Monthly Archives: April 2018

Cruises, Family Travel, Group Travel

First Time Cruiser Series: Disembarkation

A couple of weeks ago, I posted about what happens when you get on the ship. There’s not quite as much to going home as there is to arriving. Let’s begin with the day before, which is your last full day on board. There will likely be a disembarkation talk, or as some folks say, a “debarkation” talk. I’m told that either word is correct, but I prefer the former. So watch the schedule, and attend the talk, if you can. After having been on many cruises myself, I usually still go to them. I’m a little OCD, a big rule follower, and I’m always afraid I’m going to miss something. But here are the big things to know:

  1. You’ll want to put your suitcase out in the hall on the last night, before the appointed time, so it can be taken off the ship for you. Just remember to keep things with you in a carry-on like your meds, passport, change of clothes, toothbrush and what-not. Many a person has sent ALL of their clothes off the night before and had to walk off the ship in a bathrobe! Don’t let this be you.
  2. You’ll receive a customs form in your room on the last night that you will need to fill out. This is where you declare all the goodies you purchased and give the value of them. Keep that with your passport so you can hand it all to the CBP officer in the cruise terminal.
  3. Rise and shine!! Know what time you are supposed to disembark, and get up in plenty of time to get ready, get one last breakfast on the ship, and go to your appointed place to wait. This part varies, depending on which line you’re cruising with. If it’s a smaller, upscale ship like a Windstar, or if you’re in a suite on any of the lines, you may be able to wait in your room until summoned. And recently, I was on the Norwegian Sky and was surprised that we were able to stroll off at our leisure within a certain window. But on my last Carnival cruise, I had to report to a certain dining room with a group of other cruisers until we were called. This may also have been because we had priority disembarkation and were able to get off at 6:45am. This is why it’s good to go to the talk on the last day.  It varies as to where you need to be at what time. All I can tell you is that it’s easier than it was 20 years ago. Back then, it almost always involved a long, uncomfortable wait in a public area on the ship. Many cruise lines have found ways to eliminate that.
  4. After you say goodbye to the crew members standing by and make your way off the ship, you will collect your suitcases that you checked the night before. Now queue up for customs so you can show your passport and hand in your declaration form. There’s usually a bit of standing in line involved here, so be prepared for that.

After that, you’re free to go! You can catch an Uber or the cruise line’s bus to the airport or head to the parking lot if you drove. Next step? Call Azalea Travel to book your next cruise!

Attractions, Disney, Family Travel, Summer, Uncategorized, Universal Studios

Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure

Sometimes my clients say to me, “We’ve done Disney. We want to do something different. How about Universal?” That’s exactly what I said not long ago, when we wanted to go somewhere for my son’s birthday. We enjoyed one day in both parks. Being Disney lovers, we made most of our observations in the form of comparisons against WDW, so some of what I’m going to tell you is a view through that lens.

Universal has the big, scary, intense rides like the Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit and the Incredible Hulk coaster. Those are too much for me, so I said no thank you to those. But if you like the more intense coasters, Universal is your spot. Without those, there are still some great coasters that are more geared to wimps like me: Flight of the Hippogriff (delightful), Revenge of the Mummy (awesome), and Harry Potter’s Escape from Gringotts. I just don’t do the upside down rides or the ones that drop you thirty stories.

Universal and Islands of Adventure are connected by the Harry Potter train, which is a fun experience. If you purchase the pass that allows you to go into both parks, there’s no reason you can’t tackle both parks in one day happily. Many of the rides are motion simulators, which honestly make me a little sick. If you space them out carefully and choose the ones you’d really like to do, you can avoid motion sickness. The most nausea-inducing one we did was the The Simpsons ride. I just had to close my eyes to avoid hurling. Another trick is to look up at the mechanism moving your vehicle and keep in mind that you are really just in a seat that’s being moved. But for the love of all things Bart, just don’t look at the screen, if you feel sick.  If your equilibrium is not bothered by these rides, then more power to you!

Another ride I really enjoyed was the Jurassic Park River Adventure. A word of advice: wear a poncho, because you will get wet! The big drop is super fun, but it will catch you by surprise.

Unless you’re there in a very slow season, I do recommend getting the Express Line passes if you’re trying to do both parks in one day. But the appeal of all the rides is so very broad that it’s unlikely you would want to do absolutely everything. If you paid the same amount for one day of Disney with a Hopper pass, you’d never be able to do all four parks in one day. But with Universal, it can definitely be done.

Lest you should think it’s all big coasters for older kids and adults, there are sections like Seuss Landing that appeal to the little ones in your family, too. And let’s face it, do you ever really age out of Dr. Seuss? It’s wonderful just to walk through there and imagine you’re in one of his books.

There’s much more to Universal, so don’t hesitate to contact Azalea Travel to help you plan your Universal vacation!

Azalea Travel, Cruises

First Time Cruiser Series: What happens when you board the ship?

If you have the first-time jitters about boarding a cruise ship, never fear. I’m going to walk you through it right now.

If you have the good help and advice of a travel agent who is CLIA accredited, and you are sailing soon, then you may have already heard some of this. I’m going to assume that before you leave home, you will have already checked the list of what you can and cannot take on board, and that you have printed your cruise documents and boarding passes.

So, let’s get started! You have arrived at the port, either by your own vehicle, an Uber or taxi, or a bus. What should you do first? If your driver does not direct you one way or another, look for the place to check your suitcases. If you are using transfers purchased from the cruise line, you may not even have to handle your suitcases at this point. Hopefully, you have already attached the luggage tags that were given to you by the cruise line or your travel agent. (A side note: When you pack your carry-on, remember that you don’t want it to be too heavy. Take only what you think you might need for the first couple of hours, a change of clothes, and any essential medications and toiletries.) The next time you see your suitcase, it will be in your stateroom on the ship later the same day. Please remember to tip the baggage handler who takes your suitcases.

The next thing that you will do is enter the cruise terminal and go through security. This is very similar to the security you go through at the airport. You will need to show your boarding passes and ID.

Now, it’s time to check in. There may or may not be a line, but there usually is. Proceed to one of the agents at the desk to check in. You will present your boarding pass, ID, and the health form that you filled out that morning. If there was not a health form in your boarding documents asking you questions about whether you have had a fever over the previous 72 hours, etc., then you will be handed one at that time to fill out. The agent will give you your room key card, band, medallion, or whatever other item that cruise line has for identification and a room key. Usually, it is a room key card that also serves as your boarding pass.

At this time, chances are that you will sit down in the terminal and wait again until your group is called. This is, again, much like boarding an airplane. The first people to be called will be the ones who have cruised many times with this cruise line and have special status, the ones who need special assistance or are handicapped, or the people who are sailing in the suites. If you book with Carnival, there is something called Faster to the Fun that you can purchase with your shore excursions that shortens your wait a bit. You may be able to catch exciting glimpses of your ship while you wait! Not much longer, and you will be sipping that umbrella drink on the Lido Deck.

When your group is called, you can make your way to the door. There may be an opportunity for you to have your photo taken as you board, which may come before you leave the terminal or right after you’ve boarded the ship. Once you are through the door, you will be directed up a gangplank and onto the ship! There are always friendly crew members standing by to direct you where you need to go. Depending on the cruise line, the time of day, or your status based on the kind of room you have, you may be able to go directly to your room and put your things down. However, it is common for the cruise line to start boarding before the rooms are ready. Many times, the crew is still cleaning and preparing your room for you since they will have just arrived in port that morning. Again, with Carnival’s Faster to the Fun, you can go directly to your room and get your suitcases faster.

If you are not able to go to your room, you will be able to go to one of the restaurants, probably the buffet by the pool, and enjoy some lunch. After lunch, you can wander the ship and familiarize yourself with the various public areas. A member of the crew, perhaps the cruise director, will make an announcement and let everyone know when they can go to their rooms.

Soon it will be time to set sail! Bon voyage!

To book your first cruise (or fiftieth) with the help of a CLIA Accredited Cruise Counselor, contact Azalea Travel.

Hotel/Resort, Uncategorized

Why I decided to try Uber

I’m fairly stubborn about change and trying new things, unless they sound a) completely safe and b) awesome.

So when I started hearing about this whole Uber thing a few years back, I gave it a dubious side-eye. It’s not a taxi. I’m supposed to get in the car with some random stranger and let them give me a ride? I wasn’t having any of that. Even as it became more commonplace and almost everyone I knew was using Uber (and now Lyft), I just couldn’t do it.

So when I met up with a friend a few months ago in Miami, her suggestion that we get an Uber to the hotel was met with my sour frown and (I thought) very sensible suggestion that we go to the Super Shuttle kiosk. Here begins the adventure.

We loaded up into the appropriate shuttle bus going to downtown hotels near the cruise port. There were a mother & daughter, a senior couple, a younger couple, and my friend and I brought up the rear in the back seat. The ride from the airport was short and easy, and before we knew it, were turning in front of a Courtyard Hotel. The older gentleman said, “Oh, that must be our hotel.” But the driver continued and pulled into the Doubletree next door.

The mother and daughter hopped out and went to the back to retrieve their bags. The older couple also got out, but after brief discussion, they got back into the van. “We could just walk over there,” the husband said, but the driver insisted in broken English (because this is Miami), “No, I take you.” Okay, then.

Off we went, past the Courtyard and away, in spite of protests from the older couple to stop. It wasn’t long before we pulled up in front of a Holiday Inn. Being right after Hurricane Irma, this particular hotel had flooded and was boarded up. The driver turned around and said, “Dave?” No one answered. Again he called, “Dave?” Silence. The driver looked at his iPad worriedly.

Finally, the older gentleman spoke up and said, “My name is Dale, not Dave. This isn’t my hotel, because you passed my hotel back there, but aside from that, I don’t think this is anyone’s hotel!” The driver assessed the boarded doors and windows and seemingly nodded in agreement. And then, again, he called, “Dave?”

Well, all the passengers started to look at each other and chuckle at this point. So the driver, not fully convinced that DAVE was not on board and somehow holding out on him, proceeded to look each passenger in the eye individually and ask, “Dave?” We each replied with a “no” and our own names. The older gentleman again stressed that his name was Dale and he was due at the Courtyard, not the Holiday Inn.

The driver made a phone call that I could not hear, then finally turned off his flashers and abandoned the idea that anyone was going to the Holiday Inn except maybe ServPro. He dropped the younger couple at a Hyatt. They turned to the rest of us with raised eyebrows and said, “Good luck!” My friend and I were next. He took us to the elegant J.W. Marriott on Biscayne Bay, and all was well for us.

I bid adieu to the older couple, our fellow players in this Miami transportation comedy. Dale (not Dave) assured me that the driver had finally agreed to take them to the Courtyard, so I was able to sleep that night, not wondering whether they were still driving the streets of Miami looking for Dave.

But the next morning, when we were charged with getting to the cruise terminal, I said to my friend, “Yeah . . . let’s do that Uber thing.”

That was another foreign language comedy because . . . well, Miami.  It was almost as exciting as being asked 48 times whether my name was Dave. So the real moral of the story here can be best described as, “Buy the cruise line’s transfers.” But those are not always available, so I would prefer an Uber to a shuttle service in the future. It will get you there faster anyway, and our very short ride from the hotel to the cruise port was less than $3.

To book your next cruise (ahem, along with the transfers), contact Azalea Travel.