Slow Travel, Fine Life - Hilaya State of Mind

How to ensure a great cruise vacation?

Hi Lingling,

I am interested in cruise but not sure how to make most out of it.  Any tips or suggestions?

Cruiser-wannabe

 

 

Hi Cruiser-wannabe,

Thank you for asking this great question. You're not alone in this :-) ! 

Sometimes even people have been cruised might have same questions if they just treat cruise as any other travel products like airline ticket - they book the cruises online, go there, and come back home with not-so-great experience - and they start asking themselves,  "why everyone else seems to like cruise, while I am not...".

Well, cruise is quite different and unique. 

And let me share with you a few tips that how you could ensure that you have a great cruise vacation next time (or this time if you haven't cruised before):

• Plan early for early booking discount and the best stateroom available.

– 6-12 months in advance for Alaska cruise

– 3 – 6 months in advance for Caribbean, Mediterranean and Europe cruise

– 3 + month in advance for Mexico cruise

• Avoid holidays, school breaks, take longer cruises and/or get a group

– Thanksgiving, Christmas, Spring break are most crowded time

– 3 to 4 days cruises are busier than 7 days or longer cruise

– Group rate (7 or more staterooms) can give you at least 10% discount

• Select cruise lines best for your style and family situation

– Most family-friendly cruise: Princess and Disney

– Most romantic and exotic:  Cunard and Seven Seas

– Most popular destinations: Western Caribbean, Mexican Rivera and Alaska.

• Use a good travel agent

– Travel agents sell over 70% of total cruises, so they have absolutely better deals than websites

– Travel agents can take care of everything – cruise, shore excursions, insurance, air, etc.

– Travel agents look at their customers for long-term relationships, not short-term transactions

Itchy to go cruise now? 

Is that a good time to travel during 2008 Holidays?

Hi Lingling,

We are thinking of taking a vacation during 2008 holidays, but we are not sure if it's a good idea. It seems the economy is not in good shape, and the gas price is high.  But staying at home is really no fun.

Any ideas, suggestions or advice on that?

Thanks.

Eager-to-take-a-break traveler

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Dear Eager-to-take-a-break traveler,

Many people asked me this question as the holidays approach.  And let me share with you one recent article by Christopher Elliott, a Travel Columnist and MSNBC contributor.  I would tend to agree with him that this holiday season might be the best-ever time to travel around - less crowded airports and hotels, more amenities and activities to enjoy, yet at a softer price. 

Of course, just like any holiday trips,  you might want to plan it early and book it as soon as you can. I wouldn't recommend to wait until the last minute to see if "Last minute deal" is available - if price is a concern,  talk to me and/or get a group, as that would always be better than guessing and waiting for the last minute deal which might or might not be the best deal.

Here is Christopher's "5 Reasons to Travel during the 2008 holidays"

By Christopher Elliott

Travel columnist

MSNBC contributor

updated 8:09 a.m. PT, Mon., Sept. 8, 2008

 

Christopher Elliott Travel columnist

Here's a holiday travel forecast you probably won't read anywhere else: look for lower prices on everything from air fares to hotel room rates, smaller crowds and a more pleasant overall experience.

Am I nuts? Couldn't I just write the same story everyone else is? You know the holidays are coming! The holidays are coming! They'll be busier than ever this year. So here are a dozen tips on how to stay sane, but really, you are better off just staying home.

Thats how the facts seem to line up. Consider:

Airlines will pare their domestic flights by 8.1 percent during the last four months of the year. That's a total of 25 million fewer seats, according to an estimate by OAGback Aviation Solutions and reported by my colleague, Msnbc.com columnist Rob Lovitt. It's the biggest pullback since 2001 and perhaps ever. Drivers are making similar cutbacks. Since last November, Americans have driven 53.2 billion miles less than they did over the same period a year earlier, according to the Transportation Department.

That's a bigger drop than the one in the oil crisis of the 1970s, which precipitated a decline of 49.3 billion miles. As a result, Labor Day travel by car was basically flat compared with last year, and car rental rates have remained more or less unchanged since 2007.

Hotels are feeling the pinch, too. They were about two-thirds full, on average, during the second quarter of this year, down by more than two percent from the same period a year earlier, according to Smith Travel Research. The only bright spot at least for the hotels is that they've been able to squeeze more money out of each guest. Average room rates are up by almost four percent for the same period. That's bad news and more bad news for travelers. Panicky hoteliers are cranking up the fees and rates on their remaining guests. That's no fun.

You don't have to be a snarky travel columnist to connect the dots and conclude that this is going to be the worst fall for travel ever and that the upcoming holidays will be completely unbearable.

But that would be nonsense. The fall of 2008 and Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years might be among the best for travel in recent memory. Certainly, the best since 2001. It could even be the best ever.

I've come to this contrarian conclusion after talking with a lot of folks in the travel industry and with you, dear travelers. You are not barricading yourselves in your bedrooms like extras in a zombie movie. You have no problem scheduling a trip during the holidays. No, you are actually looking forward to this fall. Here are five reasons why I am, too:

Behold, a president bearing gifts
Regardless of who wins the presidential election in November, travelers can probably expect a change for the better. Practically speaking, it could mean lower fuel prices (after all, both candidates say they want to lessen our dependence on foreign oil) and a higher dollar (both candidates have pledged to control spending and jumpstart the economy). Author and blogger Janet Groene is upbeat about travel after the presidential election, adding that her optimism holds true, no matter who wins. I agree.

A more civil flying experience
Air travelers are adjusting to the historic airline cuts by flying less. So it's unlikely that flights will be more crowded than ever. In fact, it's possible that more air travelers will forfeit their trip than the airlines expected, which could translate into smaller crowds at the airports and possibly even lower fares. There's some evidence this is already happening. Expedia says in certain markets, prices are dropping precipitously. Fall fares between Denver and San Francisco are down 32 percent and those between Denver and San Diego are down 30 percent. How about airline delays? Passenger trip delays will remain at the same levels as 2007, Lance Sherry, executive director for the Center for Air Transportation Systems Research at George Mason University, told me. That's not exactly good news, but then again, at least it won't be any worse.

Some cruise prices are sinking
The cost of a Caribbean cruise is falling to levels not seen since 2001, according to Sharon Emerson, a Seattle travel agent and blogger. Why the slide? She speculates that there are overcapacity issues too many berths, not enough cruisers or that it's just the slow season in the islands. Either way, there are deals to be had. For instance, Royal Caribbean has cruises from under $700 to the Caribbean, she says. Carnival has many under $600.

Smaller crowds overseas, too
The fall and holidays were already a great time to take an overseas vacation. It's a slow time of year, and most of the rest of the world has never heard of Thanksgiving, but this year it could be even better. There will be a lot less traffic to international destinations, predicts Michael Stone, a travel consultant with Gestation, Inc., in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. This will likely mean better service as employees in international destinations will be happier to see American travelers. His personal favorite is the Caribbean, but my colleague Tim Leffel favors Central American destinations like Panama, Ecuador and Belize.

Cheaper hotel rooms? You got it!
John Boyd, the founder of MeetingWave, an online networking service for business executives, believes hotel room availability and pricing should improve as occupancy rates slide later this year. Both corporations and individuals are cutting back on travel, he says. They should find better deals at domestic travel destinations such as Las Vegas, Miami and New York.

Now let me connect a few dots. During the last four months of 2008, prices for almost every travel product could drop. There will be fewer passengers crowding the airport terminals, fewer motorists on the road and fewer people on cruise ships. What's not to love about that?

This reminds me of the fall of 2001. Right after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, travel fell off a figurative cliff. I flew a week after Sept. 11, and truth be told, I haven't has such a good flight since airline deregulation. I was one of only a few guests in my hotel. The staff and flight attendants were friendly. What a pleasure.

The fact that people are comparing this fall to 2001 gives me hope. It should give all of us hope.

( Click here for his original post on MSNBC.com )

2-year old friendly Caribbean for first-time cruisers?

Hello Lingling,

We have a 2yr daughter and are thinking of Caribbean cruise this thanksgiving. Would you like give us some suggestion such as,

1. which itinerary is better for the first time Caribbean cruise, east or west?
2. which ship line is better for family with little girl?

Thanks.

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Hi,

Thank you for contacting me for your cruise.  To answer your questions:

1. Western or Eastern Caribbean.

Princess 7-day Eastern Caribbean Itinerary         Princess 7-day Western Caribbean Itinerary

As you can see from the itinerary, eastern Caribbean islands tend to be smaller and closer, so you will spend less time to sail (the days that you are on the sea) but more time to go shopping and beaches. But note the options of shore excursions tend to be fewer.

On the contrary, western Caribbean islands (Jamaica, Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Bahamas, etc) are bigger and further away from Florida, so you will spend more time (compare to Eastern) on the sea. Meanwhile, you will have variety of shore excursions to select other than shopping and typical beach activities. And water quality tends to be better.

For first-time cruisers, although you will get great experience from either itinerary, I probably would recommend Western Caribbean cruise as it's more like a traditional cruise experience - you are on the sea, away from the crowed cities. and you can have more choices when it comes to shore excursions if you do want to go ashore.

That's also part of the reasons why we took Western Caribbean last March. We met many families repeated taking the same itinerary (each year!). Of course, we will do eastern/south/north Caribbean later.

2.  Which cruise line(s) for family with 2-year-old little girl?

One thing that you might already know, the free childcare services (it's not totally free as you need to pay some money each day for like $ 10 per day, but it's really nominal fee) on most cruiselines start at age 3. That means you will either have to pay for childcare, or take them with you, or leave them at home with grandparents.

Having said that,  let me recommend the following to actually overcome this and still have a good time:

Choose Disney or Princess. Disney will be my first recommendation as it's been constantly and consistently ranked as THE most family-friendly cruise. They have a nursery services which you pay around $ 6.00 per hour but it's really great services and the facilities are fantastic!

One unique thing about Disney is that they don't have Casinos, so the cruisers for Disney are mostly families with kids (especially young kids) which provides a great environment for you and your child.  Note that because of this - and all the Disney-type entertainment programs - Disney cruises tend to be priced higher than average cruises as Casino income is an important on-board revenue for cruises.

Princess is also wonderful for kids - you can see from my travel blog :-) - but most importantly, among all the travel agent community ( and I am in a network of over 600 professional travel agents ),  Princess has been constantly ranked as a very good cruise line for families. Princess is also famous for great food and high quality entertainment programs among large-size ships (defined as over 1000 passengers).  But the price point of Princess is lower than that of Disney.

Get a group of multiple families with kids at the same age.

If you have other friends who also have kids at age 2 or below 3,  call them and invite them to join you for a group cruise.

Not only will you get a good deal - group rate - but also you guys can share childcare responsibilities while moms can go shopping, dads are taking care of the kids ( or dads go to late night shows, moms watching the kids ) - or one family is taking care of the kids for one day at a time.

Let me know if this helps. I will be more than happy to help your questions or booking (early booking discount/group rate can save up to 20%).

Lingling | lingling@hilaya.com | 604-375-0398