not realize how amazing going on a cruise can be. All your excursion's can be planned in advance, you can buy gift and souvenirs in advance, you have 24 hour meal service in your stateroom and can go at anytime to eat at any of the many buffets. Even internet access is now readily available on the ship. Stewards are available each night and do turn down service in your room while you are away at dinner and leave chocolates on each side of the bed. And that does not include the services available on board. My first cruise experience confirmed that I will again go on future cruises. Both my boyfriend and I have our eyes set on Alaska, Panama, Mexico, the Bahamas, Bermuda and the Caribbean.

For me, the toughest thing was deciding to go on a cruise and once we both decided, the next logical step was choosing the duration. One of the wonderful benefits of being residents in California and Florida is that you have some really great options to cruise for as little as 4 days and 3 nights. For Kevin and I, a key factor in the decision to try a cruise was budget and duration. We reviewed the rates on the ship and looked at the benefits that are inclusive. When it came down to it, we both realized that our cruise would cost us each approximately $85 US per night including trip insurance. There are no hotel properties that I know of that can offer that kind of rate and include all your meals and cover for accidental cancellation. When we looked at the numbers, cruising was a very viable adventure. What cinched the deal were the port stops, the cruise was scheduled to stop in Catalina Island and Ensenada. Kevin who has never been to Mexico and loved the idea. I, at the time had also seen the travel advisories, so I did my research and made sure Ensenada was a safe port stop. With knowledge that we were on the right track, I went ahead and booked the cruise.

Key things I learned in planning the time Kevin and I spent together:
1) Check out the numbers, you never know what awesome deal you can find if you look. Believe it or not as a California and Florida residents actually get better deals for cruising. Cruise lines understand that they can't make money without passengers and making a cruise affordable for local singles, couples and families ensures they can keep their staterooms booked.
2) Confirm the various spots and places you want to visit. If a cruise ship stops there, why not go in style?
3) Last but not least, although sea sickness is rarely a problem, find out about treatments ahead of time and if you are worried, get information on where you are most likely to notice the swaying and movement of the ship. One of the most important things I learned was that the best spot to be on board ship is toward the bottom in the middle. You never feel the ship move. You may get a much higher and larger ocean view from a stateroom on the upper decks but you also feel the ocean beneath you a lot more.

More information to come in our next segment, Part 2.