First Time Cruisers in Alaska

Cruise line: Princess Cruises, Sapphire princess

Destination: Alaska (Inside Passage – 7 Days Roundtrip Seattle)

Itinerary:

Every travel agent’s dream is to hear your client cheer with excitement and pure happiness after a successful cruise experience.  As Rose was telling me about her journey with such detail, I was imagining her laying by the pool, going to dinner, watching the production shows, and dancing the night away at Sky Walkers Night club.

I have a secret love; YES ladies and gentleman it’s the SAPPHIRE PRINCESS! I have cruised twice on this special ship. Every staff member is professional, courteous, and most of all memorable. I don’t remember one bad thing about this ship and it’s staff. I am so gad that Rose and her family took their first cruise on this ship!

Some facts about the ship:

The whole family had such a special and unforgettable cruise. The embarkation was smooth, quick, and painless. If the embarkation goes well and is well organized, it’s a good sign that the rest of the cruise will go well with the same attention to detail and all other events will be well organized as well.

The family was overwhelmed (in a good way) with so many activities on board. When you are a first time cruiser, this usually happens because everything is new and you want to try EVERYTHING. Some of the many activities: Yoga, pilates, rock climbing, ballroom dancing, pool games, and so much more. Rose and her husband took advantage of the fitness center and indoor pools (they were able to enjoy the indoor pools, even though they were in Alaska) and Ryan loved the kids club. I was so proud of Rose for getting a spa facial; it’s a vacation and she deserves some time for her self to get pampered!

One of the most important aspects of the cruise experience is…FOOD (you can admit it)! The buffet was not as packed as she expected, they were able to try so many different types of food. They choose anytime dinning and it was the perfect fit for them because they were able to come to dinner any time they wanted and get seated right away. The only con to this option is not being able to build a relationship with your waiter because you tend to get a new staff of waiters every time. IF this is not as important to you then anytime dinning is for you. My family, on the other hand, enjoys making that connection with our servers. Every night in the dining room, there is a new themed menu for guests to choose from. The English menu was most memorable for the family. The servers and the rest of the staff were very friendly and one server even remembered that Ryan loves root beer. This is what I personally love about this ship—the staff! Everyone actually tries to remember the guests and make their trip special by building a relationship and just paying attention and making you feel like you are the only guest onboard. They want you to be happy and satisfied. Who can ask for more?

The theater was beautiful with plentiful seating and the shows were spectacular.  Rose and her husband took advantage of the babysitting service onboard where Ryan stayed while they ventured up to Sky Walkers lounge to have some time together and dance on the highest level of the ship.

Ports of call:

All of the ports were interesting. I recommended the family try the Juno helicopter glacier tour and dog sledding with professional huskies. This tour is pretty expensive, but an amazing memory to have with your family! Rose tried the helicopter tour and loved it.  When in Skagway, the family’s tour guide turned out to be a photographer and mentioned that he took pictures of a bear earlier and took the tour to check if the bear was still roaming the same area and guess what—he was! The whole group got a chance to see nature at it’s best.  They wished that they were given more time in British Columbia, but an overall good experience.

Post cruise adventure in Seattle:

Rose and her family stayed in the beautiful 4 Star Pan Pacific Seattle Hotel. It’s perfectly located one-half mile from Seattle Center. They thoroughly enjoyed the hotel because of its location and comfort. The hotel was clean and a good size, big rooms, located near a plaza area and whole foods was downstairs (very convenient for a quick snack). The hotel was very accommodating and gave the family an upgrade so Ryan had his own pull out couch. They toured the many beautiful sites of Seattle and they can’t wait to come back to see more! 1 night is definitely not enough for this city!

Now that they are back home and browsing their thousands of pictures, they can’t wait for their next cruise!

The Adventures of a Philly Socialite in Europe

The Ruben's hotel

My client and good friend Julie with her beautiful mama (Russian lesson 1: mom) had an amazing journey from London to Ukraine to Russia!

Her first stop was in London, England: staying 2 nights at a highly recommended (89% recommended by past guests), 4 1/2-star RUBENS AT THE PALACE Hotel. Perfectly nestled on Buckingham Palace Road, the hotel is minuets from the most sought after attractions in London (opposite Buckingham Palace and a short-walk from Westminster Abbey). Julie and her mom were wowed by the Ruben’s service. Everyone was helpful, knowledgeable, gracious, and hotel staff even supplied Julie with a free umbrella for the rain!

I arranged a Hop-On-Hop-Off Bus sightseeing tour of the luxurious London streets and sites. The ticket also included a complimentary Hop-On-Hop-Off Thames River cruise to see London from a different perspective (a favorite for the Cruise fans I’m sure!).  The walking tours included: a Changing of the Guard ceremony, a rock ‘n roll walking tour tracing the history of the Beatles, Rolling Stones and David Bowie and a Jack the Ripper walk following in the footsteps of the world’s most infamous serial killer. The best thing about the bus is that you can create the tour YOU want and explore the sites that most interest you. If your feet hurt and you want to be driven around, stay on the bus all day!

Click here for: youtube video: Hop-on-Hop-Off Buss tour

Some of London Highlights: Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum, Piccadilly Circus, Leicester Square, Trafalgar Square, Downing Street, Big Ben and Parliament, London Eye, Covent Garden, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Tower Bridge, Tower of London, Shakespeare’s Globe, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace

*The girls recognized that London deserves more then 2 days because there is so much to see and discover.

Next Stops: Kiev, Ukraine Moscow, Russia and St. Petersburg, Russian!

Budabar Kiev, Ukraine

Julie has a lot of family in Ukraine and in Russia, so it was a time of family and friends she has not seen in YEARS!

Kiev, Ukraine: Buddha bar was an unforgettable experience for Julie. The restaurant is expensive, but she considers it a major highlight of the trip and well worth the money.

The ambiance is chill with relaxing music and food to die for! Unfortunately, with such a long itinerary they had no time for tourist attractions! Julie mentioned that while on the flight to Ukraine, she met a traveler and asked him, “why Ukraine?” He said, “Ukraine has some of the most beautiful women in the world.” (I am sure you can understand why Julie and I both agreeing with him, haha). When I was visiting my hometown Odessa, Ukraine, it looked like it was illegal for women to wear pants. Literally, every woman I saw was in a mini skirt! )

Moscow: The family spent 3 days in Moscow, trying to take in as much as possible. The beautiful landscapes, buildings,

décor, cafes and restaurants were mesmerizing.

Must-sees from Julie: Red Square (Krasnaya Ploshchad), Tsaritsino Palace, St. Basil’s Cathedral (Pokrovsky Sobor), and Moscow GUM.

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St. Petersburg: Julie started her story from the incredibly romantic and beautiful ride on the Neva River in St. Petersburg at night (midnight to 5:30 AM in morning). I would recommend visiting St. Petersburg sometime in the middle of June till the middle of July because you will see the stunning city lit up during the White Nights. It’s truly amazing. They are called white nights because “sunsets are late, sunrises are early and darkness is never complete.”

St. Petersburg must-sees from Julie: Ermitage, Mednyi Vsadnik, the Bronze Horsemen, Isakovsky Sobor, Kazan Cathedral, Ekaterininsky Dvorets (Katherine’s Palace), Tsarskoe Selo, Nevsky Prospect, and Petergof.

Recommended Transport between Moscow and St. Petersburg: SAMPAN. This amazing high-speed train travels up to 250 km (155 miles) an hour. Instead of the usual 4 ½ to 5-hour trip, you will be in either destination, Moscow or St. Petersburg, in about 3 hours and 45 minuets.

A funny memory: While in Moscow, Julie and her mom were trying to get tickets for an express train. The woman at the register started to freak out, what is this you gave me!? You are in Russia. Stop fooling around. There is a huge line behind you (obviously the woman was talking in Russian, I am providing the translation). Julie looked at the money and saw she gave the clerk half Rubles and half Hrivna (Pronounced Grivna). You can imagine the confusion; in a matter of days the girls where in London using pounds, then traveled to Ukraine using Hrivna and then to Russia using Rubles. Not a terrible problem to run into, but probably a little stressful at the time. )

Julie is a true jetsetter! I can’t wait to plan her next exciting trip!

Links:

www.rubenshotel.com

Cruisin’ by Shawn John (A Carnival Adventure)

A family vacation on Carnival Cruises

Nothing beats being picked up within 5 mins after collecting your luggage from Ft. Lauderdale to embark on a short journey to the Port of Miami. We pulled up to the port, and saw three large ships that were about to take on 3000+ each of which 8 were us.

Carnival Cruises

The excitement grew as we all realized, vacation has officially begun.

Once we boarded our behemoth of a ship, lunch time was coming to an end so we all rushed to the Lido to indulge on a variety of food since we all skipped breakfast. Let’s just say this feast was just a preview of what our stomachs would enjoy for the next 7 days. We made kings and queens of our stomachs.

Ship View

Being stuffed we headed back to our rooms to start to unpack only to feel the ship starting to move so we rushed upstairs to join the everyone on the deck as we sailed away to the Caribbean’s. The next day and half was spent exploring the ship and learning about everything we can do to pass time. From the shows to the spa to the endless offering up food, vacation couldn’t get any better! That is until we reached our first port, Cozumel.

Don't forget to try some local Drinks!!!

When you think Mexico, Cozumel does not fit any prior thought you may have of it. Go downtown and take shots of tequila with the locals. This is especially true if you get downtown early because no one opens shop until 10-11. You ask, tequila at 9am? We say, YES you are on vacation! You get to taste authentic tequila for half the price you would pay in America. Just ask them what they recommend and give your vacation a jump start. Next, be sure to head on out to Paradise Beach. It is a gorgeous beach with a few large bars/restaurants waiting for your business. Plus the beach has a bunch of cool floating devices/toys for your enjoyment. Don’t forget to check underneath some of the random umbrellas while you are there. You might just find a few colorful parrots soaking up the sun. Before we left to get back on the ship, we wanted to get some fish tacos. You haven’t had fish tacos until you had some in Mexico. The freshest ingredients make for the best food. Word to the wise, be careful of the green sauce aka habanero chili sauce. It’s actually a legitimate hot sauce. Ice will not put out the flame on your tongue. Now that is true hot sauce, not the washed down version they serve you here.As Cozumel came to an end, we looked forward to the next day at Belize.

Belize

When we reached Belize, let’s just say we wanted to be back on the ship ASAP. Not the most appealing port to be at. Actually, that place was not appealing at all. Though everyone says Belize has the best excursions. That may be so, but we tried the local beer then did some shopping and called it a day. We couldn’t wait for our next stop, Isla Roatan.

"the magical chair"

When we hit port here, we all just wanted to jump off the ship right to the port. This place was very inviting. Not to mention the Mahogany Bay Beach right next to it. Nothing beats trying the local mixed drink and dining on some local food and taking 2 down a staircase to find yourself on this beautiful beach with your ship in the background. The water was calm and blue. So perfect of a beach even the sun shined brighter than usual. Don’t forget to take a ride on the ski lift that takes you from the shopping plaza to the beach and back. It’s worth the relaxing ride as you get to scope the oasis that awaits you. As the day came to an end, we didn’t want to leave but Grand Caymans was next and we were looking forward to it all week.

Unfortunately once we got to the Grand Caymans, the weather had a different set of plans. It rained the whole time. We made the best of our time there and toured the city with a guide. We saw the dolphin

farm, a place called Hell, and few of our favorite, the rum cake factory. We sampled 6 types of rum cake. Yea, that was a good time. It hit all the right spots. Before we knew it, it was time to get back on the ship. Too bad we didn’t get a chance to enjoy the beach. Actually that might have been a good thing because none of us might have wanted to come back. I think we all saw ourselves living the life there. The time came to get back on the ship and we bid farewell as this was our last port. Vacation was coming to an end but we had that night and 1 more day to live up the ride back home. Let’s just say, WE LIVED IT UP like yesterday was forgotten and tomorrow never came.

When I first started writing, I mentioned the overwhelming feast that was served on the ship. I think it’s time to revisit that and fill in some delicious details. For breakfast and lunch, we recommend the Lido deck for a buffet like feast. Anything you want these have it. It’s very informal and you can just relax and eat while enjoying the view. If you happen to be off the ship during any of these times, then definitely try the local food. It is that good especially when the natives are making it with the freshest local ingredients. Dinner is the real treat on the ship. Become friends with your hosts. Ours was great. Too bad we couldn’t take them back with us. They would’ve fit in our luggage or we would’ve made them fit because they were very accommodating. Alright, alright, back to the dishes for dinner. Duck, lamb, chicken, steak, free roaming hen and fish?

Ready to eat?

Check out the lounge

Trust me, I am only naming a few. There were so many appetizer, entrees, and dessert options that varied each and every night for your stomachs delight. Everyone wined and dined like kings and queens. Actually, kings and queens probably weren’t even that fortunate.  After a great dinner, we all headed over to the theatre for a few nights of some spectacular shows. It worked well for us that we choose the late dinner since we always ended right in time for the show. From various decade inspired dancing shows, to illusionist shows and comedy shows, you will definitely have a good time. The entertainment was brilliant. You wouldn’t think acts like the ones we saw could be performed on a ship but once the shows over and you head over to the deck to view the dark night, you remember, yep yea I’m still on a ship surrounded by 360 degrees of a calm ocean.

Shawn would always call his group, "The Cousins"

As we came back to the Port of Miami and got picked up within minutes, we officially knew vacation was over but we had 7 days worth of memories to relive the moments as we went back to reality. These moments are still being played in our heads to this day. The people we met, the shows we saw, the places we visited, the food we ate… the food we ate, are still fresh in our minds like the ingredients in our fish tacos. Yea, THAT fresh I had to mention the food we ate twice. I would’ve typed in 3 times but it’s making me crave the food I ate.

Well, until the next cruise, our minds are going to be a movie theatre with open seating whenever we want. And our previews will be destinations of the next cruise we like to embark on!

Thanks Anatoly and Alina (CruiseLandAir) for a great experience!!!!

By Shawn John

The Beautiful Family on Formal Night

A Salsera in the Dominican Republic

Casa Marina Reef - Sosua, DR

Casa Marina Reef – Sosua, DR

Spring 2010

One of my client’s who has many other names, such as Salsera that rips apart the dance floor, an awesome friend, and number one Veterinarian recently came back from the Dominican Republic with a new review of Casa Marina Reef in the Dominican Republic. She had some interesting stories and thoughts from her vacation.

Those dancing legs sure can jump

Pros:

= Beautiful scenery and amazing picture opportunities

= Kid-friendly

= Great staff

= Clean beach and grounds

= Coral reef cliff makes the location unique

= All-inclusive option

= Food is ok for a 3 star hotel (good quality, not the best variety)

= Very safe: security walks the grounds day and night

= Entertainment team is working hard to keep you involved + pool table, table tennis, other table games, night show daily, disco, dance lessons

= Bachata music and dancing

Bachata Baby has found her dancing partner!

Cons:

= One key per room per hotel policy (no matter how many people you have in one room) – can’t get an extra key even if you offer to pay in addition – makes you have to manage your vacation around chasing your roommates around…

= Clean towels have a mild odor to them

= Housekeeping takes your towels away to wash them and doesn’t give new ones until later that day when laundry is done

= Not really a con, but be aware that you have to pay for the beach umbrella ($3 or 5 per day)

Conclusion:

= You get what you pay for – if you can’t handle the cons, consider a six-star hotel

Baby on the beach

Iberostar Rose Hall Beach Resort in Montego Bay, Jamaica

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Client’s Beautiful Pictures

Iberostar Rose Hall Beach Resort

Montego Bay, Jamaica

One of our clients recently went on a vacation to Montego Bay, Jamaica. She and her husband came back with lots of interesting information about her vacation and resort experience. While staying at the Iberostar Rose Hall Beach, an all-inclusive resort that is one of three properties that are all part of Iberostar chain in Montego Bay. Iberostar Rose Hall Beach is the most affordable (out of the three properties). It is rated by trip advisor as #11 out of 63 in Montego Bay, 4 out of 5 stars. 78% of past visitors recommend it. It is about 20 minuets from the airport. This property is a great choice for young travelers on a moderate budget. The other more expensive properties are Iberostar Rose Hall Suites and Iberostar Grand Rose Hall.

Our clients were very satisfied with their trip and were happy to just get away from the rainy and depressing Philadelphia at the time. This is what they had to say:

Likes

Could be better!

Liked Jamaica generally Resort close to the Airport Facility: nice Room was clean and taken care of Massages: pretty good Nice Spa, Jacuzzi, and Turkish bath Restaurants: Japanese, Steak, Cajun, and a Buffet Beach was good and not too crowded Promotions happen at the resort. This time the Green Day Packers where enjoying their time off Cruise Land Air arranged for $75 vouchers per person for massages Very good service in the hotel Many different sports and activities available You can eat lunch at the other two Iberostar properties

Fruit was not too fresh in the Fruit Bar Getting the vouchers to  work took some time, because the hotel wasn’t used to this kind of specials A lot of new staff trainees The resort did not properly plan the shuttles back from the massages, which were done at a sister property You can only visit other Iberostar properties at certain times

How we recommend properties to our clients…

I have recently noticed that many of our clients have wonderful questions, comments, and concerns. I would love to share them with you all. I am sure that the extended research and information we send to our customers might be of value for others interested in planning their next vacation.

To set this up for you, how we recommend certain properties to our clients came up in a recent conversation.

On this example I’d like to show you how we analyze and recommend properties to our clients. Part of our criteria is based on the visitor’s ratings. In our experience a resort should be ranked in the 1^st third of the total number of properties (unfortunately it doesn’t work when there are only a couple of properties total). Based on this particular criterion, we would hesitate to recommend Occidental Grand Aruba because it is ranked as # 18 of 29. In order for us to recommend, it should be ranked #10 of 29 or better. In case of Gran Melia Cancun, this particular criterion is completely “recommendable” because the resort is ranked #37 of 163, which is far better than 1^st third (#54 of 163). Hope this makes sense. These 2 resorts are both 4 stars, but the review ratings are very different. Please take a look at both resorts’ ratings below. (In this example I am only comparing one criterion.)

Occidental Grand Aruba All Inclusive: #18 of 29 hotels in Palm/Eagle Beach (should be #10 or better)

Gran Melia Cancun: #37 of 163 hotels in Cancun (should be #54 or better)

The beginning of my South American adventure

Welcome to Brazil

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

My South American adventure started in the beautiful and unforgettable Rio de Janeiro. We stayed at Porto Bay Rio International Hotel (www.protobay.com) right on the Copacabana Beach (and enjoyed the preferred rate that I was able to negotiate for my travel agency). Porto Bay was a tall and brown modern building located near Copacabana Palace.

http://www.protobay.com

About Porto Bay (4 stars):

Likes

-The best service a tourist could find

-Always smiling and welcoming staff (recommend a girl named Luciana at the front desk. She deserves a raise, Porto Bay!)

Roof Top Deck

-Clean and modern décor

-Flip-flops and robes in rooms

-Delicious morning breakfast with beautiful view (included in the price)

-Fresh food

-Roof Deck pool and bar with tasty coffee and drinks

-Located in the center of the best beach in Rio – Copacabana

-Minute from the beach with free beach service, towels, and lounge chairs

-Very good price for a 4-star hotel with exceptional service and location (substantially less expensive then the Copacabana Palace)

-Permits 3 people in the room

Dislikes:

-Simple Ikea-like rooms

-Air-condition did not chill the room enough

Overall, we were very happy with our hotel choice.

What to do when in Rio:

Corcovado’s Christ the Redeemer’s statue

We planned a private tour to take us to Corcovado (a must see in Rio). Don’t forget to bring a hat, sunscreen, or whatever you need not to get burned as I did! Everyone should check out the famous Copacabana and Ipanema beaches when in Rio.  Some friends of ours (that we met in the hotel) mentioned that they enjoyed hassle-free Sugarloaf Mountain much more for the breathtaking views.

On the streets or Rio, everyone walks around in bathing suits all day long on the beach with no worries about how they look or if any extra pounds are hanging out. Let it all out! Everything and

I wonder what's for sale?

anything is sold right on the beach, whether it’s barbequed shrimp on a stick, sunglasses, ice cream, or beach clothes and sold cheep.  Small bars run along the beach-line with soccer played right on the hot sand for soccer fanatics to watch and cheer.

Now I know why Corcovado’s Christ the Redeemer’s statue looks the way it does with his hand out…I was laying in the same position after getting the worst and most random spotted burn of my life… you can only imagine.

Rio Scenarium

For a fun night out, I would recommend Rio Scenarium to every tourist. It’s not only safe, but also full of locals, culture, history, music, and art. The all-girl samba group and creative décor of this maze-like, three-story lounge/club mesmerized me. While exploring, I found random nooks, for example, on the third floor there was a small open square for smokers and little walkways that seemed as though they connected to other buildings for restrooms and more smoking. Intriguing, I know!

Shopping:

I was not impressed. I thought I would go into the mall and spend, spend, spend!!! Well I was very wrong. It seemed that every store had the same clothing, but in a different color. Apparently, it’s IN for girls to wear baggy pants with a bunch of extra fabric hanging (or I like to call a diaper that needs changing) between their legs…rarely sexy. Guys, on the other hand, only wore swimming trucks or Speedos…I don’t mind that one bit!

Another interesting attraction, not to miss (to say the least), is the abundance of attractive women that swarm the bars and clubs on the beach that are eager to show tourists another side of Rio that one should be careful to explore. Ok, so did I do a good job of adding some class to the hooker experience? It needed to be said.

Food:

There are some great spots where waiters bring different types of meat every 5 seconds to your table. It was an amazing experience, you can’t say no to any of it! Though the meat was a little too salty for me, I still loved the experience of eating among locals.

Other places to try:

In Lapa area of Rio: Sacrilegio, Cariocada Gema, and Lapa 40 degrees

The NEW Oasis of the Seas

I was so excited to discover the latest pictures of beautiful and luxurious Oasis of the Seas. Check them out and enjoy!

If you would like to travel on the Oasis or on any of the beautiful Royal Caribbean ships, please feel free to send me an email (cruiselandair@gmail.com).

Oasis of the Seas

Back of the ship

Can't wait to look at the sea from one of these balconies.

Central Park

Dazzling Dazzles

Theater

Flowrider

For more pictures, please visit the link below!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/royalcaribbeanintl/sets/72157622252813423/show/

My first waterfall swim

When I went to Israel on the free 10 day Birthright trip, I got to experience how it felt to be one with the wilderness. I was walking in water between bushes and trees. Bugs and leaches were everywhere…don’t ask me how a girl from the pa suburbs did it, but I did and I was proud. I remember this waterfall being so perfect, beautiful and serene. I am thankful for having the opportunity to learn something about myself that day.

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