31 Jan

Sneaking Alcohol on a Cruise

We have all thought about it ~ and some have actually done it! Sneaking alcohol on a cruise. Who doesn’t want to save a few bucks on adult beverages? It becomes a game to some….fill old shampoo bottles or mouthwash. News flash ~ NO one needs a full size bottle of shampoo or mouthwash on a cruise. That is the first clue to the cruise line! But we still give it the old college try. Why not?

Well, recently I read an article on why you should NOT sneak alcohol onboard your cruise ship. I laughed and immediately assumed the cruise lines themselves put the words together for this article. They loose money if you are successful in your sneaking endeavor. As I was giggling like a school girl, I realized that there are a few valid points to consider. I decided to share the 5 reasons in the article for not becoming a booze smuggler. Not much will actually happen to you, other than loosing money or a little dignity. Read on!

You checked your luggage and nothing happened. SCORE! VICTORY! Or is it? You didn’t SEE anything happen when your bag went through the scanner, but when you finally get your bag delivered it feels a little lighter. And less sloshing is heard from within. Your liquor is gone! And a note from the cruise line is left in its place. BUSTED! Now they know you are a sneak, so be prepared to have a thorough carry on checking returning from every port of call. The good news is, you get it back the day you get off the ship. Nice…..

On the other hand, they DO find something suspicious when your luggage goes through the scanner and stop the line. Oh oh! “Sir/Madame can you please come with me?” OMG…how embarrassing!!! You’ve been caught and now they will make a big deal of taking your mother load out of your baggage in front of every passenger! AND they will make them all wait while they take their sweet time about it, and all 3200 passengers are really miffed at you! YEP, you will get the stink eye for a week! Again, you get it back, but not until the end of the cruise.

The method of your sneakery could cost you a bit of money. There are companies that pray on booze smugglers and sell you containers SURE to get through the dreaded scanner. Whether or not you are successful in getting your stash through, you spent good money that might have bought a couple of cheap souvenirs in port. OR you were unsuccessful, it was confiscated and now you have to buy the expensive drinks onboard anyway. Double whammy in the wallet!

The drinking age is 21 onboard most ships. Under age cruisers that try to sneak adult beverages onboard and get caught will have an additional problem besides loosing money and embarrassment. They will not get their drinks back, unlike the over 21 year olds. The article also covers underage drinking and the negative aspects and warns against sneaking drinks onboard as well. As they say, rules and age limits are in place for a reason.

What you can do is bring a bottle of wine or champagne on board with you, typically 750ml. The cruise line might charge a corkage fee if you bring it into the dining room, but it is free to drink in your stateroom. The other plus is your not spending a fortune on a wine you really don’t like. You can bring your favorite!

Bottom line, I guess they made a few valid points. But if you’re like a lot of people, you will just try to find alternative sneaky ways to try to outwit the cruise lines. I will drink to that!

16 Jan

Cruising Tips

Tortola, British Virgin Islands on Norwegian Escape

Anyone that has cruised before knows there is always something new to learn in the way of cruising tips. Yep, the cruise lines have little known secrets that your fellow cruisers learn about and some share. I learned about some of them in an article on Cruise Critic that I thought might be interesting, so I am sharing with you all.

IN YOUR CABIN:

One of my most favorite things I learned recently, and I have been cruising since 1979, is that the cabin walls are metal. Bring some magnets or buy some onboard and you will never loose your party invites or excursion vouchers again! Inside cabins have NO natural light. Turn your TV to the bridge cam and turn off the sound and you have instant night light. Bring a power strip with you to plug in all your electronics because your cabin may only have 1 outlet, 2 if you are super lucky. Store your suitcases under the bed, they will be out of the way and won’t take up closet space. If you are picky about your bedding, inquire before you cruise if they can provide egg crate mattress toppers, top sheets or alternative pillows by special request.

IN THE RESTAURANTS:

In the main dining rooms, you are not limited to ordering only 1 item in each category. You can order as many appetizers, main entrees or deserts as you want. If you want room service, most of the items on the menu are free, but you will pay a service fee on most cruise lines. If you’re wanting breakfast, but don’t want to dine in the main dining rooms or fight the crowds in the buffet restaurant, check out which restaurants or bars are open in the morning in your ships daily newsletter. You may find a not-so-crowded hideaway! Most people tend to dine in the buffet or main dining on the embarkation night. This may be a good time to check out a specialty restaurant as not everyone has discovered them yet.

BEVERAGES:

You can bring drinks from the bar to your room, restaurant or anywhere on the ship, because there is no ‘open beverage’ law. If you drink wine, it is generally cheaper to purchase it by the bottle. If you don’t drink it all at one time, they can mark it with your name and cabin number and store it for you until you are ready for it again. (Personal note – this is AWESOME!!!) If you are a beer drinker, buy beers by the bucket and save a few bucks. Some cruise lines allow you to bring limited amounts of water and sode onboard, as well as a bottle of wine or 2. They may charge a corkage fee for your wine, but you can also bring a cheap corkscrew in your luggage and drink it in your room. If you buy a specialty drink in a souvenir glass, they are usually refillable at a small discount. Check out your daily newsletter for drink specials or happy hours to save even more!

AROUND THE SHIP:

Many cruise lines offer extra free minutes if you sign up for an internet package the first day of your cruise. Spa treatments are often discounted on the first day of the cruise as well as in-port days. If you are busy when the port talk is presented, check your in-room TV for a re-broadcast on the ship’s channel. Use of the showers, saunas and steam rooms not located in the thermal suites are usually free. If you want to see the big-name shows, but they are all sold-out, go to the theater the night of the show. People often sign up and then no-show, so you could potentially get in.

Some of these tips would see logical, but you don’t always think logical when you are on vacation. (Like I said, I have cruised for over 30 years and just figured out I could use a magnet to stick all my important pieces of paper to my cabin wall!) The cruise line might not share fun little bits of information with you, but your fellow cruise mates will. Or your friendly Travel Agent. I always put this list in with boarding documents when I present them to my clients.

09 Jan

FREE Cruise Port Excursions

When getting ready to go ashore while on a cruise, surely there must be some better way to have some fun in port without ‘breaking the bank’. And you’re right ~ there are! Here is a short list of FREE  (or almost…) Cruise Port Excursions that sound pretty good!

1 ~ Go check out the beach! Usually a short walk from the dock, or maybe a short taxi ride (okay that part isn’t free, but it will be inexpensive!) and you’re ready to spread out your towel and catch some rays. Take a walk, look for seashells or if you’re lucky you might find a beach with tide pools and you can investigate the sealife – one of my favorite things to do.

2 ~ With a little research of your port, you might find there are some great hiking trails close by. These gems would more likely be found on Alaska, Hawaii or Australia/New Zealand itineraries than Caribbean.

3 ~ Take a self-guided city tour. Exploring the local area on your own can be rewarding and awesome! There are several phone apps with maps and local museums or galleries listed to help guide you on your way. Prior to arriving in the port, go to the ‘Port Talk’ that most cruise ships provide and learn what is there and perhaps even get a guide map to help you find your way.

4 ~ Visit the local markets. This is especially cool when you are in Europe on a river cruise with itineraries that feature Christmas Markets! Local handmade crafts, mulled wine, grilled sausages and lots of other local fare. LOTS of photo ops as well and the pictures will help you make FREE memories – an added bonus!!

5 ~ Take the Doobie Brothers advice and ‘Listen to the Music’! (Yes, I just dated myself….) In most every port I have ever been in, there is some kind of local music to listen to. Whether local street musicians are playing by the dock or you go to a pub or cafe, it is always fun to hear merry music and even dance in the streets! Local musicians want their visitors to enjoy themselves and leave happy ~ don’t forget to give them a little tip for their entertainment!

6 ~ Take a long walk or go for a run. If you are one of the focused ones that does not give up your fitness routine, you can always find a great place to walk or fun and see the local sites. To help find a safe place to get your exercise, check with your ship’s guest services desk for suggestions of local trails or quiet roads. A good app to have loaded on your phone is MapMyRun.

7 ~ Something fun to do is Geocaching – the world’s largest treasure hunt. There are geochaches are hidden world-wide with trinkets and a logbook. Players use a GPS to hide and seek containers-signing logbooks and trading the trinkets along the way. It is a fun and free way to explore and you can find them in a number of cruise destinations.

8 ~ People watching is ALWAYS a fun activity, especially when you are on a cruise! You will see the same guests all over the ship and will soon make up nicknames for them. (Okay that is what I do to help me remember whose who…) In port awesome places to observe people are local parks or outside major attractions.

9 ~ Celebrating a Holiday or local Festival abroad is a great way to ‘do it like a local’! You will need to plan you cruise around the activity like Oktoberfest, but it will be worth it! Cruise ships also plan days to attend events  – like The British Open for example. So if you time it right, you can book your British Isles cruise and attend a day at the Open for an ultimate cruise experience! (This option might not be free, but it will be exciting and different!)

To sum it up, striking out on your own rather than booking shore excursions might be a great alternative for you. One port or all of them, it’s up to you. Just remember to be mindful of what time you need to be back to your ship. You don’t want them sailing off without you! Don’t get me wrong though – planned shore excursions can be loads of fun, too! I have certainly done my share of them. But sometimes you just want to be different. Go ahead – it’s okay!

02 Jan

What’s new in 2017

Happy New Year Everyone! I hope everyone had a wonderful Holiday Season!

As we begin the new year, I am asking myself “What do you think will be the new trends for 2017?” I am not sure as in my opinion you will get different opinions with every ‘Expert’ you ask. I always hear “That is trending on social media!” And I think to myself “Is THAT really all that important?” Again, I am not sure, but I find it entertaining to see what the ‘Experts’ have to say.

One site I consulted said (I am not kidding about this either….) “Today travelers want authentic in the age of reality TV, and are no longer satisfied being force-fed dull cruises or sleep on the beach vacations.” Really?? I don’t know about you, but I am TOTALLY fine with taking a cruise or planting my rearend in the sand of some exotic tropical island! One thing they did point out that I completely agree with is Americans need to take more vacations to achieve wellness. We as a country work ourselves to the bone while our European brothers take 2-3 hour siestas or 6 week ‘holidays’. And they seem much happier, too!

Another trend that has become quite popular is the use of Travel Apps. Most of us, not all, have smartphones and with these handy gadgets we have access to tons of Apps. Not all are available on all devices, but a fair share are out there that cover the bases. Travel Agents have handy Apps we can use for your itineraries that you, the Traveler, can access while on vacation and we can even interact with each other! How cool is that!! Maps, GPS, currency converters, translation and even apps to help you pack. We can find everything on our phones! But just remember to look up once in a while and SEE what and where you are! To quote Ferris Bueller “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

We as Travel Agents are told all the time we only need to market to the Millenials. What about the Silent Generation, Baby Boomers or the Gen X’ers? Don’t they count as vacation travelers, too? Of course you do! I am in the ‘BB’ group and I very much love to travel! I don’t understand why we should ‘filter everything out’. Doesn’t make much sense to me.

So in closing I will give you my thoughts for 2017. Both ocean and river cruising are still very much sought after vacations. Both sides of the cruising industry are building LOTS of new ships, some of which will make their much anticipated debuts in 2017! All-Inclusive beach resorts are more popular than ever! And more are being built all over the Caribbean and Mexico every year! People want the ‘toes in the sand, drink in my hand’ experience! And guess what? When you book a cruise or a resort vacation you can STILL go out and enjoy zip lining, hiking and extreme water sports. But at the end of the day when need down time, what better way to enjoy that down time than to let someone else pamper you?!? Seriously…..what could be better than lounging by the pool while your sailing around the Caribbean or walking down a moonlite beach in front of your resort enjoying the great company knowing you can do it all again tomorrow? Or not…..relax or ramp it up – your choice.  Proves my point below – they sell these on Amazon….