Refurbished ships

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Life is crazy. I’ve had communication device problems, hopefully we should be through that. My parents and I have moved. I’m not sure when we are going to get internet at the house and all that.. I’m actually with friends right now. I’m not sure how everything is going to work out, but we’ll see. I wish I could say I know I am going to be back to normal work by a certain time, but I do not know when that will be yet.. Frankly, I do miss my work, and I’m ready to get back to it after nearly a month off.

But anyway, today let’s look at some reasons why you should check out refurbished cruise ships. It used to be that cruise ships would dry dock just about only when completely necessary to stay legal. But these days a lot of cruise companies have decided to completely refurbish their ships, and so other companies are following suit. Here are some reasons you should consider a refurbished ship.

• Going on a new ship is likely going to cost you an arm and a leg. But that is simply not the case with a refurbished ship.
• Your rates are going to be between thirty to forty percent lower than on completely new ship. You might even be able to score a last minute deal out instead of having to book and then wait around for three years to go to on your cruise.
• It does cost less to revamp an old ship than to build a new one. Many ships are adding all of the popular features when they do their dry dock.
• Another thing you will love is the new rooms on these ships.. Most ships are adding suites.

Places you should go before you turn the big 40

I am pretty unsure about whether or not I am going to have internet access starting tomorrow. We will have to see how everything goes.

I apologize but I am going to get a little personal here. How old are you? If you are around thirty, this blog post is written specifically for you.

Bucket lists have been huge. And I know they are not as big as they once were, but they are still . If you are around thirty, here are some place you might want to put on your list.

• Don’t you want to see the Taj Mahel? After all, it is one of the seven wonders of the world. Someone built this place to honor his favorite wife after she died giving birth to their fourteenth child. It is recommended to visit this place first thing in  the morning because sunrise makes this place spectacular.
• Have you ever visited the Grand Canyon? This is another beautiful place to get to at sunrise. You will want to take a day or more to explore, do some hiking/walking.
• You might want to go to the Great Barrier Reef. This is in Queensland. Here you know will find all ks of sealife.

Tips for traveling with kids

Let’s get back to discussing tips for traveling with kids.

• First, you might want to consider boarding early. Yes, I know that will make your trip feel that much longer. But doing this will enable everyone to feel more settled in their places. It will be especially helpful if you do not have assigned seats.
• Everyone getting enough rest is essential for a nice, smooth trip. Consider getting a condo. If you are for sure staying in a hotel or resort, consider getting a suite or at least another room.
• Having free breakfast not only cuts down on costs, it also cuts down on stress. This is one meal you’ll know what you’ll be doing and won’t have to have any discussions about.
• I know a lot of people like to just go with the flow while they are on vacation, but some planning is a good idea when you’re traveling with children. You’ll want to try your best to work your children’s sleeping and eating schedules. Not messing with those will help keep everyone happy and on track.
• But you don’t want to overplan your trip, keeping everyone busier than usual.? Children love afternoons at the pool or movie nights.
• You will want to pack everything that you need, but you do not want to overpack. You don’t want to have more to carry than you have to. A lot of places are going to have washers and dryers that you can use.
• If you aren’t going to a resort that has a children’s program, consider bringing a babysitter. It isn’t going to cost that much extra. And vacations are the perfect times to get in some extra dates.

MSC Cruises

I’ve decided that I like doing two things at once. Sure, writing about what I am learning about in this travel agent school seems to take me a little longer. But we are supposed to get the word out about the things we’re learning, and writing about the things I am learning does help. And since this school has many different courses, I should keep quite busy for a while.

Today we are going to look at the MSC Cruiseline. MSC stands for Mediterranean Shipping Company. MSC  strives for excellence in everything that they do, and has won a lot of awards for what they do.

• Where do these cruises go? Basically anywhere you would be interested in traveling to. They do Mexico and the Caribbean, they also do Europe and Asia. They also do an excellent South American cruise.
• Let’s take a closer look at some of what they have to offer. When it comes to food, their specialty is Italian. They have a lot of great pasta dishes. You will be able to get a great pizza any time that you’d like. But Italian isn’t the only cuisine that they have. They have a famous Asian chef that is over their Asian restaurants. And of course, they have a pas chef to make sure your sweet tooth is satisfied.
• MSC has partnered with LEGO to bring children and their families experiences they will never forget. They will have all the supplies that you will need for your baby and toddler that you will need.
• MSC also understands your need to keep up with your fitness program while on board. They will help you create the right exercise program while you are on board. They will also help you come up with healthy menus.

I would love to know your thoughts on any of this..

Okay, I know there are ways to book trips on the internet. So why would you need a travel agent? Let’s look at some times you might want to use a travel agent.

 

• Travel agents are great when you and your extended family are going on a trip together. You have a lot of people, some people may have special needs to figure out..People may need to come and go on different days. There are just a lot of details to figure out.
• You might want to book through a travel agent if you are going to a place you’ve never been. You may have a lot of time to do the necessary research. A travel agent can help you to set everything up. We can figure out your complete itinerary.
• And when you’re planning your honeymoon, you probably want to go through a travel agent. You have a thousand other things you need to plan. And this is a special trip you is really do not to mess up. Let a travel agent handle all the details .

Movie places

I am going to try to do this, and hopefully I’ll do a better job than I did yesterday.. I’m still doing a lot of experimenting and figuring things out as I go along… x

I think a lot of us like to watch movies when we want to relax. But have you ever wanted to go to the places where specific movies were made? Let’s look at a couple of these today.

• Do you have any Indiana Jones fans in your did you family? You might want to visit Petra, Jordan where these films were made. This has become a popular destination since the films were made.
• Slovenia might be small, but it is where Narnia was made. If I am remembering right, the place has some absolutely gorgeous spots.

Planning the perfect girls’ trip #2

Let’s get back to discussing how to plan a great girls’ trip. I have several things I’d like to look into more today, but feel like I need to do the normal things first and just see how the rest of the day goes. Let’s pick up where we left off.

• Some friends don’t need much except to have a place to gather and some nice food to enjoy themselves. Other groups will want to go to some of the more exotic locations. If your group is trying to start their annual trips together, it might be wise to have a gathering and discuss what everyone is thinking as far as overall budget. Is it going to be easier to gather in each other homes, or do people want to mark places off of their bucket lists? One of you might want  to play hostess more often than the others to cut down on her costs. You can find solutions that work best for your group.
• If one person is planning the whole thing, this lady will want to give some clues. You might want to get creative with the e-mails you send your group. Some people will go a step farther and send cute little packages to give hints. Groups who are going go somewhere exotic will usually meet at one member’s house, and then they do the reveal at the airport.
• This is a girls’ trip, so you are going want to have comfortable places where ere you can sit and gab. You might want to have one more than one place like this in case your group wants to split up for whatever reason.
• But as much as girls like to just sit and talk, you will want to have a few activities planned. Especially if you are going somewhere you’ve never been, you’ll want to get out and enjoy some of the sights. The planner should have a pretty good idea of the things your group likes to do.

Have you done anything like this? I would love to hear about it.

Go play in your favorite video game

[Disclaimer : I have never been into video games. I have never enjoyed playing those type games. I hardly know anything about any of those games. I’m just going to tell you what this article says.]

I may not know much about these games, but I know they are pretty popular. I know some children, and adults, absolutely love these games. If they aren’t playing them, they’re thinking about playing these things. So let’s look at some places you can play these games in RL [for those that don’t know, RL is real life].

• The first one is, of course, Mario Brothers. I do remember sitting and watching people playing these games. Who doesn’t dream of getting into these games? The closest thing you can get to this is in Tokyo.
• There is always Pokemon Go. And I know that you can play that anywhere. The cool thing about this game is that you have to play it outside.
• In l Las Vegas you can play Any Resident Evil. There you can play zombies to your heart’s content
• .And now I have good news and bad news good news is that  Nintendo is building its own amusement park. The bad news is that it will not be ready until 2020.

Flying standby

There is so much to learn and figure out when you are in the travel business. One person can not learn everything.. Today let’s look into what what it means to fly standby.

Flying standby is a good way to fly if you don’t especially care when you leave or come back. It’s usually the least expensive way to fly, you’ll usually pay around twenty-five dollars, but you are not guaranteed a seat. So if you think that flying standby would be a good fit for you, here’s what you should do.

• Firs, you will want to see which airlines have this option available . You will want to read up your chosen airline’s policies to make sure that you, and they, play by the rules.
• A lot of times they’ll want you to purchase a normal ticket. Sometimes you can get away with a friend flying. Again, you will want to know the specific policies.
• Another thing that would be good to remember is that you do not want to have checked luggage. They’ll more likely to take you if you don’t. You’re allowed one carry on and purse in most situations. The day before or the flight, you will want to look at the airline’s website to get the latest info on the flight. You will not want to check Expedia or Priceline, they are not going to have the latest information.
• You are going to want to get there at least two hours in advance. You will want to go to the ticketing agent, and let them know that you’re interested in flying standby.
• Next you will want to proceed through security and all that. Be sure to let the people at the gate know that you want to fly standby.
• At the time of the flight, the gate people will be able to let you know whether you’ve made it on.

I would love to know your thoughts  about any of this.

Cost of cruises

Spring break is going to be here before you know it. I’m hearing my Mom starting to talk about what we might do with my nieces and nephews during their break. Taking a cruise might seem like a good idea for your children’s spring break. This might seem especially true if you are looking for a less expensive way to travel. After all, you are going to get your room, your food and things to do all at one pretty inexpensive price. But how much does a cruise actually cost?

To start, you should know that an average cruise is going to cost you about two hundred dollars per person per day. I am going through an article that is calling a cruise a cheap way to travel. That does not sound to me like inexpensive travel. There are some cruises that you will be able to get for about fifty dollars per people per day, which sounds a little more like it. And of course, you can also pay a lot more for a cruise if you choose to do so.

First there are your mainstream cruises, which is like Carnival or Caribbean. These are the cruises you might be able to get for fifty dollars sometimes. You are going to be able to spend more if you want. And then there are the premium cruises like Holland America or Cunard. You will be traveling in comfort with them. And while luxury will cost more upfront, when you figure out everything you’ll pay on both types of cruises, it isn’t going to be all that different.

Traveling with COVID

I’ve had another question, this one is coming from my Facebook group, https://www.facebook.com/groups/speciialneedsparepowwow. I love getting these requests, sometimes it’s hard to figure out what to write about.. I love hearing the questions other people have.

I want to start with a confession, and I know that some of you are going to love me, others are going to hate me, but personally, I’m not doing much when it comes to COVID. I only wear masks when REQUIRED to do so. For me, that is very rare. I haven’t gotten vaccinated, don’t feel like I should at this point in time. And yes, we are going to church. We are going to see family and friends like we always do. Life feels fairly normal to me. I know that everyone feels differently about all of this, I just wanted you to know where I stand.

But I do know that a lot of special needs kids have compromised immune systems and really need to be careful about everything. Parents hate seeing their children sick, and I can certainly understand that. I think we are going to start looking at this by asking some questions.

• The first question is, are you and your family vaccinated? Most people are saying that this is going to lower your risks for getting sick and spreading the disease. This is a personal decision that you and your family need to make.
• Are you, or someone in your family, especially at risk for getting COVID? Talk to your doctor about this.
• Does the place you are going have restrictions when it comes to COVID. You need to figure that out before you have to leave.

More on Alderbrook

I think we have plans with a friend later on, so I had best get a move on.

We are going to look some more Alderbrook Resort and Spa. Do your kids love to swim? Do you? Swimming is actually one of my favorite things to do on vacation. Alderbrook has a pool That is completely surrounded by glass doors. They open everything up when it is warm enough to do so. They have a lift to help your special needs child in and out of the water. They also have hot tubs.

There is a lot that you can do at this resort. You may feel like you’ve gone back to summer camp. There are canoes. They have nature walks that you and your family can do together. You can also do them by yourself, that is allowed. They also have yachts that are fully accessible. And if it is the right season, you can go fishing. They also have all kinds of games you can play, either by yourself or with others. They have wiis that you can play in absolute comfort on leather couches.

The restaurant features Northwest cuisine. And they can cater to any food allergies that you or your family has. It is wisest to let them this before your time there starts.

Alderbrook

We are going to look at something besides cruises. Today we will be looking at Alderbrook Resort and Spa. This is a great place for it is also on the beach, and is a great place to soak in nature. It is also friendly and accessible. Looking for luxury? You can get it at this resort, making it perfect for either a couple’s getaway or a family vacation.

When you call to make a booking, you are going to need to think through what you want in this vacation. Are you looking for the utmost in privacy for you and your husband? You probably want to book one of their cabins. Do you and your family want to be near all of the activities? Book one of their suites.

What is there to do? can take one of their classes they offer. If you’re an avid reader who thinks no vacation complete without getting several books read, you’ll probably enjoy curling up in front of the massive fireplace in the lobby.

Answering a question

I had a question from yesterday about how important it is to be on time to your cruise ship. That seemed like an important enough question to look up and get an answer to. I don’t know the answer to that because I’ve never been on a cruise to be perfectly clear.

I’m reading that if you go on the cruise’s excursions, the bus is not going to leave until they have each person back was on that bus. You should also know that a lot of the cruises’ excursions will be little except shopping trips.

You can actually do anything that you would like on these shore excursions. You can go on a long hike, or you could do water sports. You can also find places which are going to give you cooking classes. You can also just walk around the city.

But I know that all of this is not answering our question, “How important is it to be on time after an excursion?” Okay, I think I’ve finally found something. The ship will normally sail thirty minutes after everyone is supposed to be back on the ship. Usually, there is going to be a large sign at the gangway letting you know when you are to be back on board. Remember to have something that will let you know the ship’s time.

More on cruises

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It is Monday, so I am going to go on and do my links. I am getting stuff from Groove. I don’t know what I am doing there. I am going to look at the stuff they sent there. My link there is https://groovepages.groovesell.com/a/7059lL31BsZE. And I’m doing some training so that maybe I can get some jobs on fiverr. And my https://go.fiverr.com/visit/?bta=224676&brand=fiverrcpa

• Now you are going to want to do a bit of research when it comes to the ports that you will be visiting on your cruise. You will want to know what language they speak and which currency they use. You will also want to figure out what you will want to do at each of these ports.
• You will want to leave anything that you aren’t going to need on the excursions on your ship. But bring a back pack to bring your essentials. You will want to bring your camera and extra battery. You are going to also want to bring a bathing suit.
• You may be safest to go on the excursions that your cruise puts on. Unfortunately, safest does not necessarily mean least expensive. If you do go out on your own, it is important that you keep up with the ship’s time, and know exactly when to be back.

• Are you planning to do a lot of water sports on your cruise? You would be wise to take some kind of dry bag. You don’t want to get your possessions, do you? You could buy A wet bag online. You could also take a good Ziploc bag.
• You are going to always to want to keep your sunglasses with you. The same can be said for sunscreen. You will also want to always have a camera with you to take all of the pictures to give all of your friends fomo. And keep a water bottle with you, but don’t most people always do that.?
• You are also going to want to take an extra camera battery. You will never know when you might run out of juice. Take something with you so you don’t get frustrated that you didn’t get that perfect picture.
• You are going to be doing a whole lot of walking on your cruise. You do not want to forget a good pair of walking shoes. Take something that you know that you will for sure that you will be comfortable in.

Book review

You know you love the Lord. You know you want to please Him in your life and in the life that you have with your family. Your question is, how do you go about doing that. In the book “Habits of the Household”, author Justin Whitmel Earley is going to show you how to do […]

Book review — business blog

I have lots I’m trying to figure out with the business. Doing these cruise tips is fairly quick and easy for me. I hope you find them interesting. I know I do. And obviously, most of these tips are going to work on any cruise that you were to go on.

• This is something Celebrity does that I’m not sure other cruiselines do. They have a package called their dining package. With this you are going to be able to eat at of their specialty restaurants for one price instead of paying for the meals individually.
• And I know that I’ve said this before, and I’m sure I’ll go over this again, but you do not want to drink too much when you are on a ship. Think about it, that ship is going to be in the ocean. You get so drunk that you do not know where you are going, and who knows where you might end up. It’s just not a good idea.
• They are always going to serve you lunch when you do excursions. But sometimes that is a long time coming. Check to see if the port is going to allow you to bring food in, and if they do, pack yourself some kind of snack before the trip starts.

• The ship’s cooks are going to have the menu for your entire voyage all planned out by the time you get on board. Go down and look at that and see which days you are going to want to eat in the main dining room and which days you don’t. Do this before you you make your specialty reservations so you’ll know which days work best for you. They will also have themed days which most cruisers will not want to miss.
• You can bring two bottles of wine with you on board. They will charge you something if you were to drink that wine in a public area. But they do not charge you to bring a wine glass to your room. And you just might be able to pour yourself a glass in your room and then take it on up to dinner.
• You may be in for some rather late nights with all there is to do on the ship in the evenings. Go ahead and sleep in. Order room service for breakfast.
• You should also know that they do not have nearly all of their food available for room service. But you can always order food and take it back to your room.