June, thanks to school schedules, relatively mild temperatures and more reasonable prices, is a big month for foreign travel. As such, it's also a good time for a few last-minute pointers. We (Mr. Makarma) would like to remind you that:
Credit cards - If you'll be doing any foreign travel, you may want to call the customer service numbers for your credit cards and let them know where you're headed. Automated fraud protection systems are designed to notice, and react to, out-of-the-ordinary behavior. You could save yourself a lot of aggravation by letting them know the credit card you've used to buy nothing but groceries in your hometown, will now also be used for those hotel charges in Helsinki.
Cell phones - First of all, make sure the cell phone you're currently using will even work where you're headed. Then, look into what a phone call made overseas will cost you and consider signing up for a special rate plan if it makes sense for your calling/data needs. Finally, learn how to make a cell phone call (i.e., what additional numbers need to be dialed) when making a call either within the country you're visiting or from that country to a number back home.
Automated Teller Machines (ATM) - Many foreign ATMs will let you make a withdrawal from your account in the US. Besides the obvious (i.e., learn what additional charges apply), make sure your PIN number will work overseas. For example, don't wait until you get where you're going to learn your six-digit PIN may not work on an ATM which accepts only four digits. Also, remember that the currency that will be dispensed will likely be that of the country you're visiting. Have an idea about exchange rates so you'll know what you're withdrawing from your checking account.
Take care of the items above, along with those on that checklist you've been developing (you have put together a checklist, haven't you?), and you can help ensure yourself a bon voyage.
Return to Makarma Travel Home Page: http://www.makarmatravel.com/
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Sunday, May 24, 2009
News tidbits and a side of Miso soup, please
Every now and then, we (Mr. Makarma) like to take the time to update you on some items which may not require a complete TravelBlog entry, but are important just the same......
The new Passport regulations we've discussed on a few occasions are still scheduled to take effect on June 1. There will still be a few instances where Passports won't be required, but they'll be few and far between. We've said it before (and we'll say it again)...if you plan to do any serious traveling, get a U.S. Passport.
The major cruise lines have confirmed that they'll return to their Mexico itineraries as of mid-June. One cruise line, Royal Caribbean International, has noted that their recent experience with the temporary Pacific Northwest cruise itinerary worked so well that they'll consider them again for regular cruises in the future. Bravo RCI!
New cruise ships will start service from Florida ports later this year. The ships, one from Carnival (a groundbreaking design), and another from Royal Caribbean (a design beyond groundbreaking) will sail from Port Canaveral and Fort Lauderdale, respectively. We'll have more information on the Carnival Dream and Oasis of the Seas in future TravelBlogs.
We plan to try Uni during our next visit to new top-secret sushi spot. Of course we're afraid but, when it comes to sushi, we laugh at danger.
Return to Makarma Travel Home Page: http://www.makarmatravel.com/
The new Passport regulations we've discussed on a few occasions are still scheduled to take effect on June 1. There will still be a few instances where Passports won't be required, but they'll be few and far between. We've said it before (and we'll say it again)...if you plan to do any serious traveling, get a U.S. Passport.
The major cruise lines have confirmed that they'll return to their Mexico itineraries as of mid-June. One cruise line, Royal Caribbean International, has noted that their recent experience with the temporary Pacific Northwest cruise itinerary worked so well that they'll consider them again for regular cruises in the future. Bravo RCI!
New cruise ships will start service from Florida ports later this year. The ships, one from Carnival (a groundbreaking design), and another from Royal Caribbean (a design beyond groundbreaking) will sail from Port Canaveral and Fort Lauderdale, respectively. We'll have more information on the Carnival Dream and Oasis of the Seas in future TravelBlogs.
We plan to try Uni during our next visit to new top-secret sushi spot. Of course we're afraid but, when it comes to sushi, we laugh at danger.
Return to Makarma Travel Home Page: http://www.makarmatravel.com/
Sunday, May 17, 2009
What the new cruise dining programs are all about
Although the TravelBlog has written about the subject before in bits and pieces, we (Mr. Makarma) want to take a little more time this week to further discuss a relatively significant change in cruise ship dining.
Cruise ship dining, for years and years, was a fairly regimented affair. Although it's a type of regimentation we still enjoy, it clearly wasn't for everyone. What was it? Fixed dining times; in other words, early and late seating.
You see, cruise ship dining rooms were traditionally designed to accommodate roughly half of the ship's guests at any time. Why would they do that? Well, a couple reasons:
1) Three things here, but all related....if you design a ship's dining room to accommodate all of its guests at the same time, you're going to have less space for other public rooms (remember, your galleys would also need to be larger). You're also going to need more dining staff (or stretch existing staff more, possibly diminishing the service level) Finally, if everyone's eating at once, the rest of the ship (lounges, casinos, shops, etc.) would be empty during meal time. Inefficient, and boring (most people like to be in an environment where there's a certain level of activity); and,
2) Simply said, some people like to eat early; some people like to eat late.
Thus, when you booked a cruise, you also chose early or late dining; primarily for dinner, but sometimes for other meals as well.
In recent years, cruise lines have moved away from this tradition to various extents. Norwegian Cruise Lines, for example, did away with all fixed dining times and added a variety of other dining options (some at extra cost) to their ships. You dine when you want; if a particular dining room is full, you wait, just as you do at a land-based restaurant.
Princess Cruises, in its efforts to please both cruise traditionalists and those who want a little more freedom, has both options onboard its ships - fixed seating in one dining room, and open seating in one or two others.
Holland America, Royal Caribbean and Carnival have more recently implemented programs such as those at Princess - you not only have the choice to eat whenever you want, you have the choice (if available at time of booking) to have traditional fixed dining.
Our assessment of the pros and cons......
Traditional fixed dining
Pros:
- No waiting; you know that, when it's time to eat, your table (and waitstaff) will be there for you.
- Waitstaff learns your preferences. After a day or so, you'll get that iced tea, cream with coffee, etc. without even asking.
Con:
- A fixed dining time limits your meal TIME options.
Open dining
Pro:
- More meal TIME options, meaning a little less regimentation.
Cons:
- Waitstaff typically doesn't have the opportunity to learn your preferences.
- If your restaurant is full at the time you wish to dine, you wait. (Who wants to wait on vacation?)
Our preference? Well, you probably could have guessed it - we like fixed dining. We do appreciate that cruise lines are accommodating their guests by giving them more choices. We, however, are traditionalists - you see, we've been doing this cruise thing for over 30 years now.
Return to Makarma Travel Home Page: http://www.makarmatravel.com/
Cruise ship dining, for years and years, was a fairly regimented affair. Although it's a type of regimentation we still enjoy, it clearly wasn't for everyone. What was it? Fixed dining times; in other words, early and late seating.
You see, cruise ship dining rooms were traditionally designed to accommodate roughly half of the ship's guests at any time. Why would they do that? Well, a couple reasons:
1) Three things here, but all related....if you design a ship's dining room to accommodate all of its guests at the same time, you're going to have less space for other public rooms (remember, your galleys would also need to be larger). You're also going to need more dining staff (or stretch existing staff more, possibly diminishing the service level) Finally, if everyone's eating at once, the rest of the ship (lounges, casinos, shops, etc.) would be empty during meal time. Inefficient, and boring (most people like to be in an environment where there's a certain level of activity); and,
2) Simply said, some people like to eat early; some people like to eat late.
Thus, when you booked a cruise, you also chose early or late dining; primarily for dinner, but sometimes for other meals as well.
In recent years, cruise lines have moved away from this tradition to various extents. Norwegian Cruise Lines, for example, did away with all fixed dining times and added a variety of other dining options (some at extra cost) to their ships. You dine when you want; if a particular dining room is full, you wait, just as you do at a land-based restaurant.
Princess Cruises, in its efforts to please both cruise traditionalists and those who want a little more freedom, has both options onboard its ships - fixed seating in one dining room, and open seating in one or two others.
Holland America, Royal Caribbean and Carnival have more recently implemented programs such as those at Princess - you not only have the choice to eat whenever you want, you have the choice (if available at time of booking) to have traditional fixed dining.
Our assessment of the pros and cons......
Traditional fixed dining
Pros:
- No waiting; you know that, when it's time to eat, your table (and waitstaff) will be there for you.
- Waitstaff learns your preferences. After a day or so, you'll get that iced tea, cream with coffee, etc. without even asking.
Con:
- A fixed dining time limits your meal TIME options.
Open dining
Pro:
- More meal TIME options, meaning a little less regimentation.
Cons:
- Waitstaff typically doesn't have the opportunity to learn your preferences.
- If your restaurant is full at the time you wish to dine, you wait. (Who wants to wait on vacation?)
Our preference? Well, you probably could have guessed it - we like fixed dining. We do appreciate that cruise lines are accommodating their guests by giving them more choices. We, however, are traditionalists - you see, we've been doing this cruise thing for over 30 years now.
Return to Makarma Travel Home Page: http://www.makarmatravel.com/
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Keeping you up-to-date...
Today's TravelBlog will be primarily an update for two major travel-related stories. First up, the swine flu outbreak and its effect on the travel industry. This story is something we've all heard quite a bit about lately. Second, the upcoming changes to U.S. Passport requirements. Although stories about the latter are hardly found through the major media, we (Makarma Travel) will help keep you informed.
Mexico cruise itinerary changes continue, with the latest news being that the revised itineraries will remain in-effect through mid-June 2009 for both Carnival and Royal Caribbean.
The seven-night Los Angeles departures for the Mariner of the Seas currently include port calls in San Francisco, Seattle and Vancouver.
The seven-night Long Beach departures for Carnival Splendor include port calls in Astoria (Oregon), Victoria (British Columbia) and Vancouver.
Four-night sailings for Long Beach-based Carnival Paradise and San Diego-based Carnival Elation will have their Ensenada stops replaced by an additional day at sea. (The sailings will continue to call at Catalina Island.) Three-night sailings of those ships will see their Ensenada stops replaced with Catalina Island port calls.
There are some amazing cruise fares available to those interested in sailing the above itineraries.
Now, onto Passports...the pending change we recently discussed is still scheduled to take effect in a few short weeks. This means that, as of now, U. S. citizens traveling to any foreign country by land or sea will need a United States Passport, effective June 1. (Those traveling by air already need a Passport.)
We'll continue to keep you updated regarding the above via our website, the TravelBlog and Twitter. In our experience, folks are still booking travel, but they're making changes to their plans as needed.
Please have a terrific week, and contact us with your travel-related questions. If things settle down a bit, we plan to get really silly next time in TravelBlog by Makarma.
Return to Makarma Travel Home Page: http://www.makarmatravel.com/
Mexico cruise itinerary changes continue, with the latest news being that the revised itineraries will remain in-effect through mid-June 2009 for both Carnival and Royal Caribbean.
The seven-night Los Angeles departures for the Mariner of the Seas currently include port calls in San Francisco, Seattle and Vancouver.
The seven-night Long Beach departures for Carnival Splendor include port calls in Astoria (Oregon), Victoria (British Columbia) and Vancouver.
Four-night sailings for Long Beach-based Carnival Paradise and San Diego-based Carnival Elation will have their Ensenada stops replaced by an additional day at sea. (The sailings will continue to call at Catalina Island.) Three-night sailings of those ships will see their Ensenada stops replaced with Catalina Island port calls.
There are some amazing cruise fares available to those interested in sailing the above itineraries.
Now, onto Passports...the pending change we recently discussed is still scheduled to take effect in a few short weeks. This means that, as of now, U. S. citizens traveling to any foreign country by land or sea will need a United States Passport, effective June 1. (Those traveling by air already need a Passport.)
We'll continue to keep you updated regarding the above via our website, the TravelBlog and Twitter. In our experience, folks are still booking travel, but they're making changes to their plans as needed.
Please have a terrific week, and contact us with your travel-related questions. If things settle down a bit, we plan to get really silly next time in TravelBlog by Makarma.
Return to Makarma Travel Home Page: http://www.makarmatravel.com/
Sunday, May 03, 2009
What next? Locusts?
Having the ability to "roll with the punches" is a good thing when you're a travel specialist. That's been especially true this last week. And, yes, we (Mr. Makarma) are talking about the current swine flu outbreak.
Follow us, if you will......prior to last weekend, there was very little discussion anywhere about swine flu. It was over the two-day (April 25-26) period, however, that the story became the top news event. We went into the week knowing two things:
1) This will most definitely affect the travel industry; and,
2) We need to ensure we (and our customers) focus on the real story and not fall victim to the "hype" which inevitably will accompany it.
Air and sea travel into Mexico would be most immediately affected. Most airlines announced they would allow refunds for those not wishing to travel; this was followed by the short-term curtailment of flight schedules.
Cruises from the West Coast were an interesting challenge. Ships departing on Saturday and Sunday left, as-scheduled and, as can be expected. As of Monday, schedules for the week-long cruises remained intact. A four-night sailing also left for its cruise Monday, as planned.
Between Monday night and Tuesday mid-day, however, the story continued to increase in importance, as it appeared the flu was spreading. The major players in the cruise industry made the wise decision by mid-day Tuesday to shift course and head north.
Royal Caribbean's Mariner of the Seas did make its scheduled stop in Cabo San Lucas prior to its diversion. Carnival Cruise Lines' Carnival Splendor, however, didn't have a scheduled port call until Wednesday so, no Mexico, just a quick U-turn. Both ships scheduled their next port call for San Francisco. First, however, the Carnival Splendor made a quick stop back in Long Beach to give those passengers who wanted to leave, the opportunity to do so. Some left, but the vast majority carried-on, knowing, correctly, that a cruise is what you make of it, and not just the ports you visit.
Anyway, both ships arrived in San Francisco, where some guests decided to end their Mariner of the Seas cruise. (People!!! What were you thinking???) The rugged warriors who stayed onboard made it back to their home ports safe-and-sound earlier today.
Carnival's plans for upcoming itineraries are being addressed on a week-to-week basis. As of now, an altered schedule is planned for those sailings through May 11. Royal Caribbean, on the other hand, has announced their interim itinerary will remain in effect through the June 14 sail date.
How did all this affect us? Well, we've kept really busy staying apprised of all the changes. We've held off in promoting a group cruise scheduled for later this year. (We have absolutely no doubt, however, that we will proceed with our original plans.) And our bookings? Well, we haven't booked any cruise at all since......today.
Return to Makarma Travel Home Page: http://www.makarmatravel.com/
Follow us, if you will......prior to last weekend, there was very little discussion anywhere about swine flu. It was over the two-day (April 25-26) period, however, that the story became the top news event. We went into the week knowing two things:
1) This will most definitely affect the travel industry; and,
2) We need to ensure we (and our customers) focus on the real story and not fall victim to the "hype" which inevitably will accompany it.
Air and sea travel into Mexico would be most immediately affected. Most airlines announced they would allow refunds for those not wishing to travel; this was followed by the short-term curtailment of flight schedules.
Cruises from the West Coast were an interesting challenge. Ships departing on Saturday and Sunday left, as-scheduled and, as can be expected. As of Monday, schedules for the week-long cruises remained intact. A four-night sailing also left for its cruise Monday, as planned.
Between Monday night and Tuesday mid-day, however, the story continued to increase in importance, as it appeared the flu was spreading. The major players in the cruise industry made the wise decision by mid-day Tuesday to shift course and head north.
Royal Caribbean's Mariner of the Seas did make its scheduled stop in Cabo San Lucas prior to its diversion. Carnival Cruise Lines' Carnival Splendor, however, didn't have a scheduled port call until Wednesday so, no Mexico, just a quick U-turn. Both ships scheduled their next port call for San Francisco. First, however, the Carnival Splendor made a quick stop back in Long Beach to give those passengers who wanted to leave, the opportunity to do so. Some left, but the vast majority carried-on, knowing, correctly, that a cruise is what you make of it, and not just the ports you visit.
Anyway, both ships arrived in San Francisco, where some guests decided to end their Mariner of the Seas cruise. (People!!! What were you thinking???) The rugged warriors who stayed onboard made it back to their home ports safe-and-sound earlier today.
Carnival's plans for upcoming itineraries are being addressed on a week-to-week basis. As of now, an altered schedule is planned for those sailings through May 11. Royal Caribbean, on the other hand, has announced their interim itinerary will remain in effect through the June 14 sail date.
How did all this affect us? Well, we've kept really busy staying apprised of all the changes. We've held off in promoting a group cruise scheduled for later this year. (We have absolutely no doubt, however, that we will proceed with our original plans.) And our bookings? Well, we haven't booked any cruise at all since......today.
Return to Makarma Travel Home Page: http://www.makarmatravel.com/
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