What's Up With Carnival?

For the last several months I have been wondering if I was the only travel agent around who not only didn't recommend Carnival but actively attempted to talk clients out of booking with Carnival Cruise Lines. Apparently, I haven't been alone.  Here's how I know.  I got an offer from the folks at Carnival today that apparently was sent to a great number of travel agents offering a possibility at a free cruise for me and a guest.  It's not just an offer for one cruise on a specific date making one stop.  They offered more than 20 different cruise options leaving from a number of different ports between Oct 10th and Feb 2nd.  These cruises are anywhere from 3 nights to 11 nights long.  The offer includes taxes and gratuities.  So we literally will pay for nothing except airfare to get to Miami and drinks on board.

The one I chose to try to get onto is sailing out of Miami on Feb 2nd.  It is the last one they offered.  If I make the cut, it will be my third cruise in a 4 month time span.  The first is a Royal Caribbean 3 night Bahamas cruise leaving out of Miami that is a travel agent familiarization trip with a Seminar at Sea in November at a very low price ($150 per person for me and my friend).  The second is a 7 night Caribbean cruise from Houston on Princess along with my parents and our family friends, the Bailey's, in January.  I'm actually paying for that one, but we got a great deal ($699 per person plus - double occupancy - plus $25 - $50 on board spending credit per person).  You can't pass a deal like that up especially since you don't even have to pay for flights!  It's a western Caribbean cruise, so it is going to the same ports I always go to.  But I LOVE Roatan and Belize, so it's all good.

This Carnival cruise that I registered for this morning will leave out of Miami and sail to the Bahamas, Puerto Rico, St. Thomas and Turks.  I don't know how many people they sent this offer out to.  But they said they will notify all registrants by Oct. 9th whether they got on their chosen cruise or not.  If we get on, I pay $100 ($50 each) to secure our reservations and that will be credited back to our room as an on board spending credit when we set sail.  So, this thing is literally free except for roundtrip airfare to Miami.  This is an indicator to me about how many travel agents have scaled back on recommending Carnival.

The thing is that with all the negative publicity in the last year or so, they have made a lot of changes.  So, they might be a much better cruise line than they ever were.  But I have personally been afraid to put my reputation on the line by recommending it to clients.  In fact, I think that if a client calls me and specifically asks me to book them on a Carnival cruise, I would be putting my reputation on the line by not suggesting other options or at least warning them of all the issues they could face.  Other cruise lines have always cultivated their travel agent relationships.  They know that clients who book through a travel agent are more loyal than those who just look for a cheap fare on line.  Carnival since I have been doing this, has not encouraged travel agent participation.  This is new.  So it's kind of exciting that they actually want travel agent involvement now.

I sincerely hope that I get on this cruise and am pleasantly surprised with the improvements they have made to the experience.  I must say that I have only been on one Carnival cruise previously.  It was a spring break cruise out of Galveston 6 years ago.  My mom and I took my niece when she turned 13.  Now, there could be a lot of reasons that I disliked the trip so much.  First of all the ship seemed a little run down when compared to Royal Caribbean and Princess which were the only other two cruise lines I had been on prior to that cruise.  Since then I have also been on Celebrity and Norwegian Cruise Lines and know now that it was also a huge step down from Celebrity but most comparable to NCL.  It wasn't ratty or anything.  It just seemed that things weren't as well taken care of.  The crew seemed very hard working and friendly.  But the impression I got was that they just couldn't keep up with all there was to do.  So, it seemed a little run down.

Add to that the fact that it was spring break, so there was at least one kid on board for every adult.  There is no way the adults can win with that kind of a ratio.  Carnival markets themselves as the "Fun Ship".  They have gigantic pool slides on board and it looks like a kids paradise even from shore or from the deck of a passing ship.  It is very kid friendly and I am not.  So, they had that working against them in my opinion. Possibly the worst thing about that Carnival cruise that we went on 6 years ago though was the "Bubba Factor". (In case you are not aware a "Bubba Factor" is the number of grown men who answer to "Bubba" in any group per 100 people.)  The "Bubba Factor" was extremely high on that ship.  I'm thinking at least a 10.2. You cannot put that many Bubba's together on one ship and not expect to hear pig calls in the dining room and see drunken wheel barrow races taking place down the corridors.  It's just not possible.  And I have a very low "Bubba Tolerance".

I will say that I tried to give Carnival the benefit of the doubt for several years after that cruise assuming that the problem wasn't with them but with the passengers.  But then last year following the accident of the Costa Concordia (which was owned by Carnival), the West Coast power outage cruise on Carnival that sailed out of LA and then the now famous Caribbean sewage cruise that sailed from Galveston and had to be towed to Mobile I was totally out.  I have only booked 1 client on Carnival since I have been a travel agent and that was at their specific request.  But now I'm hopeful that Carnival is turning things around.  After all, they wouldn't want travel agents on board to witness the pig calls in the dining room if they weren't making changes, right?  The fact that this offer isn't on only one ship on one travel date gives me more cause for hope.  Maybe that means that they have made changes throughout the cruise line and they aren't just putting lipstick on one hog.

So hopefully, I'll get on board and then I'll be able to come back and let you know how the experience was. Maybe I can even post some blogs from on board if I make it on.  That would be kind of fun, right?  I'll let you know as soon as I get the word on whether or not I made it.  Have a great week!

Big Happenings!

Good morning travelers and those who want to be!  I'm starting to gear up for several things. Chronologically the first is my Cruise Night which, in case you have been hiding under a rock somewhere and have not been inundated with multiple announcements, has been scheduled for Friday, October 11th at 6:30 PM at the Coffee House Cafe which is located at 6150 Frankford Ave. in Dallas. The evening will include free gifts, fabulous door prizes, hor d'oeuvres, Amazeballz, a live band and a cash bar in addition to some excellent information from everybody's favorite travel agent!  (If for some weird reason you have not "liked" Places You'll Go Travel on Facebook and would like a paper invitation, send your mailing address to susmeyers@yahoo.com or just like Places You'll Go Travel on Facebook. C'mon a little technology never hurt anyone!)

Another thing I am gearing up for is bridal shows!  I am scheduled for two of them in January.  I'm very excited and have started learning as much as possible about the planning of destination weddings.  Now, I do not expect to ever be a destination wedding expert dealing ONLY in destination weddings and honeymoons. But I do plan to be able to offer that option and create the best experience possible for any brides who would be willing to entrust their special day to me.  Even though I have never been married myself, I've been mentally planning my own destination wedding for about the last 30 years.  So, I probably have some pretty extensive expertise in the back of my brain somewhere.

But my real excitement for these bridal shows is in creating dream honeymoons.  I've had the opportunity in the last year to plan several honeymoons and I can tell you without a doubt that the only people who derive pleasure from my planning of the trips more than me is the couple themselves!  The bridal shows in which I am participating will be on January 5th at the Plano Convention Center and January 19th at the Dallas Convention Center.  So, if you live in the Metroplex or plan to visit and are planning a wedding sometime in the next year or so, stop by my booth and see me.  There is no entry fee to get into the bridal shows and it's a great opportunity to see more than 100 bridal vendors ranging from gowns to honeymoons in a single day.

Now, in between those two bridal shows I'll be going on a Caribbean Cruise out of Houston on board the Caribbean Princess which leaves January 11th for 7 nights.  It's one of the other things I am gearing up for in addition to a November 10th 3 day cruise out of Miami on RCCL's Vision of the Seas.   These two events are considerably more fun than the others but require no less effort on my part.  After all, the November 10th cruise is a Royal Caribbean "Seminar at Sea" in which I'll be learning all I can about the ship, the cruise line and everything they do.  So, I'm just going to go ahead and call this cruise "work".... wink wink....  I mean seriously.... How much work can anyone do on a cruise ship if they aren't actually a crew member?  So okay, maybe it's a working vacation.  The January 11th cruise, on the other hand, is all pleasure and I fully intend to treat it that way especially since the day I get home, I will pack my car up to spend the next full day in the Dallas Convention Center talking to thousands of brides about potential destination weddings and honeymoons.

So as you can see, the next few months will be very full for me as I work with current clients on amazing trips while planning and executing events to build the business.  It's an exciting time at Places You'll Go Travel. Yesterday was the 1st anniversary of the opening of my business! It's officially been the best year of my life. That's not to say that I haven't had plenty to worry about and I haven't worked very hard.  But it's hard to complain about any of that when you have the job of your dreams.

Have a terrific Thursday.  I'm going to spend the next few hours on a Royal Caribbean Webinar.

Traveling Alone - Pros and Cons

Let's have a show of hands, shall we?  How many of you have ever taken a vacation alone.  I don't mean you went with a group but got a room of your own.  I mean you left your home not knowing a single person who was going to the same place you were going for the next week.  You hadn't made on line friends prior to the trip.  You had no connections with anyone else doing this vacation whatsoever.  I mean THAT alone.

If you haven't done it, I would suggest to you that you just might want to give it a try.  I listen to a sports talk radio station regularly.  One of the guys on that station used to talk a lot about taking vacations alone.  His wife owns her own business and could never get away or maybe wasn't really too interested in going to Europe with him so he would just go alone.  This guy went to Auschwitz alone.  He talked all about his trip when he returned on the radio.  His only regret about that trip apparently turned out to be when he ate a Snickers bar (or maybe it was a Milky Way, I can't remember) while there.  He told the story on the air years ago and still gets grief over doing something as self indulgent as having eaten a candy bar in a location where more than a million Jews were exterminated.  It's actually a very funny story and every time it comes up on the radio, I laugh out loud.  But you have to wonder if he had been with his wife, if she would have given him the evil eye and kept him from being so insensitive.  Of course, that probably wouldn't have made for such great radio.

I traveled totally alone for pleasure once.  I still think it was one of the best vacations I've ever taken.  It was a cruise that sailed out of Miami during Freedom of the Seas inaugural season.  It was a pretty terrific cruise. There are pros and cons to traveling alone.  Why don't we discuss them.....

Pros

• You can do whatever you want!  Whatever you do during this trip is totally up to you.  Want to spend two days of your trip to Europe exploring the beaches of Normandy but can't find anyone else who is interested in this particular adventure?  If you travel alone, you don't have to worry about that.  Just go!
• When you go to your room at night, the bathroom, the big ol' bed and the mini bar are all yours!  No sharing.  You can take a 2 hour shower if you like.
• If you are on a cruise and you never want to leave your own balcony except to go on excursions in various ports, you can do exactly that.  Room service will bring every meal to you at no additional charge, so open your e-reader, download as many books as you can afford and read to your hearts content.
• You don't need to synchronize your watch and schedule time in the bathroom with anyone.  
• You don't have to meet anyone anywhere at any time!  
• You won't know a single person on this trip so you can finally let your hair down.  Don't worry about it, you'll never see any of these people again.  Just have fun.
• It's a terrific opportunity to meet new people.  If you are going on a cruise, this is particularly easy since you will be seated at a table with other people each night at dinner assuming you choose a dinner seating and don't do "My Time" dining.  If you don't like the people you are seated with, it's no big deal.  Just discretely ask the maitre d' to seat you at a different table the next night.  
• The only mood swings you need to worry about during this trip are your own.  
• Peace and Quiet!

Cons 

• You'll pay more.  Most cruise lines charge a single supplemental fee that is usually equivalent to about 80% of a second person.  A couple of cruise lines have dropped those supplemental fees on certain types of rooms.  But beware, many times the reason they are doing this is that they wouldn't be able to fit another person in that room anyway.  Think about that.  If you have ever been on a cruise before you know that the cruise lines can squeeze 4 people into 150 square feet of space for 7 nights.  Imagine 7 nights in a space that they feel they couldn't squeeze two people into....  Yikes!
• If you are going on a land trip, you don't have a second person to split the price of a room with.  For couples this might not seem like a big deal if one of you is considering going somewhere alone.  You always pay for an entire hotel room when you travel, so you might still feel you are getting ahead when you only have to pay for meals for one and airfare for one.  But for singles this is a huge deal.  As a single when I travel with a buddy, I pay for half of a hotel room.  It can make for a super cheap 2 star room or a somewhat affordable 4 or 5 star.
• Other things that cost more if you are a single and accustomed to splitting the price of travel are taxis, car rentals, parking and gas.  You have to figure all of this into your travel budget.  
• When you get back to the room at night and want to trash someone you saw at dinner, nobody will join in (other than the voices in your head).

So as you can see most of the cons are monetary.  Maybe you see all of this differently and some of the "alone time" pros I listed actually sound more like cons to you.  If so, traveling alone is probably not for you.  But for me, the cons seem pretty minimal when compared to the pros.  If you crave "me time" consider traveling alone sometime.  It might be a terrific opportunity for you!

Hey Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike.... Guess what day it is Mike!  Make it a great hump day and go Senator Cruz keep making the voices of Americans heard!

Baseball and Vacation a Brilliant Combination

I love baseball.  I always have.  I grew up with two brothers who were always in little league.  I played one year of softball but found that I was much better at watching than playing.  So, I retired from the Saints softball team after one year.  My mom was one of the coaches of our softball team that year.  When my softball career ended her coaching career ended as well.  My problem as a softball player wasn't that I didn't want to play but rather that I just wasn't good at it.  Mostly I was slow, it's a Meyers trait.  We're short and slow people.

I catch and throw pretty well for a girl.  I can also make contact with the ball although I never was a strong hitter.  I remember the first time in a game that I got a hit that made it out of the infield, it was a pretty big deal.  That's how weak my hitting I was.

But my inabilities on the diamond have never affected my love for the game.  I love watching it at any level. All of my nephews have played baseball at some level with Jacob actually getting to play in a Dixie Youth World Series a number of years ago and later playing club ball in college.  I still think he was one of the best catcher/short stops I've ever seen (but I could be slightly biased). Tim is still in high school and was on the baseball team last year and I assume will be again this year.  Both of his brothers Chris and Matt played little league ball before discovering different interests to move on to.  Even Rebecca, my niece, was a perennial all star playing club softball and high school ball, as well.

In the past I have held season tickets for the Roughriders and I can't tell you how many Rangers and Astros games I have been to over the years.  I LOVE going to baseball games.  In addition to Rangers and Astros games, I've gone to Yankee Stadium a couple of times, Shea Stadium for a Mets game once, Fenway Park just this summer and AT&T Park in San Francisco for a Giants game last year (coincidentally they were playing the Rangers that day).  I think those people who make it there mission in life to visit every major league ballpark in America are just the coolest people in the world.  I want to be one of them.  Wouldn't it be fun?  It doesn't matter that I really hate some of the teams that play in those ballparks.  It's about experiencing the atmosphere in each ballpark.  For instance, I hate the Mets and the Yankees but I'm so happy that I got to go to both of those parks.  I actually have now been to old Yankee Stadium as well as the new atrocity.

I've also missed opportunities to go to some pretty cool ballparks and I still kick myself every time I think about it.  I don't think I will pass up many other opportunities when given the chance after the regrets I have had the last several years.  Once when I was working for the employer who shall not be named, I was going to be in Los Angeles for a long weekend with free time on Sunday before flying home.  All I had to do was schedule a late flight home and I could have gone to the afternoon Dodgers game, but I worked in salon and no one in salon had any interest in extending their trip by a few hours to go with me.  At the time, I was hesitant to go alone, so I came back when everybody else did.  It was a huge mistake.  I should have just gone alone.

A few years ago when my travel buddy Jenny and I went to Seattle, the Mariners were in town and we planned to get tickets and go to a game one night.  But the homeless situation near Safeco Field sort of scared us off. Ok, who am I kidding, it totally scared me off.  I can't speak for Jenny, but the homeless people in the area were bold and numerous and they scared me.  We knew that when the game ended we would be walking back to our hotel and it wasn't a far walk.  But we were unsure of how many other people would also be walking with us and we didn't want to chance running into an angry homeless person with a grudge.  So we backed out on the night we had planned to go.  Later that night as the game ended we went past the area where we would have been walking back to our hotel following the game and there were hundreds of fans all walking together.  Everything would have been fine but live and learn, right?  So now I've learned my lesson. When given an opportunity to go to a game, I'll never pass it up.

Tonight for instance, I have two tickets for the Rangers vs. Astros.  So far I haven't found anyone to go with me, but it won't stop me.  If no one goes, then I get a place to set my purse during the game.  If someone does go, then that'll be fun too.  You might be wondering why I'm writing about my love affair with baseball in a travel blog. Well, let's just say that maybe one of these days I'll be one of those people that have made it to every ballpark in America and that will mean a lot of fun trips in my future.  I posted a blog before about a week long trip to California in which you could hit all  five major league parks (you can go back and read it by clicking on the California link).  It was a pretty expensive trip. But some of the great things in life can be costly.  Have a great Tuesday and a terrific final week of the regular season.  I'll try to post a photo on FB tonight from my seats.

Preparing for the Cruise Night!

Okay, so last week I posted about what a cruise night is.  But did you know that you can get really cool stuff when you come to one?  That's right!  I've ordered door prizes and party favors.  But that's not all!  I'm working on special deals for upcoming cruises with a couple of cruise lines..... and WAIT!  There's more! (As you may have guessed, my marketing skills have been perfected through late night ads for ginsu knives and such.)  I'm ordering cakeballs from my friend Jaime who owns Amazeballz.  If you haven't had any yet, this will be your chance to discover the taste sensation!

All of this is taking place in one of my favorite locations The Coffee House.  They have this really cool patio and we'll have it all to ourselves that night.  They are going to serve up so really fabulous hor d'oeurves that evening and I've arranged for a cash bar.  (Sorry folks, maybe if I sell enough cruises this year, next year I'll spring for the drinks.)  By the way, did I mention that the band starts up at 7 that night?  So yeah.... freebies, great cruise deals, free food, Amazeballz, great information on cruising, fun people and live entertainment! (Just a little party I'm throwing together....) So, if you're not doing anything on October 11th, come on over to The Coffee House and enjoy yourself. If you don't cruise, you hate water and relaxation, come anyway! After all, who are you to turn down free food and entertainment?

Sorry, I only had time to do this quick little commercial today.  Tomorrow, perhaps I'll have time to share some sage travel advice with you.  Planning a cruise night is hard work!  Have a great Monday!

What's a Cruise Night?

I'm so sorry I didn't post yesterday.  I had almost talked myself out of posting again today since I have so much to do before leaving town for a big football weekend in Nacogdoches.  But I have big news to get you guys in on.  If you are on Facebook then you may have already seen an invitation from me for a Cruise Night that I'll be hosting on October 11th.  If you are not on Facebook, expect to get an invitation in the mail in the next few weeks.

Now, if you are not a veteran of the cruising world, you might be thinking... What's a Cruise Night?  I've only been to three over the years and I seriously thought that each of them could have been much better. The first one I went to was at a convention center and felt about as personal as a convention.  The second I went to was at a private home.  I kept thinking throughout the night, this would be much better if there were at least a pool or if the rum punch had a little more punch to it.  The third was at a Jaguar dealership which was a little cool because it is the one and only time I'll probably ever get a chance to walk into a Jaguar dealership without the guys meeting me at the door and asking me what kind of business I have with them while my Kia is parked out front.

I hope that mine will be much better than any of those seemed to me.  But time will tell.  Mine will be at he Coffee House Cafe.  If you know me well, you probably get tired of hearing about Coffee House.  But I love it!  I love the food, I love the atmosphere and I love the patio!  We'll be on the patio unless it rains in which case they have a private room that we'll be able to use.  The patio has one of those really big stone fire places that will be lit for the occasion and my friend Jenny has already volunteered to help me decorate.  But I still haven't answered your question, have I.

What's a Cruise Night?

Well, a cruise night is an opportunity to learn all about cruises for the upcoming year, to ask questions, speak with other people who may have been on cruises in the past and can give you insight.  You can pick up brochures and other materials for cruise lines that you are interested in or possibly have never even heard of. You may hear about a few special cruise deals that are coming up.  You can just socialize, have some great snacks, a few drinks and sit back and watch me sweat as I try to come up with something witty and urbane to say to the crowd.  Of course there will be a few door prizes.  So that's kind of fun.  But watching me sweat is probably more fun.

I still have a lot of planning to do to get ready for this.  I'm going to be calling some of my Business Development Managers on Monday to see if I can get any great things to give those of you attending.  I hope to have a lot of wonderful opportunities for you.  I think it's going to be a lot of fun and if all else fails, you get some free food from the best cafe in the area.  If you don't believe me just ask the readers of The Observer and D Magazine.

Have a great weekend and I'll talk to you all on Monday!

Fam Trip!

Today feels like it should be a somber day. But even with the 9/11 remembrances and the first anniversary of the attack on Bengazi, I still can't help but be excited because it's looking like I'll be taking a short and CHEAP cruise in November.  It looks like I have made it into my first "fam" trip as a travel agent.  I'm still waiting for the final word, but I sent my final registration in yesterday.  Now all I have to wait for is room assignments and then to pay.

"Fam" is short for Familiarization trip.  It's usually a short trip to a destination or on a ship that a travel supplier is trying to get agents to sell.  In this instance it's been a totally last minute thing.  Normally, you know about them 6 months or more in advance.  This one has just come about in the last few weeks.  You see, Royal Caribbean is taking their ships through dry dock right now one at a time so that the can revitalize them and perform heavy maintenance.  They are adding some new things that they have on the newer ships to these ships, replacing carpet and old fixturing and just basically sprucing things up in addition to doing work on mechanical things that can't be performed in their normal rotation while it's in the water.

Vision of the Seas will be in dry dock in October and the beginning of November, but things seem to be progressing so well on the ships that are going through the process now that they feel they'll be able to bring Vision out of dry dock early.  Since it will be back in the water with no planned itinerary, they have decided to fill it up with travel agents and take it out for a spin on a 3 night Bahamas cruise.  It was just announced a few weeks ago.  The price for the travel agent and travel companion was an astounding $299 total and includes taxes and gratuities.  You can't pass something like that up!  All you have to do is get yourself to Miami. Once the announcement was made, you only had a few days to respond, then they chose from the responses they got.  Everyone could not make it on board since the ship isn't that big and there are a lot of travel agents in the US who want to go.

Last week my host agency sent an email out that there would only be 10 slots for our entire group.  There are hundreds of us.  So I was pretty sure that since I haven't booked many RCCL cruises yet, I wouldn't make it.  Then over the weekend, I got an email saying that I was on the list and to wait for an official invite before proceeding.  Yesterday the invite finally came through!  So, on November 9th, my travel buddy Jenny and I will be flying to Miami, hopefully using some frequent flyer miles, spending one night at the Hyatt Regency Miami for the tidy some of $100 dollars and then boarding Vision of the Seas the next day.

As many cruises as I've been on, I've never been to the Bahamas.  So this will really be exciting.  There is one 2 hour session that I must attend during the cruise, but that is a small price to pay for a deal like this. Plus I'm hoping to get to see some behind the scenes stuff during that session anyway.  I hope they'll take us into the suites, galleys and things like that.  I've never been into a suite on board a ship.  How can I possibly be expected to sell one if I've never experienced it myself????!??!?  I was on a galley tour once on a Princess ship and loved it!  It is so cool to see how they manage to get thousands of meals prepared every day and make them all look so pretty.

I'm particularly excited that this will all take place on a Vision Class ship.  They are my favorite class on Royal Caribbean.  I like them because they are RCCL's smaller ships.  Other Vision Class ships include Splendour, Rhapsody, Grandeur, Legend and Enchantment.  Of those ships, I have sailed on Splendour and Rhapsody each one time.  Splendour was my very first cruise ever.  My parents and I went on a 5 day cruise out of Galveston to see if we would like it.  In case you were wondering the verdict was YES!  My nephew Matt and I were on Rhapsody for his graduation cruise.  I enjoy the smaller ships.  I think part of what makes them so great is that they don't have too many bells and whistles to attract families with small kids. There is no flow rider, no water park or water slide, no ice skating rink....  It's just a ship with some nice restaurants, a couple of nice pools a casino, and a lot of really great places to relax and have fun.

It's geared more toward couples and singles.  I think of the Vision Class ships as more of what Celebrity is like. With this revitalization, they will be adding an outdoor movie screen and several other things.  But they still won't add all of the kiddie attractions to the Vision Class ships which makes me happy.  At double occupancy, this ship only carries a little over 1900 passengers.  At full capacity, it's just over 2400. Compare that to Oasis of the Seas which at double occupancy carries 5400 passengers.  I've lived in towns smaller than that!

Last night as I looked at the deck plans, I confirmed that the ship has the most important thing to my travel buddy Jenny and myself.  Right there on deck 4 hidden away from the crowds just slightly is the Champagne Bar.  Yep!  November is going to be good.

I'll let you know when I get my final confirmation.  Until then, have a great Wednesday and Never Forget!

Traveling With Pets

Good Tuesday morning to you all!  Adjustments are still being made here at Places You'll Go with a new kitten in the mix.  Soon, I hope all will be back to normal.  In the meantime, the blogs are coming later or not at all.  Sorry for the delays.

I had to get a new cat carrier the other day so that I could take all three of the critters to the vet at the same time.  The new one is one of those nylon ones that zips closed both on top and on the end and has a shoulder strap.  It came with paper work that claims it is "guaranteed on-board" for air travel.  Apparently, with this particular carrier, as long as you follow all the rules, you will be able to carry your pet as one of your carry on's if he / she is small enough to fit in one of the Sherpa Pet Group carriers offered.  I've seen people settle in on a plane before with this exact carry on sliding it under the seat in front of them.  The information that came with the carrier details that the pet MUST remain in the carrier at all times and the carrier MUST remain under the seat in front of you at all times.  Those seem to be the major rules for in flight.

There is also a form that must be completed by your vet no less than 10 days prior to travel.  There is a pet travel fee that you have to pay.  (I guess this gets Fluffy his boarding pass.)  You have to carry his "boarding pass" along with all of your travel documents to get through the TSA checkpoints and then on to your flight. I've never seen a pet going through TSA.  I assume they allow you to carry it and don't stick it on the conveyor to be x-ray'd but I'm not certain.  Surely they don't run it through the x-ray machine.  But I would hope that they would take the pet out and check the carrier to make sure you aren't attempting to smuggle a full size can of mousse through.  (Damn, no wonder people who carry their pets on vacation always have great hair!)

For details on traveling with your pet using one of these carriers, visit their website http://www.flygob.com which contains details by airline.  They also sell stuff on their site.  If you want a camo Duck Dynasty tee shirt for your furry four legged child, this is the site to visit.  If you would like to see the exact carrier I got it is on the website.  Mine is the Sherpa Original Deluxe, here is a picture of Shiner in it on the day I got it... before he realized that a short 18 hours later, it would be used to take him to the vet.  Now I'll be lucky to ever get him in in it again.  When I brought it home before he realized it was meant to transport him to the vets office, he climbed in and took a nap.

As I said, I've seen people using these for air travel before.  Most recently, when my niece and I returned from New York the lady across the aisle from me had a dog in one.  The dog never whimpered, yapped, barked or whined the entire flight.  If it were mine, I would have been checking to make sure it was still breathing.  It was better than any child I've ever been on a flight with and better than many of the adults.

On the other hand, once during a flight to Key West, the couple behind us had a small dog in a carrier on board. I can't tell you for sure if it was one of these carriers since I never saw it.  In fact, I didn't know they had brought a dog on board until we were taking off.  This was the smaller commuter flight that went from Atlanta to Key West.  The couple with the dog was in the back row, we were just in front of them and there was no row across the aisle from them.  The flight attendant sat next to the couple with the dog during take off and landing.  The dog obviously was not fond of traveling and whimpered somewhat.  So the flight attendant and the elderly couple traveling with the dog talked about it as we were taking off.

The lady continually tried to calm the dog down throughout the flight.  It was obvious from the conversation and noise behind us that the dog was not under the seat the entire flight.  In fact, I'm pretty sure it was out of it's carrier for a portion of the flight.  When the little old lady had to go to the lavatory, her husband apparently didn't realize how this would effect the dog and the dog began crying VERY loudly and continued until the woman came back and soothed it.  All in all, it still wasn't as loud or upsetting as an angry 2 year old child on a flight.  The elderly couple talked to the flight attendant about their winter home in the Keys and said that they take the dog with them there every year for the winter.  They were from somewhere in the Northeast.  If I remember correctly, they said that the dog was old too.  So I'm sure that the three of them got along well in the warmth of the Keys in the winter.  This was the most demonstrative I've ever seen a dog be on an airplane and still it was not bad.

I fully believe that I could travel with Shiner in one of these carriers on an airplane (once I got him in and doused myself in Mercurochrome to cover the scratches and bite marks).  Once you get him in his carrier, he is always quietly calm.  Or at least he seems calm to the casual observer.  But I know that this is just how he reacts when he is frightened.  He gets very quiet hoping that if he is quiet enough, I'll forget he is there and he won't get a shot when we reach our destination.  I know and understand this tact.  I think I employed it once or twice myself while I was a young child during a visit to the doctors office.  It didn't work for me either.

Jingle would be a whole different story.  There is no sound in the world more awful than Jingle once he has been put in a cat carrier.  If I ever attempted to carry Jingle on an airplane in one of these things, one of two things would happen.  Either, we would be told immediately upon entering the gate area to get that spawn of Satan OUT OF THE AIRPORT NOW!  Or I along with Jingle and a skeleton crew would be the only people on my flight since everyone else would immediately decide to change flights, change fees be damned!

Jingle has the most amazingly horrific meow anyone has ever heard when he is distressed and the cat knows how to employ it.  It can become deafening at times.  I wish I had a recording to share with you.  I have listened to this noise for long periods of time on a number of occasions, most recently the last time I took him to my parents house.  He is relentless with it.  You think that you'll be able to outlast him.  Even children wear themselves out and fall to sleep after a few hours of constant loud crying.  But Jingle has stamina.  He has lasted upwards of 5 hours before.  It is constant until he gets his way.  The other day I was at the vets office with the new kitten who decided that she should climb my leg.  It hurt so I immediately bent over and scooped her up and began petting her as I continued talking to the vet.  He stopped me, took the cat away from me and put her back on the ground and said, "You can do that, but I don't recommend rewarding her bad behaviour by holding and petting her".  He was right of course.  But over the years, Jingle has trained me.  Now if one of my cats wants something, I immediately give it to them in fear that a loud incessant cry from hell will begin to spew from their mouths.  My bad!

So yeah, I don't think Jingle would never be allowed on an airplane without a lot of drugs either for him or the other passengers and crew.  The more I think about it the more I think that air travel for pets should probably be limited to dogs - small, well behaved dogs.  Have a great Tuesday and I will attempt the same.

Wrapping Up the Mind Trip to Maui

Happy Friday!  This is going to have to be short and sweet today.  I'm super busy!  Thanks to all of you who are sending business my way.  I love being busy planning dream vacations and honeymoons for people.  It's the best!

Yesterday we were in the middle of a mind vacation to Maui.  The problem we were facing was that the deal I found was only a 5 night deal but the price was terrific at $1,723 per person for flights, hotel, $200 in hotel credit, daily breakfast, economy rental car and travel protection (You know, in case you fall down while your hiking at Haleakala and break a leg and have to be airlifted off the crater. I'm not saying that is going to happen to you. But I know my luck so I always get travel protection.) We only have one night and two days left on this mind trip.  Our flight home doesn't leave Maui until 10:30 PM, so although we will be checking out of the hotel tomorrow at noon, we'll load the luggage up in the rental car and spend the day doing last minute sight seeing and shopping for any gifts we need for pet sitters... or whoever.

So today we are snorkeling and after checking out all the options we have chosen to head to Honolua Bay. If you check out the reviews on Trip Advisor, you'll see that there are very strict rules about sunscreen and touching the sea turtles.  Apparently, you are not allowed to wear sunscreen there since it damages the coral and touching the sea turtles is strictly off limits with large fines if you do.  Since sunscreen isn't allowed, it is best to visit early in the day.  Also, depending on the surf, you may not be able to snorkel.  Some days it is a great surf location and other days it is a great snorkel location.  So you'll have to judge for yourself while you are visiting.  You have to hike through a rain forest to get to the bay.  But after the hike, this is the reward...

Based on what we've learned from Trip Advisor, we've worn water shoes since the rocks extend about 5 feet out into the water and they are slick.  The snorkeling is better on the right side of the bay so that's where we'll stay.  Most people say that the water's a little murky here, but that's just sort of the way it is in Hawaii.  If you are accustomed to snorkeling in the Caribbean, beware that the visibility here just isn't as good.

If you want to swim with sea turtles this is definitely the place to be (as long as you don't touch them).  Since we can't wear sunscreen, we won't stay long. With that said, we obviously won't get to see the sunset here like the photo below.  But the photo was so pretty that I had to post it anyway.  Upon leaving Honolua Bay we'll head up the coast further to the Nakalele Blowhole.























Getting down to the blowhole requires another short hike, but this one apparently isn't too tough.  You just have to watch yourself on the rocks.  You can walk all the way down to the blowhole but there are warning signs to stay on dry rocks and not get too close to the blowhole since it can suck you in and kill you!  Now, usually, I only post photos of amazing places to see and beautiful or at least interesting scenery.  But as I was scrolling through looking for photos to post, I came across one in which a man is too close to the blowhole.  He was sucked in and killed as this photo was being taken.  I'm posting this because when you are on vacation, you HAVE to pay attention to warnings and be careful!
 

You are responsible for watching out for yourself in a place like this.  I can't tell you how many times I've heard people discussing whether or not it was safe to visit a location because crime might be high in the area.  You just have to be careful wherever you decide to go.  Be aware of your surroundings and possible dangers.  Sometimes the dangers come from other people who may wish to harm you and other times, there's a big warning sign that says "Stay clear of the Blowhole.  You can be sucked in and KILLED."  Personally, I think I'd pay attention to the "sucked in and killed" portion of the warning.  While it's sad that the person died, I just can't help but think that when there are warning signs and you ignore them and die as a result, perhaps it's an example of survival of the fittest.

Since we couldn't watch the sunset at Honolua, we'll just have to do it here at Nakalele.  Tomorrow we'll be heading back to Texas.  I hope you have all enjoyed this short mind trip to Maui.  If you want it to be reality you know who to call!  Have a great weekend!

Mind Trip to Maui!

Want to head to Maui?  I've never been, let's go!  Blue Sky Tours has a fall deal that must be booked by Sept. 23rd that includes 5 nights at the Wailea Beach Marriott Resort, $200 in hotel credits, daily breakfast, and an economy rental car.  I've added travel protection to all of that just because I don't go anywhere without it and the final price is only $1,732.69 per person.  But here's the question, can we really go to Maui for only 5 days?  Let's see.

Our flight doesn't arrive until 9 PM on the first night so, we'll stop off some place and get a quick bite and then head on to the Marriott for a good nights sleep.  I'm thinking that the first day just needs to be a day of rest and relaxation.  After all, we spent a lot of time on airplanes and in airports yesterday and I am exhausted!  Maybe this is the day that I'll spend that $200 in hotel credit and it might all be in the spa... Although the hotel pool bar might have a Mai Tai that will play into things.  We'll just have to see how far the $200 will go.

After one full day of relaxation, I'm recharged and ready to hit the ground running.  That means the second full day on Maui is going to be spent at Haleakala National Park hiking.  You're right, I'm not really a hiking kind of person, but you're going to have to work with me here.  For artistic purposes, just suppose that I am a hiker. So off we go.  You can't beat the scenery at Haleakala and you sort of have to hike to see it all.

It's kind of awesome, huh?  I'm thinking that if anyone really wants me to get to the top of this crater, they are going to have to find a way to drop me off there and let me hike back down. Because I just don't see me hiking up and down this thing.  It's a lot to ask of me, you know?  I mean, we've already established that I'm not a hiker to begin with except in my imagination.  So, now you want me to hike to the top of a volcano crater above the clouds?  I just don't see it happening.

Maybe I could just hike around in the lower elevations and look at the pretty waterfalls and such. I think that would be more my speed. When I was reading about the crater on Wikipedia it said that you have to be cautious about altitude sickness up there. Combine altitudes that create altitude sickness along with hiking and it's not looking too good for me.  Seriously, I'm a Texan. I'm not accustomed to altitudes higher and about 25 feet.  I live in a two story condo and I've been known to get a nose bleed from walking upstairs!  Maybe I should head back to the hotel and check on the guy who brings the Mai Tais around to you at the pool....

On second thought, after seeing some more of the photos from Haleakala maybe I should just suck it up and hike. The place is amazing!  But there is no way you will ever get me to the top of the crater for a sunrise like the one below no matter how pretty it is... unless of course, it takes me so long to hike up to the top that the sun is coming up the second day when I finally arrive. The problem that I have with this scenario is that I have that beautiful luxurious hotel room over at the Marriott just going to waste while I'm spending the night hiking to the top of a crater.  What's a girl to do?  I think I'll just enjoy other people's photos of the sunrise over the crater and head back to the hotel before dark. After all, this is supposed to be a relaxing get away not an endurance test.

After that day of hiking, I'm thinking that the third full day in Maui will have to be spent back at the hotel's pool and the beach in recovery mode. Maybe in the afternoon, we'll hop in the rental car and check out some of the local beaches.

Yep, there are plenty of beaches to visit.  In fact this might be just how I spend the rest of the trip.... hopping from one to the next. How much time in life do you really get to spend on a black sand beach like this? I'm going to need at least a full day just for this one.

I'm going to have to get back to you tomorrow.  I've got some serious thinking to do about whether or not 5 days is enough time in Maui.  I'll let you know what I decide.  Have a great Pre-Friday!

Your Dallas Museum Sherpa? Perhaps Someday!

Okay, I have a problem and here it is.  On July 3rd I went to the new George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum here in Dallas on the SMU campus.  It was cool.  I enjoyed it and thought I might go back some other time when I could spend more time walking around.  Then this morning I woke up to hear the Gentle Musers in the Morning on the radio discussing a trip that they took to the library in question yesterday.  I guess it was yesterday, the discussion was already in progress when my radio turned on to wake me up.  The issue is that they were talking about stuff that I didn't even see while I was there.  Or if I saw it, I didn't realize what I was seeing!  Now, I feel that I must go back soon!

As I was leaving the museum in July, I was thinking, you know in a few years when I have a visitor in town, I'll take them and see things that I missed.  But now, I'm thinking that I need to go back and really dig into it all so that if someone comes to town and wants to go, I'll be able to show them all that I missed on my first trip.  I think it's my duty as a Dallasite to know the local museums and be able to guide my family and friends through them when they visit.  After all, there isn't much else to do with visitors in Dallas especially in the summer when it's 1,000 degrees outside.

I also need to revisit the 6th Floor Museum for the same reason.  I've only been once in all these years.  I was also with my parents on that occasion and we were so clueless that day that we just road DartRail downtown and decided once we were there to go see the 6th Floor Museum.  It was packed for an early Saturday morning in November.  Then about an hour after we arrived, I turned to my mother and said, "What day is it?"  Turns out we were there on November 22nd, the anniversary of the assassination.  Durh!  Apparently it's their busiest day each year.  Take my word for it, find another day during the year to go.

I think I'm pretty well versed in the Dallas Museum of Art but I've only been to the Nasher once.  There are many museums in Dallas that I have never been to.  Let's face it, I've spent more time in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC than I have in most of the museums in my own city.  It's appalling really.  So, here's my vow.  I will visit one museum a month over then next year until I have been to each of the museums in Dallas.  Tuesday's are a good day for me since I have very few training webinars on Tuesday's and my weekend email is always cleaned up by the end of the day on Monday.  Starting with Tuesday September 10th, the second Tuesday of each month will become museum day.

I'm a very strange person and I'm fully aware of that fact.  But one of my minor goals in life is to be considered a "destination expert" on Trip Advisor.  I know, weak goal, right?  Some people want to move mountains, I'd just like to be able to recommend the best part of the mountain for tourists to visit.  It's all about knowing your place in life and owning it.  I'm not a mountain mover.  I don't want to be.  It's too much responsibility and what happens if you don't happen to get the mountain moved?  Then you're a failure, right? I think being the mountain guide is a much better position.  I mean, as a mountain guide, there is little likely hood of  failure.  Plus the guide gets to see the mountain on a regular basis, the person whose goal is to move it may only see it once.

It's like the Sherpas who take people up Mt. Everest.  They're not really celebrated even though they have one of the most dangerous jobs in the world. They go up there every year carrying huge packs for the celebrated mountain climbers, going ahead to get the trail ready and putting guide ropes in place.  Basically, when the mountain climber goes up, it's not much more than a Sunday stroll for him since the Sherpa did all of the heavy lifting before he arrived at each crevice or pass.  Meanwhile, you never really hear much about the Sherpas.  They just sit in the background while the mountain climber is interviewed on TV following his big climb up Everest.  The Sherpa is thinking to himself the hole time, Big Deal Buddy!  I've done it 10 times and if I hadn't gotten the trail ready for you, you wouldn't have done it once!  Yep!  I want to be able to think of myself as the Dallas Museum Sherpa!  A lofty goal, I'm sure you will agree.

So now all that is left to decide is which museum should I go to first?  I'll let you know when I've decided. This is going to be fun!  Have a great Hump Day.... "Hey Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike... What day is it Mike?  HUMP Daaaaa-aaaay!"

Another Long Awaited Top 5 - Bottom 5 List

I know.  You don't have to say it.  You love my lists.  How could you not?  They are not only informative but a great source of entertainment to boot.  So today I present you with the top 5 and bottom 5 places to take your wife for a milestone anniversary!  Go get a cup of coffee.  You're not going to want to miss this one.

Top 5
5.  Caribbean Cruise - This is good if you are on a tight budget and you don't like thinking too much.  As long as you aren't a big drinker and you go while school is in, you can do this for as low as $2,000 with some planning and a little luck.
4.  Cancun All Inclusive Resort - I know what you are thinking, it's been done a million times.  But have you done it without the kids at an adults only resort?  Right now prices at some of the adults only resorts are as low as $2,100 for a couple and it includes roundtrip air and your transportation to and from the airport. Imagine not hearing a single voice whining "MAKE HIM STOOO-OOP!" all week... well, unless your wife says it in reference to you.
3.  Maui - I know...  I've heard all the excuses, the plane trip is too long, it's too expensive, I need to lose 20 pounds before I go on a trip like that....  But your wife has been putting up with a lot for the last 10, 20, or 25 years.  Don't you think she deserves a trip like this?
2.  Europe - This is it, it's the year you go on that grand tour you've been talking about since before you got married.  You start out by flying to London to spend a few nights.  Then you take the Chunnel to Paris where you'll spend a couple of nights in a hotel that looks out upon the Eiffel Tower.  From there you'll head on to Venice for that romantic gondola ride you've been thinking about since the day you met.  Then Florence is just a quick train ride away where you'll see the statue of David and walk across the Ponti Vecchio before heading to your final destination of Rome where you'll spend four amazing nights in a 4 star hotel as you tour the city.  You'll visit all that ancient and renaissance Rome has to offer.  You'll hold hands as you each toss a coin in the Trevi Fountain, you'll attend mass in St. Peter's Basilica.  Who knows you might even fall in love all over again on the Spanish Steps.
1.  Bora Bora - I have three words for you.... Over Water Bungalows....  Need I say more?  Guys a trip like this is a ticket straight to a 50th Anniversary.  So if you really like your wife and think it might be kind of nice to spend the rest of your life with her, a trip to Bora Bora might be exactly what you are looking for.

Bottom 5
5.  San Antonio - Before you start, I have nothing against San Antonio.  But it just seems to be the "go to" place for Texans who want to get away but don't want to spend more than $300.  Let's face it, that little river they have going through town is nothing but a big ditch with food coloring thrown in.  I love the Alamo as much as the next native Texan.  But do I want to spend my 25th anniversary touring it for the 10th time?  I think not.  Think it through guys.... she's worth more than a drive to San Antonio.
4.  Camping - We get it.  Your an outdoorsman and your wife is a good sport.  She always goes camping with you and hangs around the campsite cooking and taking care of things.  But gentlemen, she is doing that to make everybody else happy not because it's what she enjoys.  Nobody actually enjoys going to sleep at night wondering if this is the night a snake crawls into your sleeping bag with you.  Splurge, at lease get a hotel room!
3.  Golfing, cycling, running, skeet shooting trip - We know you love doing these things with your guy friends.  You leave home every weekend to go do this stuff leaving your wife at home with the kids. She has that poor pathetic look on her face or perhaps a grimace of pure rage, as you walk out the back door to get in your truck and leave.  So, you've been thinking, maybe I should take the "little lady" along next time.... First of all, don't call her the "little lady" to her face unless you are hoping to go a few rounds of kick boxing with her.  Second, that look on her face as you are leaving isn't about wishing she was going skeet shooting with you, it's about the fact that you get to escape for the weekend, while she stays home and attends soccer, softball, baseball and lacrosse games between cleaning closets and cooking meals. For God sake don't put a loaded weapon in her hands if you take her out with your buddies for your 20th anniversary!!!!
2.  Family Reunion or any family get together - You love your mom and you love your wife, so why not get them together on your anniversary, right?  WRONG!!!!  Keep these two women as far apart as possible on your anniversary!  If you need further advice on this topic, call me later and I'll discuss it with you.  But don't do it!
1.  Six Flags - If an explanation is required you should probably go ahead and start shopping for an apartment because it's too late to make up for your indiscretions and lack of attention now with an anniversary trip.

So gentlemen, I hope this has been of some help to you in planning the anniversary trip of a lifetime.  If you need more help, I'm only a phone call away and I know most of your wives.

Making the Most of Your Cruise Vacation

Good morning!  I hope you all got to sleep in and are enjoying this holiday to it's fullest!  I got to sleep until 9:30 this morning and loved every second of it.  Shiner is almost himself again and Mrs. Beasley is busy stalking both of her "big brothers" this morning leaving me with time to write.

Today I wanted to write about what can ruin a cruise vacation and the best ways to avoid having any of these things happen to you.

1.  Norovirus - I've never experienced this personally, but during my last cruise two of the six people in our traveling party came down with it.  There are several rules to follow to help avoid coming down with the dreaded  virus but none of them will protect you 100%.  First, there are hand sanitizer dispensers all over ships this days, USE THEM!  Even if you've just washed your hands, unless you've been walking around with your hands held up in the air like a surgeon waiting to cut open a chest, you have probably gotten a germ or two back on them.  I know, I get it, your hands are going to be so dry that they may crack and fall off the ends of your arms by the end of the cruise, but dry hands are better than a stomach bug on vacation. Just carry plenty of strong hand lotion on the cruise with you to soak your hands in at night.

Also drink lots of water and limit how many meals you eat in those buffets.  If there is an option to be served by a cruise ship employee or to serve yourself, choose to be served by an employee.  They wash and sanitize their hands regularly, but you never know what the person who picked up the spoon just ahead of you in the buffet line has done since the last time he washed his hands. Scary!  During that last cruise I was on, once the outbreak began, they closed the buffet temporarily and when they reopened it, they were switching the spoons on the buffet every few minutes and had more people there to serve so that not so many people were touching the utensils.  They also closed all public restrooms on board forcing guests to only use their own cabins restrooms which tells me, that you're probably safer limiting yourself to your cabins bathroom.  Also, if you reported the illness, they treated you free of charge and quarantined you to your cabin so that you were less likely to infect others.  There wasn't a huge outbreak on our ship but there were workers sanitizing tables, chairs and other surfaces all over the place.

2.  Missing your Ship - If you have to fly to get to your port of embarkation, it is best to book your flight through your cruise line or to arrive a day early and spend the night in a hotel the night before to be safe.  If you book your flight through the cruise line and the flight is delayed or canceled, the cruise line will get you to the ship's first stop so that you can board there.  If you fly in a day early, it obviously just gives you more time to maneuver in the event that a flight is delayed or canceled.  A lot of people want to use frequent flyer miles to book the flight, but you'll have to weigh in the price of the hotel room to determine if using those miles is cheaper than booking the flight through the cruise line so that you can safely fly in on the day of embarkation.

You can also be left in a foreign port while you're out enjoying the beach and time gets away from you.  For this reason, I almost ALWAYS go on excursions that are provided by the cruise line rather than private excursions.  The ship has a schedule to maintain and they are required to pay additional port fees if they stay longer than planned.  With that in mind, they aren't going to wait for someone who went out on their own for very long.  However, if you are on a ship sponsored excursion, they will either wait for you to return, or fly you to the next port to pick you up.  And with that in mind I also think it's a good idea to take a copy of your passport with you when you go ashore.  After all, you wouldn't want to be stuck in Jamaica with no passport and no cruise line representative to help you while trying to fly to Grand Cayman.  You won't make it far.

3.  An Out of Control SeaPass Bill - After years of cruising I think this is the one that I have seen the most. On every cruise I've ever been on, during the last day at sea there is a long constant line of passengers at the guest services desk disputing their bill.  Generally the line is filled with dads / husbands who have just seen a copy of their bill containing all their on board expenses and they are livid.  I try to avoid even walking past that area on the last day of a cruise. It's just too sad and stressful!  Here are a few things you can do to avoid that long line and the $1,000 SeaPass bill.

• Include gratuities when you book your cruise so that they are paid for with your reservation before you leave home.
• Book and pay for your excursions at least two weeks before you leave home (This also helps to insure that you get all the excursions you want before they get booked up.)
• With most cruise lines these days you can view your bill through your TV at anytime during the cruise.  Look at it daily to see what your spouse and children are charging and how much those drinks last night cost so that you don't get any last minute surprises.
• If you plan to have wine every night with dinner, buy a wine package while you're booking those excursions prior to leaving.  Your wine's cheaper this way and it's already paid for before you leave home.  
• If you are a big soda drinker, buy a soda package before leaving home.  
• Several cruise lines are starting to sell alcohol packages which include mixed drinks, beer, wine, etc... If you think you will drink a lot, check it out while you are booking your excursions.  Alcohol is usually one of the biggest ship board expenses for most people.  

I pay for whatever I can up front so that I can leave knowing exactly how much I am spending on my vacation and that allows me to know how much I'll be able to spend on t-shirts and souvenirs during the trip.

4.  Weather - You can't control the weather and neither can the cruise line.  But you can minimize your chances of running into bad weather by really thinking about when and where you travel.  The Caribbean during hurricane season (June - October) is always a risk.  Even if there is a storm most of the time, the ship will sail anyway. You might end up just cruising around in circles or missing a few stops.  Sometimes, they'll arrange to change ports of call to avoid the storm.  But last year during hurricane Sandy, most of the cruise ships just sat off shore while passengers took mega doses of Dramamine and had a miserable time.  Even if you have travel protection if the cruise line chooses to sail, you can't cancel at the last minute and get your money back if your cancellation is weather related.  This is why Christmas, Thanksgiving and Spring Break cruises are so expensive.  It allows people with children to cruise the Caribbean during the time of the year when the weather is best in the Caribbean. The time that the kiddos are out of school is limited and they know that people will pay the price to get on a ship then.

On the other hand, if you want to take a Mediterranean cruise, Thanksgiving is the perfect time price wise. Sure, it won't be beach weather in the Mediterranean in November, but it is the off season so everything is cheaper, the crowds are practically non-existent and Rome and the Amalfi Coast are always beautiful!

If you are looking at taking an Alaskan cruise and have noticed how inexpensive it is in May and September, keep in mind that the price drops during those months because the weather becomes questionable.  For the best weather you'll want to do an Alaskan cruise June - August.  With those early Alaskan cruises, ice can sometimes be too thick to get to some of the really great glacial viewing.

If it is just going to be you and the spouse sailing and you want to go to the Caribbean, go between November and March but avoiding the holidays.  This is when Caribbean fares are the cheapest and the weather is the best.  There is nothing in the world better than leaving Galveston on a rainy 50 degree day in January and waking up the next morning and walking out on your balcony to 80 degrees and sunny.

5.  Injuries and Other Medical Issues- I'm accident prone.  So, I almost always buy trip protection. Sure I have medical insurance, but it doesn't cover being medivac'd off of a ship in the middle of the Caribbean. Cruise protection does.  I've been on cruises where people got injured during an excursion and had to be left behind in a port for medical attention.  I've also been on a cruise where a child needed an emergency appendectomy and he had to be picked up by a Coast Guard helicopter while we were at sea.  You almost always see at least one person leaving the ship via ambulance on the day of disembarkation.  I just think it's smart to get trip protection because you don't even KNOW about "out of network" until you have a medical emergency in the middle of an ocean.

6.  Know Your Travel Companion - Cabins on cruise ships can be VERY small especially if you are traveling with someone you don't like very much.  Make sure before you leave that you will be compatible and it never hurts to lay a few rules down prior to booking the trip.  If you are a morning person and your travel companion isn't, it's just smart to know that ahead of time.  After all, you don't want your sunny disposition to be dulled by an alarm clock being thrown across the room at your head.  Likewise, if you spend all night in the lounge on the top deck waiting for your turn to sing Too Drunk to Karaoke and your travel companion heads to the room right after dinner to hit the sack, things are probably going to get a little tense when you stumble into the cabin at 3 AM still singing at the top of your lungs.

I hope some of these tips will help you as you prepare for your next cruise.  If you choose to ignore them don't say I didn't warn you.  Have a happy Labor Day and enjoy the rain!