Cruising Tips For Hurricane Season

Wow!  Having been a serious weather watcher for most of my life, I’ve never seen anything like what’s happened over the last 6 weeks.  First, it’s the flooding here in Kansas City and now 2 devastating hurricanes hitting the US. 

How does this affect the travel industry?

In most cases, if there is a storm, cruise lines shift their itineraries to sail away from the storm.  Now, there is an entirely different situation.  Cruise ports have closed, airports have closed and ships are at sea with passengers.  Once the ports open, the next problem is getting those passengers off the ships, transportation to airports and then flights home.

What about those passengers expecting to cruise on a certain date?
The cruise can be canceled or postponed.  Where does the work force come from to restock the ship when so many are in shelters?  Are there seats on incoming flights?  The cruise lines are doing everything they can to operate.  For those who can’t travel for various reasons, some cruise lines are offering refunds others future cruise credits.

How can you protect yourself?
You purchase travel insurance.  The most important reason to purchase travel insurance is: you have no health insurance coverage outside the US.  Regarding the present situation, there is trip interruption, trip delay and trip cancellation.  If you are really concerned during the height of hurricane season, mid-August through mid-October, you can purchase a Cancel For Any Reason Clause.  These decisions need to be made when you book.

Cruising during hurricane season is always a gamble.   The rates are lower and if the ports of call are not that important, it might be worth the gamble. 

These are the reasons you book with a travel agent to be sure you are fully informed and have make the correct decisions for you and your family.  I take care of everything and it doesn’t cost you a penny.

Please email or call me with any questions or concerns.

Why Vacations are Better Through RD Travel Limited

There are certain points that I feel strongly about when booking all-inclusive resorts for you.

1. It is very important to me that your experience is of the highest quality. Therefore, I only book 4 and 5 star resorts.  Please remember everyone must make a profit.  Two and three star resorts have to cut something.
2. Many of the resorts are owned by Spanish conglomerates.  To save money on personnel and restaurant size, these resorts require reservations for their specialty restaurants.  My policy is not to book those resorts.
3. There are numerous room categories starting with the most expensive.  What is important to you:  Ocean Front, Ocean View, Pool View or Garden View?
4. Your next concern is the beach.  How important is that to you?  There are some resorts where you can’t swim at all.  Some have rocks or other obstructions.  In the fall, seaweed can be a problem at some.

Now, let’s mention Puerto Vallarta and Cabo San Lucas on the west coast of Mexico.

1. When booking Cabo, it’s important to know that at many of the resort, their beaches are un-swimmable.
2. Puerto Vallarta is my favorite of the two.  All of the major resorts are there with beautiful golden brown sand.
3. I recently discovered a gem of a boutique hotel/resort, the Villa Premiere.  This is an 83 room, all adult, all-inclusive or European plan, beachfront hotel with all ocean view rooms located in historic downtown Puerto Vallarta and a 5 minute walk from the iconic sea-side boardwalk “El Malcon”.  This is the hotel for those who want to experience all that Puerto Vallarta has to offer.

    

         

I’m here to help you with all your vacation needs.  Just give me a call or send me an email.

Travel Hints

I haven’t done much recently as far as blogs are concerned.  So, here are a few travel hints. 

 

Some hotels are imbedding your information on the magnetic strip on your room key card.  If you leave it in your room upon checking out, an enterprising housekeeper can have all your information.  You can keep the key or if the hotel charges, carry a small magnet and demagnetize it.

 

Be sure to go over your bill very carefully.  You might find charges that you were unaware of.  Before you book, be sure know that the hotel charges a resort fee and check to see if WiFi is an extra or is free.

 

Taxis from the airport to your hotel can be another challenge.  Tell your driver you want the shortest route to your hotel and ask for a price.  Otherwise, you may be taken and unexpected tour of the city and paying for it.

 

I’ve been working on my website. There is a wealth of information.  Look all the way over to the right and click on Travel Resources.  You will be amazed at what you see.  Let me know what you think.

 

Give me a call and I will work with you to plan your perfect vacation.

Summer Specials

I thought you might be interested in a few of the summer specials that I see on a regular basis.  Many are timely and may or may not appear on my website or in my newsletter.  If you haven’t planned a summer vacation yet, here are specials that will need immediate action.

 

Royal Caribbean has just released discounted pricing on select cruises in June.  Two of the cruises have a 150% single supplement.  Celebrity, owned by Royal Caribbean, is also offering specials all summer.  Holland America is heavily promoting Alaska.  Here in the Midwest, driving to Galveston, TX and New Orleans cruise ports is not out of the question.  Thus saving air fare.  The New Orleans Visitors Bureau is offering special coupons plus park and cruise hotel packages booked only through travel agents.  Call me for information.

 

Being a Certified Sandals and Beaches Resorts Specialist, I receive promotions regularly.  There is no better place in the Caribbean for a vacation or a destination wedding.  Late fall avoiding hurricane season is a great time to book.  Extra special promotions for the winter months will be out soon.  A phone call is all it takes.

 

If you are a train enthusiast, I am hosting Western Leisure’s Colorado Train Experience July 12^th from Denver.  There are a few seats still available.  Look for CO Train Tour in the green tool bar on the website for information and then call me.

 

Finally, if you are a wine and food enthusiast, I can arrange anything that you would like to do in California’s Wine Country for you or a group of your friends.

Remember, I'm just a phone call away.

Airline Ticket Buying Hints

Here are a couple of hints that should help you with booking airline tickets.  I will never waiver from the idea of booking as early as possible.  When dealing with overseas flights this is especially important.  $950.00 booking 6 mos. in advance versus $1550.00 booking 6 weeks in advance.  This is Kansas City to Paris.  Here is what you look for.  Book with a tour company that does not require 100% airfare paid when you book, just a reasonable deposit.  I work with one such company.

 

If you want a package deal in the US, Las Vegas for example, they are there for early booking.  The problem is that you pay your air in full when you book.  This results in a large deposit that you may not be ready to pay.  The decision you must make is whether to wait until you have the money in hand and hope the package price has not gone up that much or let the tour company and airline have your money for a longer period of time.  If you wait too late, you pay full price at the time of booking for the package price.

 

If I can help you clarify any of this, don’t forget, I’m just a phone call away.

What I Do

There are a lot of travel agents out there.  Many try to be all things to all people.  For me I have found that is virtually impossible.  I will do my best to get you where you want to go to have that wow experience and give you my opinions on what I think is good or bad.  If your request is more complicated than I can handle, I will refer you to a travel agent who can.  I won’t take the chance of sending you to a place that I know nothing about.

 

Over the last few months, I have become a Certified Sandals & Beaches Resorts Specialist.  These are top award winning all inclusive adult and family friendly resorts throughout the Caribbean.  Last summer, I had the opportunity to visit most of their resorts.  I now can give you that first-hand knowledge that can only be obtained by going there.  I can definitely say you will have that wow experience.  Go to my website www.rdtravellimited.com click on Sandals, all adult, or Beaches, family friendly, to take a look.

 

My other passion involves California’s Wine Country, Napa and Sonoma Counties, just a little north of San Francisco.  If you are a wine and food person, the area is a must visit.  No matter what you want to do in Wine Country, I can arrange it.  From private or group wine tours, small weddings, honeymoons, family and business retreats to lodging, rental cars and airfare, I do it all.  Just give me a call and tell me when you want to travel.  It’s just that simple.

Vacation Booking Tips

 

I have had lots of people call me for last minute trips.  Then, when we talk airfare, it almost negates any savings.  As for the holidays, high season rates begin a week to 10 days before Christmas and last until mid-April.  The only way to avoid this is to book early

Here is my suggested time frame to book vacations for next year.  The best advice is book as early as you can.  If your choice is late spring, summer and fall, book in January and February.  These are the two best months for pricing cruises, any location and airfare.  There are great rates in the fall.  Just remember August through October is hurricane season.  If you are thinking of the holidays for a vacation which I don’t recommend, you want to book mid-July through early September.  For the get out of the cold January and February months, book in August and September.  Spring break is another non-recommended vacation time.  If you must travel then, book September and October for the best prices.  October is also a great month to book cruises for the next year. The longer you wait, the more expensive everything gets.

I hope this helps plan your vacation.  For any kind of assistance, I am an email or phone call away.  Happy Holidays.

 

A Bit of Belize

Shared From Caye Caulker 

After so long in the Spanish speaking world, Belize came as a bit of a shock – a small English speaking enclave on the shores of the Caribbean!! The language comes from the country's pre-independence history as British Honduras and the fact that apparently a good proportion of its population are descended from the pirates and buccaneers that used to frequent these parts!!

I say that the language spoken is English – but not quite as we know it!! When the locals are speaking with native English speakers they have an amazing Caribbean lilt that makes you want to break out into a big grin just on hearing it. But when they embark on a conversation amongst themselves the creole becomes a familiar yet indecipherable stream of words that you think might be English, but you're never quite sure! (read more...)

My New Blog

First of all, thank you for actually spending time taking a look at a blog post titled: "My New Blog".  I figured I had to start somewhere and this is what I came up with.

Boeing 787 "Dreamliner"

So, what will I be posting to this blog?  The answer: anything travel related!  This will not be a place to find deals or be sold on special packages, but rather a collection of interesting articles about places you may never have considered visiting, stories related to travel whether it be information about the 787 Dreamliner battery issues, the Carnival Triumph's power failure or the island of St. Lucia, recently named one of the most beautiful places on earth due to it's volcanic land formations, lush green vegetation and turquoise blue waters...

I'm looking forward to sharing my random thoughts and interests related to the world of travel, I invite you to comment with the first thing that comes to mind.  Share your expediences, contribute a tip, disagree with me (but then you must tell us why) or start a new topic.  I'm anxious to see this blog fill with real life stories, so write often and feel free to ramble!

If you're in Kansas City or the Midwest, you know today was a pretty good snow day - 10 inches! (or pretty bad, depending on how you feel about snow)  I am a skier so I tend to look at a day like today with excitement and a positive attitude.  That said, it's shoveling time...  Be Back soon!