Time 2 Cruise

With the changes that have been happening in Cuba the question of cruise ships visiting the island country could become a matter not of if but when. A new port, especially one that has been under an American embargo for over fifty years would bring a lot of interest from the cruise going population. St. Kitts , a nearby Caribbean Island, is worried that an open Cuba could have a major impact on its tourism. I don't see the embargo lifting as fast as others but it looks like it is only a matter of time.

Many of the cruise lines have zip-line tours offered at some of the ports of call. An unfortunate accident on one in Roatan lead to the death of a passenger when the line failed. You can read more about what happened at Cruise Critic . Our hearts and thoughts go out to the family. The incident is going to lead to questions on the safety of not just this one location but all zip-line tours. Don't be surprised if zip-line tours end up removed from the excursion lists in the future. Having a fear of heights, you would not catch me on a zip-line to begin with, but until they have all the information on what happened, we don't need to jump to conclusions. These are some of the most popular tours that are offered in the ports of call that have them.

Think about this for a minute. Do we really need a document to state what should be common sense? Is traveling on an airplane equivalent to being in a foreign country? The whole passenger bill of rights argument stems from poor judgement on the airlines part in select incidents where passengers had every right to be angry and complain. But the number of times this happens compared to the number of flights that happen makes it such a small percentage that its easier to deal with each case of poor judgement as it happens. Enacting a law could actually be detrimental simply by people interpreting how they see fit. It can easily get out of hand and people try to use it to their advantage to get compensated for things that are out the control of the airlines. Take for example the flight that was stranded last February for 10 hours. Yes the airline was wrong to force the people to sit on the plane the entire time, but the reason for the delay could be used against airlines even...

Aloha Airlines has filed bankruptcy for the second time in as many years. This may be bad news for the company. In filing, they are asking court permission to continue operations however it will be interesting to see what happens. There is a good chance that this may be the end of the airline. They could be forced to sell off some of their planes or even be sold to another airline. Aloha's claim for its problems is that Mesa Air is participating is "predatory pricing" forcing Aloha to lower prices and not generate enough revenue to operate properly. If, the company cannot compete with other airlines, how can a bankruptcy court see it being any different on the other side of a chapter 11 filing? Either way, we will be saying aloha to the old Aloha and will have to wait and see if we say aloha to a new and improved airline on the other side.

The economic stimulus checks, along with tax refunds can make for a nice way to fund a vacation. The government wants us to spend that $600 (more or less depending on family size and income) to help out the economy. A vacation is just as good of a way to do so as any. Look for many resorts, hotels, and maybe even cruise lines coming up with promotions starting soon that will be geared towards taking advantage of knowing potential customers will have some cash to burn this summer. They will have to do something because just about everyone will be competing against each other for your money. Everything from consumer electronics to cars are going to have some incentive. You can guess where we plan to spend ours. hopefully it will lead to some good reviews and more tips to add to the blog.

It seems like every other day there is some added cost for airline travel. Whether its a straight up fare increase or an added charge for something that used to be included there is no question that the current oil problem is having a major impact on the airlines. Look for more ways to be nickeled and dimed when you travel. For anyone that had flown on one of the no frills airlines know, the airlines can come up with some interesting ways to part you with your money. These new plans are being touted as ala carte flying by some in the industry and are going to become the norm in the future. For vacationers, this is going to mean planning to either spend more to fly or learn to do without some of the niceties. Unfortunately when it comes to checked luggage its not so easy to just do without that second bag (at a cost of $25-$50) when going on a week long vacation.

When it comes to taking a cruise there are two schools of thought on cabin location. The first is to chose the cabin based on location on the ship. This could be because of motion (mid ship on a lower deck will feel less rocking) or because it near or away from areas of the ship such as the pool or disco. A few people even pick their cabins based on the cabins themselves. There are a limited number of cabins on a ship that are handicap friendly and they can be hot commodities even with non handicap people. While choosing yourself can be a smart move, it does not always mean that you will get the cabin you want. Cabins can be reassigned based on need. If you have a cabin that has an access door to the cabin next to you and someone else requires two adjoining cabins it could mean being relocated on the ship. The thing is to not get upset and to work with the agent or cruise line to make sure you get compensated for your troubles. You chose the cabin and booked when you did f...

Everyone knows that when going on vacation you need to bring the proper paperwork. But sometimes they may not know what is needed. That happened today for a family going on a group cruise. One of the family members has guardianship of her 15 year old brother but did not bring any paperwork showing this. They were denied boarding of the ship without a notarized letter from his mother showing this to be true. Luckily they were able to call her and get a letter faxed back to the cruise terminal and they are all now happily enjoying their cruise. Unfortunately its not always a happy ending. Many times a year people are left standing at the cruise terminal because they did not have all the paperwork they needed. It is only going to become more complicated as passports become required to travel outside the U.S. no mater what form of travel you take. Vacation is supposed to be a time to relax and not worry about things, so make sure all your papers are in order so you can do just ...

The broken record statement that isn't going away is that the economy is bad right now. That shouldn't stop you from taking or at least you chose your own price. Ships and planes don't like to leave empty. It takes playing hardbaresearching a possible vacation. In fact with a little extra effort, you may find that the time may be right to plan that next vacation and get a great deal. Cruise lines, airlines, and hotels are feeling the crunch just as hard as the average person. Because of this, look for many deals to show up in the near future in your email, on TV and in ads on the internet . But don't just take those prices as the bottom line. Use one of the many resources on the net like Priceline .com that lets ll sometimes, but try calling and asking the price. When you get the price, tell them what you were looking to spend and see what happens. As things slow down, the person you talk to may not be authorized to make a deal, but you could end up getting a...

I have been to a lot of concerts in my time, traveled across country for a few, but I have to say that the best concert in my recent memory had to be the Foo Fighters at Jobing .com Arena in Glendale Arizona. Dave Grohl had the place rockin with excellent performance and the best audience interaction that I have ever seen. After the first few songs, he promised a long night and delivered with the concert not ending until right around midnight on a Sunday night with most people having to go to work the next day. But it did not matter because everyone left talking about the best concert they had been to in a long time. There was a catwalk that lead from the stage to the middle of the arena that Dave used numerous times. Then about half way through the set a second stage descending from the ceiling at the end of the catwalk that was maybe 25 feet in diameter if that, complete with drums and keyboards. The Entire band walked down the catwalk and gave the people in what Dave called the...

At a time when most cruise lines are expanding and bringing bigger and better ships to feed a growing market, NCL is downsizing. It has been mentioned recently about 2 of the 3 U.S. flagged ships in Norwegians fleet are being transferred to foreign flags, one of which will be transferred to operate in Europe. The United States has been working on interpretation of a 120 year old law that could have helped the U.S. flagged ships while also hurting foreign flagged ships at the same time. And with the problems with the U.S. economy lately, this is just another example. The cruise industry has been doing well lately considering the problems with the economy, but could this change? If we see other cruise lines starting to lay off like NCL has done, it could just be. I predict that things are going to slow down but not as bad as some may think. It will be interesting to see how cruise prices will be effected. Cruise lines are feeling the gas crunch just like everyone else, bu...

While in Vegas, we had an opportunity to go to a showing of Zumanity at the New York New York casino. Zumanity is a Cirque du Soleil production that is not meant for younger audiences. In a word, the show was amazing. Part comedy, part dance, and part trapeze, there is plenty for everyone. I would just caution that the show is on the risque side. It's not something that you would want to see with anyone that you may feel uncomfortable sitting with, like a parent or inlaw . There is some toplessness , and the illusion of full nudity. Another thing to note is that at some points in the show there is audience participation. the closer you sit, the better, or worse depending on how you look at it, your chances of becoming part of the show. In all all but one of the audience participants were willing to take part at the show we were at. The whole thing was a blast and I would do the show again next time in Vegas.

We just got back from our first ever NASCAR Race. What can be better than getting to go to our first race in Las Vegas Nevada. We went with some long time NASCAR fans, tailgated before the races and had pit passes, or Neon Garage passes as they are known at the Las Vegas Speedway. What we realized is that when we go again next year that we wont get the pit passes for all 3 days. It was fun this time, but we spent so much time in that area that we missed many of the other areas that we could have visited around the stands before the races. The track is conveniently located close to the strip and downtown Vegas as well however with the number of people that go to the race, it took close to an hour to get back to our hotel each night. It was a small price to pay in my opinion. Having been to Vegas on numerous occasions, I have to say that this weekend was definitely different. NASCAR fans were everywhere with hats, jackets, and other swag that supported their favorite driv...