Time 2 Cruise

Most people don't think about October or November when it comes to hurricane season, but it does run that long.  Sandy is hitting the east coast and has already done damage by causing places to shut down. Wall Street was closed as a precautionary measure today and may remain closed tomorrow (10/30) as well.  If you have a facebook account, odds are someone you know has posted a picture from today.  While many of the pictures going around are photoshopped fakes, they probably are not far from the truth.  With that we hope everyone stays safe!

For the first time cruiser, destination is probably a bigger draw than the ship, but after a few cruises, does that change?  Well, it depends on the person!  For me, I like to experience different ships just as much as different places.  Especially when the ship is a class I have not been on before.  Finding the hidden areas on board can be just like a personal scavenger hunt.  Don't get me wrong, the destination is still a factor, but being we have visited every port on the west coast of Mexico, some places a few times, having a new ship to explore can make going back just as enticing as visiting a new place we have not been to yet.

In August Carnival Cruise Lines started to experiment with $50 ($42.95 plus the tip) per day drink packages on the Carnival Victory. This month they added the Splendor. The system must be working because Carnival is in the business of making money and if they weren't making money the program would have died on the Victory. The package requires all people 21 and older in the same cabin purchase it.  So can 2 people drink $100 a day? Or willing to part with a guaranteed $800 on an 8 day cruise? It sounds like a lot of money and it is. And many people won't drink their share but that is what the hope.  The average beer is about $5.50 and the average mixed drink around $9 with tip (remember the 15 percent auto added). So a beer drinker needs to drink 10 beers a day and a mixed drink consumer 5 drinks to beat the house. For some, this is easy but those aren't the people that make the money for the cruise line. It's the ones that try hard day one and taper off and the ones t...

Ok, for those of us that have been on a cruise or two.... or 16 or 80!!  What would you like to see?  The typical answers are freebies, dinner with the captain etc....  but really, what kind of changes could make that next cruise just that much more?  I know for my wife and I, there is one thing we would love and that is to change up the times in port.  There are a couple of itineraries that we have done so many times that we can sleepwalk thru the town.  Ensenada is a great example for us.  But what if the ship could switch it up and get into port at noon and stay until 9PM or later?  One thing that is missed at most ports of call is experiencing the nightlife.  Many years ago we were supposed to go to Cabo San Lucas and do just that.  Unfortunately the plans changed and we ended up on a standard early port of call that trip.  Maybe something like that will come along again for us in the future.  A great example of a nightlife...

The season isn't even close to over and we are up to Tropical Storm Hector but it hasn't seemed to be as bad as years past.  Fingers crossed it stays that way!  The National Hurricane Center has raised the outlook for the season which is not a thing however there is an expected El Nino that could change that outlook. If the El Nino forms, it can suppress storm formations in the Atlantic.  What many people don't realize is that hurricane season runs into November because it is August and September that on average brings the most and biggest storms. And sometimes the biggest discounts if shopping for a cruise are found this time of year because of it.  As they say with big risk can come big reward.  It is a gamble, but if you pack your ginger pills and are willing to go with the flow, booking a cruise this time of year could be worth it for those looking to save a buck or 200. 

While everyone is different, I feel 99.999% of us put some planning into a vacation beyond what to pack but how much planning is enough?  For my wife and I it comes down to a few factors with length and location being the most obvious.  But what about others? Time of year, group size and age, lifestyle, and budget are all big as well.  We are planning a 2013 trip to Ireland. Having been to England and Scotland in 2011 we have a good idea of length for us.  Most guide books break it down by whats there to see and their attention span.  Compared to them I put us in the speed category of vacationers but everyone is different (the way we like to vacation is why cruising is tops on our list).  Adding to the planning phase for this trip is the size and varied ages ( 30s to 60s) of the group.  This is where we need to give ample extra time to planning. Not everyone in our group will think less than 2 hours is enough  time for a museum for example....

Stocks have rebounded some from the major lows they hit just a few years ago, but they are still down from their all time highs.  With the Costa accident that happened just a few months ago, it can be easy to assume that it has held the cruise industry back some from the rest of the stock market as well.  Companies like Carnival and Royal Caribbean have incentives for avid cruisers to hold stock which include on board credits of $50 or even $100 per cruise as long as you own 100 shares or more of their stock.  The amount does not go up if you own more and there are other stipulations, but if you cruise a lot, that on board credit could be a nice incentive.  But the question remains is it worth it?  100 shares of Carnival (which I do own shares of) would be around $3200.  Royal Caribbean as of today would be roughly $2800.  Its a lot of money but if someone cruises a lot (3 - 4 times a year or more) it could be worth it.

Just a few weeks ago they announced who will be on Shiprocked this year and WOW is it awesome.  To find out who, you will just have to visit their site.  And the thing is, there could be more! If you have never been on a rock themed cruise and are into rock and roll, you don't know what you are missing.  We were on Shiprocked 2011 and had a blast.  Unfortunately for us, unless something changes, we wont be making it this year but will be on the lookout for the 2013 line-up to be released a year from now. Like I said, last years cruise was a blast.  I can't think of anywhere else where you get to hang out with the bands like that.  When they were not on stage, they were in the casino, pool, bars and the other bands shows enjoying themselves as well.  My wife and I got to check out an up and coming band called The Voodoos while standing next to Richard Patrick of Filter.  I sat down at the craps and was joined by Josh Todd of BuckCherry.  An...

I don't know about everyone else but since recent events with Costa cruises I have seen an uptick in sales and promotional emails from all the major cruise lines. People are scared off but its mostly people that have never cruised before or only have been on one.  But for the rest of us who know better, now may be the time to not just buy but even time to work some upgrade magic.  Can't hurt to ask and with the price of fuel rising it wont be long before the cruise lines will be reinstating those pesky surcharges.

We recently returned from a 2 week stint in the U.K. where we spent one week in Edinburgh and one week in London.  There were 4 of us and when we did the math on 2 hotel rooms for 14 nights, the numbers got scary!  So we started to look at other options.  Hostels were an option but not something my mother in law was going to go for.  So we looked at renting furnished apartments and BINGO!  A 2 bedroom, 2 bath flat in Edinburgh was a little over $1000 for 7 days.  A standard hotel ran about  $150 a night and we required 2 rooms.  Talk about freeing up some vacation fundage!  Now London was a little more expensive, but so were the hotel rooms there.  So if you are planing a vacation for a group of 4 or more, I strongly suggest you check into renting a furnished apartment.