New Zealand Mirror Travel

Posts Tagged ‘Cruise’

The Cruise vacation you have been planning for a year is now a reality. You’ve packed your bags with the appropriate clothes for cruise travel. You have filled out all of the cruise documentation, do this at home, don’t wait to get to your cruise ship, and now you are ready for this highly anticipated cruise. There are a few cruises tips about embarkation day that you should know before you head for your cruise vacation.

Keep all of your documents with you, that includes tickets for the cruise, any vouchers, passport and any immigration forms that the cruise line has sent you. That includes bus vouchers from the cruise line that will deliver you to the ship from the airport. In is wise to pack a change of clothes in your carry on in case your baggage gets delayed. If you have purchased the vouchers from the cruise line, a cruise line representative will meet you at baggage claim and take you to the bus or van that will transport you to your cruise ship.

If you decided to handle the transfer on your own, check ahead of time to find out how much a taxi will cost from the airport to the pier. It is good to know how long it will take to make the transfer so you have timed your flights accordingly. Make sure you have attached your cruise line tags with ship name, cruising date, and stateroom number. When you arrive at the pier a porter will relieve of your bags. He will expect to be tipped. The going fare is one dollar per bag.

Cruise tips are always helpful so pay attention to this one. Let the cruise line make your airline reservations. The reason for this is that if your flight is delayed the cruise line will handle it. If there are several other passengers on the same flight the cruise line will delay the departure of the ship. If it’s just you and your traveling companion they will probably put you up in a hotel in the town of your embarkation and get you on the ship at the next port of call. If you opted to do it on your own, you will have to make all those arrangements. So, for safety and peace of mind let the cruise lines do it.

If you have decided to go to the town of embarkation a few days before the cruise, that will not be a problem, so make your own reservations. Some travel insurance companies will pick up these expenses but make sure you read the fine print on the policy BEFORE your cruise vacation.

When you get to your cruise ship, embarkation could be a little chaotic. There will be lines, especially early in the check in process. There will be a lot of stressed out people so just relax and take it in stride. After you have gone through the check in process you will be aboard and your cruise vacations begins. Here is where it pays to have all of your documentation completely filled out. Many of the cruise lines have loyalty programs so if you are a repeat cruiser many times they have preferred check in areas. Many of the cruise lines will have preferred check in for cruisers who have booked suites or mini suites. Check this out with your cruise travel agent.

This is a little off topic but it’s one of the best cruise tips you will hear. Use a cruise travel agent for all of your cruise travel. It is important to deal with an agent that has sailed on many different cruise lines so they can give you an honest opinion on the difference between cruise lines. Check and see if they are CLIA certified cruise lines organization. Be careful they don’t push you onto cruise ships where they have preferred status which means they get a higher commission. Scour the internet for cruise reviews on cruise travel to back up what your travel agent is telling you.

Now back to the pier. While you are checking in you will have to give the cruise line a credit card for any on board charges. Most times your room card is also your credit card and identification for getting on and off at ports while on the cruise ship. If you can get on the ship early in the process you get two benefits. One you get to have lunch and two you get the first shot at spa and beauty appointments. It will also give you time to peruse your cruise ship and then head for the pool. Having been a savvy cruise traveler you knew to bag a bathing suit into your carry on luggage.

Just before you get to the gangway you will be stopped by the ships photographer and a picture will be taken to commemorate your cruise vacation. It will be on display in the ships photo gallery but you are under no obligation to purchase it. Check in procedures will be different from ship to ship even within the same cruise lines. It depends on the experience of the staff and the cooperation of the passengers. Remember that these folks that are checking you in have been working since seven o’clock in the morning off loading the people from last weeks cruise vacation. Then they turn around and start putting on a whole new set of passengers for the next cruise.

The most important advice is to try to keep a cool head. You are headed for the best thing you can imagine, a cruise forum.

Vacations should be fun, relaxing interludes that give us a break from our normal routine so that we can recharge and feel refreshed. All too often it’s the travel to our vacation destination that is most stressful though. So in Part 1 of this article we discussed ways to have the right kind of luggage for the trip, what to carry on board with you when you fly, how to keep your clothes clean in your luggage, and how to carry medications with you as you travel. Here are even more travel packing tips for great family vacations:

* If you are one of those folks that gets motion sickness easily, be proactive and carry some medication on board with you as you fly or take it with you in the car if you travel by auto. In fact, it may even be best to take it before you leave to be sure that you don’t have a rough time while the trip is underway.

* Always have ID tags on your luggage that can help having them returned to you as soon as possible in the case of their loss by the airline.

* Don’t overpack your bags in order to keep from wrinkling your clothes on the trip. Lots of people try to cram as much as they can into every bag only to find that their clothing looks awful upon arrival at their destination. Buttoning all the buttons on your shirts can help keep them wrinkle-free too. Once you get to your destination unpack as soon as you can to avoid wrinkles as much as possible.

* Try to arrange your lodging arrangements so that you have access to laundry facilities. That way you don’t have to carry as many clothes with you, especially for a long vacation. This will dramatically cut down on the amount of luggage needed for the trip and help you manage them much easier too.

* Make sure that you bring enough luggage to handle any new items that you may buy while on the trip. All too often folks only bring enough luggage to get them where they want to go and then have trouble coming up with a way to handle the extra souvenirs and mementos that they buy while on the trip. Just planning ahead can solve this problem.

* Packing clothes that have similar color schemes can help you mix and match for each day’s affairs. This can help save luggage space that could be taken up by having unique ensembles for every occasion. Most people find that they pack more clothes than they need for the trip anyway.

If you give some advance thought to packing your luggage, it can go a long way toward making your trip easier and more trouble-free, and hopefully you can make good use of our travel packing tips for great family vacations.

Traveling abroad has it’s own rewards and challenges and it’s good to think and plan ahead for any trip outside the boundaries of your own country if you don’t want unpleasant surprises to crop up. In Part 1 of this article series we covered several tips on what paperwork may be needed as you travel, how to prepare for driving an auto in a foreign country, medical insurance concerns and much more. Now here are more international travel tips that can help you have the best family vacations while you are abroad:

* Most major credit cards are often accepted in foreign countries, but just be sure that the ones you have can be used successfully everywhere you intend to go. It may also be a good idea to notify your credit card companies in advance that you are leaving the country and how long you plan to be gone just so they do not flag your account and deny charges due to suspicion of fraudulent activity.

* Credit cards are also beneficial to use in many cases since the credit card companies will handle all conversion rates for you, which can save you a lot of money because of not having to make those kind of complicated money conversion calculations on your own whenever you buy anything.

* Try to drink bottled water as much as you can to avoid sickness while on the trip. Water quality can vary considerably from one country or even one area to another, so protect yourself by drinking as much bottled water as you can while on the trip. And avoid putting ice cubes in your drinks as they are usually made with local water and will melt in your drink.

* If you have some health concerns that require treatment, be sure to carry a copy of your medical history along with you in case it may be necessary to get treatment while you are away.

* If you have food allergies, find out how you pronounce the words to describe that food in that country’s language so you can be sure to avoid those foods while you are on your trip.

* Remember that Medicare and Medicaid do not pay for any treatment given outside the US, so determine in advance if additional coverage is needed and purchase trip insurance before you leave in that case.

* If you carry cash while away, it’s often a good idea to keep it in a security belt rather than a wallet that is in your pocket. There are many pickpockets in foreign countries that are tremendously skilled in separating you from your money if it isn’t well guarded.

Be sure to read Part 3 of this article series to get even more valuable international travel tips that can help you have the best family vacations.