Although we love first time cruisers, why would this one be special? Simply because it is my brother and sister-in-law!
We did our first cruise 12 years ago next month and always enjoy re-living that experience through the eyes of those we book on their first cruise. We have been in the business of professional cruise specialists for 8 years now. Yesterday, my bro and sister-in-law, who have heard us talk about our wonderful experiences, embarked on a ship - the Carnival Elation - for their first cruise experience.
They have been on the water in small (48-80 foot boats) so that part was not new. But Gloria's comment when we talked to them a few hours after they boarded, had lunch, explored the ship, etc., was "This is HUGE!" We laughed because at only 70,000 GT we consider this a small ship these days.
Gloria had set this up as a special birthday present for Don's 60th and since he is the one who is always creating surprises for others, when they sprung this trip on him (at a surprise party in Sept, too I might add), he was surprised. He hadn't thought too much about it until they arrived at the port in San Diego yesterday but once on board, he did realize "this is going to be a very relaxing and fun weekend." I will continue this one when we speak on Monday after they get back.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Friday, November 13, 2009
The Oasis of the Seas has arrived in FLL
This is one shot taken from a helicopter as the Oasis of the Seas entered her new home in Port Everglades (Ft. lauderdale, FL.). I have some very nice friends and one sent this to me short time ago.
It was a spectalur sight to behold as this beautiful ship arrived with her floating floatilla and is she HUGE!!!!!
It was a spectalur sight to behold as this beautiful ship arrived with her floating floatilla and is she HUGE!!!!!
Here are some more great photos of the Oasis on the website of the local paper the Sun Sentinel
Arrival of Oasis of the Seas
It has been one of the most anticipated days in modern cruising history but in just a few hours, Royal Caribbean Oasis of the Seas, the incredible 220,000 GT ship with seven neighborhoods will be arriving in Ft. Lauderdale at Port Everglades, Florida - it's homeport.
We're up early today to go over to the port area to watch it's arrival and will have some pictures that we will try to post later.
I also want to point out that Carnival's newest ship, the Dream, is arriving in New York City as I write this (or will be shortly) and will have it's christening later this afternoon. This is another wonderful ship and reports we have gotten back from clients who have made the trip across the Atlantic on her is simply "Beyond fabulous!" This is the ship the client I last wrote about who had to cancel at the last minute due to the broken ankle was suppossed to have sailed on. Her friends were sending her e-mails durinig the trip. Mrs. S is doing well by the way and is looking forward to planning her next cruise in the months ahead.
Hopefully, I will have some pictures to post next of the Oasis arriving. There will be a special broadcast on Good Morning America on Nov 20 from the ship.
We're up early today to go over to the port area to watch it's arrival and will have some pictures that we will try to post later.
I also want to point out that Carnival's newest ship, the Dream, is arriving in New York City as I write this (or will be shortly) and will have it's christening later this afternoon. This is another wonderful ship and reports we have gotten back from clients who have made the trip across the Atlantic on her is simply "Beyond fabulous!" This is the ship the client I last wrote about who had to cancel at the last minute due to the broken ankle was suppossed to have sailed on. Her friends were sending her e-mails durinig the trip. Mrs. S is doing well by the way and is looking forward to planning her next cruise in the months ahead.
Hopefully, I will have some pictures to post next of the Oasis arriving. There will be a special broadcast on Good Morning America on Nov 20 from the ship.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Once again - travel protection saves the day
Many people decide not to take the travel protection (cancellation and medical insurance) to protect the investment they make for their long awaited and deserved I might add vacation. "I've never needed it before" is something I have heard many times over the 8 years working as a cruise specialist.
But things happen! Just this week (Sunday night to be exact), I received a call from a client scheduled to fly to Rome on Monday at 5:30 PM to get on the new Carnival Dream for a Med and transatlantic cruise to NY. Sunday morning the wife is walking down the steps, falls, and breaks her ankle severely. Severe enough that she was admitted to the hospital and was scheduled for surgery at 5 PM Monday - when she should have been boarding the plane to Rome.
Did she plan to break her ankle? Especially one day before leaving for this cruise! These folks do not normally take the travel insurance but did in this case. As their agent, I was sure glad they did since they were in 100% cancellation penalty and without this protection, there was nothing I could do.
But, because they had taken our travel protection, I was able to cancel the cruise for them with one call, and start the claim with another.
I digress, but this is another reason for working with a professional travel agent who is paid by the cruise line but works for the client. The cruise line would simply have told them to contact the insurance company themselves. That would work fine but these people have "enough on their plate" right now with everything else. And they had pre-paid for excursions (over $700 worth) which had to be cancelled more than 72 hours prior to the start of the cruise and they were less than 48 hours away so the only other option was to cancel on board the ship at the shore excursion desk. Needless to say, that was not possible. Would the cruise line tell them how to cancel these tours and get their money back? I have no idea but I would guess that unless the person asked, they would not have.
But I did ask and it took sending an e-mail to the proper department. As a footnote and a compliment to Carnival cruise line, my e-mail was read at 8:13 AM and answered at 8:19 AM and the clients are receiving a full refund on the tours.
Back to the main topic. The $230 cost of the travel protection will get them a 100% refund of the over $3000 spent for this trip (less the 230 of course.)
I will concede that of the millions of travelers on cruises, most do not have to cancel. But when you are the one who does, it is a sure nice to know you are protected! I learned the hard way years ago before becoming an agent. It hurt then as it cost me over $3400 penalty with the cruise plus related expenses and it was my Dad, not me who had the problem. With the travel protection though, I would have been covered - immediate family and travel companion.
A side note. There was another client traveling with this client and if they decided to cancel (they didn't and actually should be on the ship as I write this) they would also have been covered since they would be classified as traveling companion.
My advice is simply this: you should never just say "No, I don't need travel protection" but think about it number one, and make sure the policy offerred is worthwhile number two. Many companies who offer "FREE" insurance, have policies with very limited benefits. "FREE" is not always the cheapest.
You have home insurance, car insurance etc. and don't really want to have a situation where you need to file a claim. But you have the insurance just in case. When you travel and especially purchase a cruise, this extra few dollars may be the best investment you make.
But things happen! Just this week (Sunday night to be exact), I received a call from a client scheduled to fly to Rome on Monday at 5:30 PM to get on the new Carnival Dream for a Med and transatlantic cruise to NY. Sunday morning the wife is walking down the steps, falls, and breaks her ankle severely. Severe enough that she was admitted to the hospital and was scheduled for surgery at 5 PM Monday - when she should have been boarding the plane to Rome.
Did she plan to break her ankle? Especially one day before leaving for this cruise! These folks do not normally take the travel insurance but did in this case. As their agent, I was sure glad they did since they were in 100% cancellation penalty and without this protection, there was nothing I could do.
But, because they had taken our travel protection, I was able to cancel the cruise for them with one call, and start the claim with another.
I digress, but this is another reason for working with a professional travel agent who is paid by the cruise line but works for the client. The cruise line would simply have told them to contact the insurance company themselves. That would work fine but these people have "enough on their plate" right now with everything else. And they had pre-paid for excursions (over $700 worth) which had to be cancelled more than 72 hours prior to the start of the cruise and they were less than 48 hours away so the only other option was to cancel on board the ship at the shore excursion desk. Needless to say, that was not possible. Would the cruise line tell them how to cancel these tours and get their money back? I have no idea but I would guess that unless the person asked, they would not have.
But I did ask and it took sending an e-mail to the proper department. As a footnote and a compliment to Carnival cruise line, my e-mail was read at 8:13 AM and answered at 8:19 AM and the clients are receiving a full refund on the tours.
Back to the main topic. The $230 cost of the travel protection will get them a 100% refund of the over $3000 spent for this trip (less the 230 of course.)
I will concede that of the millions of travelers on cruises, most do not have to cancel. But when you are the one who does, it is a sure nice to know you are protected! I learned the hard way years ago before becoming an agent. It hurt then as it cost me over $3400 penalty with the cruise plus related expenses and it was my Dad, not me who had the problem. With the travel protection though, I would have been covered - immediate family and travel companion.
A side note. There was another client traveling with this client and if they decided to cancel (they didn't and actually should be on the ship as I write this) they would also have been covered since they would be classified as traveling companion.
My advice is simply this: you should never just say "No, I don't need travel protection" but think about it number one, and make sure the policy offerred is worthwhile number two. Many companies who offer "FREE" insurance, have policies with very limited benefits. "FREE" is not always the cheapest.
You have home insurance, car insurance etc. and don't really want to have a situation where you need to file a claim. But you have the insurance just in case. When you travel and especially purchase a cruise, this extra few dollars may be the best investment you make.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
We're back - for real this time!
It's been a crazy 2 months with several cruises, driving trips (yes, we've even done things on land) and some cruises but now we are back and settled in once again for a long while before any more extended trips away.
So much happening in the cruise world right now with the long anticipated arrival of Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas. We plan to get to the Port Everglades area (actually the park accross from the port) early in the morning to be there for the arrival of this totally unique 220,000 GT vessell.
With a good location planned, we should be able to get some interesting pictures of her arrival. Unfortunately, at least at this time, we have not gotten an invitation to do a ship tour but I am still working on that.
Next year, NCL has a new build - the Epic - which we will be sailing on for our National Conference in Oct 2010. That should be a blast. We did just return from our 2009 conference on the Carnival Pride last week.
That also included driving from FL to Baltimore and back (well part way up since we took the AutoTrain up). Prior to that was a trip to TX for a granddaughters wedding celebration and visiting the kids, grandkids and yes, even a couple of great grandkids (we're not that old but we have them).
But it's back to work now. One new addition to our provided cruise specialty service is the addition of some preferred land suppliers for those clients who are looking for tours, resorts, etc. More to come on this as we begin learning more about land based vacations.
That's it for tonight.
So much happening in the cruise world right now with the long anticipated arrival of Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas. We plan to get to the Port Everglades area (actually the park accross from the port) early in the morning to be there for the arrival of this totally unique 220,000 GT vessell.
With a good location planned, we should be able to get some interesting pictures of her arrival. Unfortunately, at least at this time, we have not gotten an invitation to do a ship tour but I am still working on that.
Next year, NCL has a new build - the Epic - which we will be sailing on for our National Conference in Oct 2010. That should be a blast. We did just return from our 2009 conference on the Carnival Pride last week.
That also included driving from FL to Baltimore and back (well part way up since we took the AutoTrain up). Prior to that was a trip to TX for a granddaughters wedding celebration and visiting the kids, grandkids and yes, even a couple of great grandkids (we're not that old but we have them).
But it's back to work now. One new addition to our provided cruise specialty service is the addition of some preferred land suppliers for those clients who are looking for tours, resorts, etc. More to come on this as we begin learning more about land based vacations.
That's it for tonight.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Saving a few bucks can be expensive
There is nothing wrong with trying to get the best price possible when booking a cruise. When our clients call, we will ask questions to find out all they may be entitled to with available promotions- Sr., resident, regional, past passenger etc. Carnival offers a special promotion called Early Saver (anyone eligible for this depending on how far out they are reserving) and some other lines are starting to come up with variations of this also. BUT, is it really worth saving those few dollars?
This special promotion is very restrictive and the most damaging is your deposit is non-refunable if you have to cancel, even before the final is due which otherwise would be 100% refundable. So how does it become expensive?
One of our clients has booked several cabins under this Early Saver deal earlier this year for a December sailing for herself and the daughters. They saved $40 per person or a total of $160 on two cabins (each cabin was a daughter and her boyfriend) and the deposit was $250 per person ($500 per cabin). Well, Mom paid the deposits for each cabin (total $1000) and now the girls have "dumped their boyfriends" and if we cancel the boys, that is $500 non-refundable. (The boys were supposed to reimburse Mom but never have.)
Worse yet, if the girls keep their own cabins as singles, they will actually have to pay the single supplement which means they pay for the other berth anyway. If they take someone new, they have a change fee (minimum $50) and still need a new $250 pp deposit. If they switch their bookings to one cabin, one is cancelled (another $250 lost) and they still need to pay the $250 deposit again plus the new cruise fare rate which is higher now than when booked originally. Yes, we would try to get some of the fees fee waived on the cabin switch but can't guarantee this will happen. so worse case, saving $160 cost a minimum of $500, possibly $1000 and maybe even more.
Carnival will most of the time (I think) give a future cruise credit of $200 ($250 less the $50 fee) but it would be in the name of the ones who actually cancel and these certificates are not transferrable. Even though Mom paid, she can't use them, and I doubt if she would get her money back from the boys at this time if she gave the certificates to them.
Had they booked under a normal promotion or pricing, the deposit for the boys would be refunded (it is before normal penalties for cancelling are imposed since final is not due yet), plus we could switch one girl to the other cabin, protect the rate and have that deposit changed to the other cabin. Total loss - nothing.
Sometimes saving a few bucks can get expensive
This special promotion is very restrictive and the most damaging is your deposit is non-refunable if you have to cancel, even before the final is due which otherwise would be 100% refundable. So how does it become expensive?
One of our clients has booked several cabins under this Early Saver deal earlier this year for a December sailing for herself and the daughters. They saved $40 per person or a total of $160 on two cabins (each cabin was a daughter and her boyfriend) and the deposit was $250 per person ($500 per cabin). Well, Mom paid the deposits for each cabin (total $1000) and now the girls have "dumped their boyfriends" and if we cancel the boys, that is $500 non-refundable. (The boys were supposed to reimburse Mom but never have.)
Worse yet, if the girls keep their own cabins as singles, they will actually have to pay the single supplement which means they pay for the other berth anyway. If they take someone new, they have a change fee (minimum $50) and still need a new $250 pp deposit. If they switch their bookings to one cabin, one is cancelled (another $250 lost) and they still need to pay the $250 deposit again plus the new cruise fare rate which is higher now than when booked originally. Yes, we would try to get some of the fees fee waived on the cabin switch but can't guarantee this will happen. so worse case, saving $160 cost a minimum of $500, possibly $1000 and maybe even more.
Carnival will most of the time (I think) give a future cruise credit of $200 ($250 less the $50 fee) but it would be in the name of the ones who actually cancel and these certificates are not transferrable. Even though Mom paid, she can't use them, and I doubt if she would get her money back from the boys at this time if she gave the certificates to them.
Had they booked under a normal promotion or pricing, the deposit for the boys would be refunded (it is before normal penalties for cancelling are imposed since final is not due yet), plus we could switch one girl to the other cabin, protect the rate and have that deposit changed to the other cabin. Total loss - nothing.
Sometimes saving a few bucks can get expensive
Monday, August 17, 2009
I'm Back
Yes, it has been a couple of months since I last wrote anything on my blog. There is a simple explanation for this. I've been quite lazy this summer! That's it and I admit it.
I basically needed some good R&R time and although we've been taking care of our clients, helping our associates, and have been operating our business, we've done it very low key for the past 9 weeks or so. We haven't even written a new Cruise Newz and Views (our monthly newsletter) since June issue
After almost 8 years of thinking cruising 24/7, I just decided to take a good mental break. We've worked on some things around the house, and have taken short get-a-way trips, have had company, and also have done "nothing at all."
Upcoming trips for us will be on the Carnival Liberty (our 3rd time on this ship) at the end of the month followed by some company at our house. Then it is a trip to TX (by car) for a granddaughter's wedding, back home for more company for a week and 1/2 and then on to our National Conference on the Carnival Pride departing from Baltimore.
We have been working on a few ideas now that we decided the "do nothing" time is over. From the views meter though, many have been checking back for new postings over the summer so I do thank you for your loyalty and patience. I'll see what I can do now to be more consistent with new topics. You can help by sending questions or topic ideas to al@askusaboutcruising.com or just posting to this on the blog.
Hope you all have had a good summer and stay tuned
I basically needed some good R&R time and although we've been taking care of our clients, helping our associates, and have been operating our business, we've done it very low key for the past 9 weeks or so. We haven't even written a new Cruise Newz and Views (our monthly newsletter) since June issue
After almost 8 years of thinking cruising 24/7, I just decided to take a good mental break. We've worked on some things around the house, and have taken short get-a-way trips, have had company, and also have done "nothing at all."
Upcoming trips for us will be on the Carnival Liberty (our 3rd time on this ship) at the end of the month followed by some company at our house. Then it is a trip to TX (by car) for a granddaughter's wedding, back home for more company for a week and 1/2 and then on to our National Conference on the Carnival Pride departing from Baltimore.
We have been working on a few ideas now that we decided the "do nothing" time is over. From the views meter though, many have been checking back for new postings over the summer so I do thank you for your loyalty and patience. I'll see what I can do now to be more consistent with new topics. You can help by sending questions or topic ideas to al@askusaboutcruising.com or just posting to this on the blog.
Hope you all have had a good summer and stay tuned
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