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.

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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.

Saving on winter cruises #1

Let’s face it. Winter can be such a bleak time. True, most of us just got home from our holiday vacations. But if you are thinking of sun and sand, you might want to consider taking a cruise. Today let’s look at some ways you might be able to save money on your next cruise.

• The first thing you need to know is that some cruises may look extremely cheap, if you are likely going to be nickeled and dimed every time you turn around. Other cruises may seem expensive, but these are going to be much more all inclusive in nature.
• You might want to check out VacationsToGo.com. This is a resource that will allow you to compare cruises around the world. See how much of a cruise you can get for your money.
• Do you not care at all where you go, you just want to get away somewhere. Maybe you should try looking at some last minute cruise deals. To do this, again you might want to go to VacationsToGo to see what they might have.
• Do you have someone you love cruising with? Sign up for that cruiseline’s newsletter. They’ll be sure to let you know to you about deals they have.

Funny stories #2

I think we are going to continue our discussion from yesterday. I really enjoyed it, and hope you did as well.

• One travel agent has been asked if honeymooners will get any special discounts for being virgins on their wedding night. Okay, most resorts, castle hotels and cruises are going to do special things for couples who are on their honeymoon. Sometimes you will have to pay extra for their romance packages. You will just have to check to see what the places you are looking at might have available. Or I could do that for you if I was to book your special trip. But I don’t think anyone is going to ask you those most personal questions.
• Someone has asked a travel agent to get her and her husband on a cruise. But by the way, the husband wasn’t allowed to leave the United States. Okay, we are not allowed to do anything like that. We need to follow the rules, especially federal regulations.
• Some of these are truly making me laugh out loud. One person wanted his travel agent to book him a middle seat on the plane because he figured the people around him would help cushion him in the event that a crash was to take place. That might help some in a car accident. But an airplane is a huge craft, and your crash is going to be much more serious. Listen to your airline staff.
• Someone called their travel agent to get him home three days because the hotel they were staying at didn’t have the right channel that would allow him to watch his football game. I’m sorry, but that just seems a little ridiculous to me.
• One woman decided to go from her trip to Italy because she couldn’t stand the person she booked her trip with. She spent a thousand dollars and just lost out on the rest of her tour.

Funny stories

Today we are going to do something a little different, because sometimes it’s good to laugh and have fun. Like everyone else, travel agents know our jobs, but sometimes other people do not have a clue.

• Let’s start with Hawaii. Some people have asked whether they can get to Hawaii by train instead of boat or plane. Um, no, they haven’t built a railway system for Hawaii. Why would they when you can either fly or go by ship? I hear that taking a cruise is an excellent way to explore the beautiful place.
• People have also asked whether they can get American food there in Hawaii. Do they know that Hawaii is part of the United States?
• Another person informed their travel agent that the islands didn’t look that far apart, they would just drive between the islands. Hello, they are islands, there is water in between them.
• Another travel agent has had a guest ask if they could have their cruise stop and pick up some of their family who lived in Virginia. Now some of the top luxury cruises might do that, but that would be unusual.
• One luxury client decided that she wanted to give her son a dolphin for his birthday. They had a salt water pool, and money was to be no object, she didn’t see any problem with it. The poor travel agent ended up calling the woman’s husband who did put a kabash on this ridiculous request.

The Caribbean #2

Okay, so the Caribbean is an absolutely beautiful, what do you do there? That is what we are going to look at today.

• Let’s start with looking at what’s available in the Cayman Islands. Grand Cayman has Stingray City where you and your family can interact with what they call “friendly stingrays”, I’m not sure what they mean by that. You should also check out the Bahamas’ Pig Beach where some adorable pigs live.
• Jamaica’s Ochos Rios has some gorgeous waterfalls. They are called Dunn’s River Falls. And from what I hear, they are a must-see attraction. What makes these falls unique? They fall directly into the sea.
• If you keep up with travel news at all, you know that Cuba is now opening up to the citizens of the United States. Now is the time to explore their rich history and culture.
• You might also want to visit Puerto Rico. They are rebuilding after the storm that hit them.

Tourism is a huge industry for the Caribbean, so you are going to find a large variety of accommodations. There is everything from quaint bed and breakfasts to huge resorts. And among the resorts you will find family friendly to adults only.

The Caribbean #1

Where is your ultimate dream trip? You know that one place you’ve always wanted to go to, and promise yourself that one of these days you are going to get there. For a lot of people that place is the Caribbean. Let’s look at some reasons why that is.

• The Caribbean’s Cayman Islands are fantastic. These islands broke travel records in 2018. And their popularity shows no signs of slowing down this year. They have some great beaches and some fascinating festivals.
• Aruba is another place a lot of people would like to get to. Again you will find beautiful beaches. There is also a lot of shopping and great nightlife. And this paradise is located outside of the hurricane belt, so you don’t have to worry about that when you travel there in summer.
• Guadaloupe is another place you might want to consider visiting. There are a variety of landscapes. You will also find rich culture here.

Mexico

Let’s look some more at Mexico. Do you want to know some popular destinations? Tulum is one, and it’s located in the Riveria Maya.  It is popular because it has a lot of archeaological digs.  This place just seems to keep growing in popularity.  Chitzen Itza is another place people who love history want to go. You will find more digs in this place.  Mexico’s beaches are also beautiful, therefore they are also popular.  You and your family will enjoy taking part in the water sports here.

Mexico

I am going to try to do this. I’m having problems with my computer, but we are working on figuring it out. Today let’s talk about Mexico.

Mexico City is one of the busiest cities in the world.  This is a hot place for business travelers to go and have their meetings. Of course, leisure travelers love this city as well. There is plenty to see and do.

San Miguel de Allende is known as the America’s city of culture.  Going to this city will allow you to step back into colonial days. They are known for loving the arts and having all kinds of festivals.

Favorite honeymoon destinations

Did you know New Year’s is one of the most popular times to get engaged? If you and your significant other have decided that this is the year that you are going to take the plunge and get married, we are going to take a look at some popular honeymoon destinations you might want to consider for your special trip.

• Do you and your future husband just love wildlife? You might want to go to Africa and watch the animals in their natural habitat. Not sure you want to spend your honeymoon camping out? They do have some nice resorts in Kenya.
• Or are you looking for a great spa resort? You may be interested in learning more about healthy eating. You may also want to vineyards to do some wine tastings. You could also want to see the glitz and glamor of Hollywood. If this sounds like your ideal trip, go to California.
• Especially if you live in the Southeastern United States, you might want to consider going to Florida for your honeymoon. You will find plenty to see and do there. Love amusement parks? This state certainly has its share of those. You are also going to love their beautiful beaches.
• Thailand is becoming an extremely popular place to go visit. Maybe part of the reason is that everyone loves their food. But honeymooners in particular will love their beaches. You may also enjoy their wide variety of water sports.

Safest cities #3

Let’s be honest with ourselves about something here. Sometimes when we say something might not be safe, what we’re really saying is that we don’t want to do something. Some of us just want to stay in our own cubicle worlds, doing the same things day after day. Travel costs money. Things might not go exactly as we had planned. Does anything in life turn out exactly as we had planned? Travel enriches our lives in so many ways. Maybe starting with these “safer countries” will make you want to do more. Let’s get back to our discussion of some of the safest places in the world to visit.

• The first place we are going to look at today. If your hesitation to travel is because you don’t want to give up the comforts of life, try visiting this place. You are going to have access to some very nice malls. You should also have no problems finding internet access. It is also among the safest places in Asia.
• Do you want to know the safest country to visit in North America? It is not our great United States. It is Canada. This is another great place for snow. It is also a great way for us to experience European culture without crossing that pond.
• Are you looking for a great wellness package within the United States? Look no further than Scottsdale, Arizona. This city has a lot of spa resorts. It also rates very high on safety measures charts.
• According to recent studies, Portland, Maine is one of our country’s safest cities. Only twenty-three other cities received this rating. And you will find a lot to see and do in this city.

Safest places #2

Let’s continue our discussion of some of the safest places in the world to visit. I know that some people love the feeling of living on the the edge. But I don’t think that most of us want to feel like we are in constant danger while we are on vacation.

• Are you someone that just loves the snow? Maybe you and your family love to ski. Or you might want to use the snow as an excuse to to curl up with a good book by the fire. Either way, you might want to check out Norway.
• Chile is one of the safer places to visit in South America. Now you will want to take the normal precautions when it comes to pickpockets and other petty crimes. Have your money on your person. Travel in a group.
• Are you looking for a peaceful place right in the middle of Europe? Why not go where the hills are alive? That’s right. Austria is one of the safer places in Europe. Again, your main concern may be pickpockets. But don’t worry, most will not hurt you.
• I know that there was recently a murder of a tourist in Costa Rica, but that is definitely the exception and not the rule. This is one of the happiest places on earth. It is also quite beautiful.
• Portugal is another very peaceful country in Europe. You will want to be careful about pickpockets in the big cities. But that is true most anywhere you go.