May 28th: Diamond, Diamond Plus, and Pinnacle Crown and Anchor members

May 29th: All other Crown and Anchor members (those who have sailed on Royal Caribbean in the past)

June 4th: Everyone else

Contact us today if you would like a price quote at the end of May – you could be one of the first to sail on this exciting new ship!  For more on the Quantum of the Seas watch this video:

The Independence of the Seas (IOS) was a beautiful ship – our stateroom was lovely.  It was my first time having a Promenade view room and I was apprehensive about the potential for it being noisy, what with the Promenade street parties and whatnot.  It was actually very quiet and the window seat was a great feature for us.

The itinerary was great – I enjoyed the pacing of the sea days and the ports.  The only thing I didn’t like was that all aboard in San Juan was 1:30pm…it was a very quick day in Old San Juan.

I was curious as to how the implementation of the all-you-can drink alcohol packages combined with Spring Break season would affect our cruise.  Thankfully, we didn’t have that many Spring Breakers on our sailing…but the majority of adults purchased the drink package and the alcohol was flowing quite freely – visibly more so than on other sailings and cruise lines I have been on.  No rowdiness or uncouth behavior…the only hiccup was they ran out of liquor at some of the bars and some of the bars never opened [like the Solarium Bar which was disappointing as that's the one we normally go to].

This was my first time doing My Time Dining (MTD) …and, to be honest, I think I may try to be wait listed for regular dining next go-around.  I made dining reservations each night for the same time – the ship was HIGHLY suggesting everyone reserve times to eat to minimize wait times…and, while we never had to wait long, it seemed that those in the reservation line had to wait to be seated and those who just walked up were seated immediately.  The MTD experience seemed a bit rushed as well…servers were literally running up and down the aisles in an effort to get people fed and on their way.  I’ve cruised on a NCL cruise with their Freestyle dining and they seem to have a better handle on things and/or their ships are better set up for that style of main dining room meals. We were lucky enough to sail after RCI introduced their new menus and the food was markedly improved and the portions were huge for most of the meals we ordered.  Everything was delicious!

Also, Independence has removed the RCI Logo gift shop which was disappointing.  What IOS themed merchandise they had was edible [fudge, clotted cream biscuits, chocolates] – no IOS clothing/knicknacks/etc.  A lot of the souvenirs were themed toward the British crowd since I think it often sails out of the UK – this didn’t bother us, but I did hear several people complain at the overabundance of duty free cigs and liquor and stuffed Wallace and Gromit toys.  I try to get a magnet and a Christmas ornament from each boat I’ve been on and I was disappointed I couldn’t find an IOS magnet or Christmas ornament…

All in all, it was a great vacation on a beautiful ship…I’ll just have to go again sometime in the future when they hopefully have the IOS magnets/ornaments back for sale.

Thank you, again, for helping us out with the planning process.

We enjoyed all of our shore excursions.  We went on a bike tour of Key West, and it rained all day! We still managed to have a great time and the guide was so knowledgeable.

We also did the stingray exursion on Castaway Cay as well as rode bikes and we highly enjoyed them all. We had no idea the island was as big as it was until out bike ride.

We took a duck tour of Miami the day before our cruise and had alot of fun on that.  Miami is certainly a huge city and it was a little bit harder to get around because of the traffic when I compare it to the cruises we have taken out of Port Canaveral.  As always though we love to see different places so we enjoyed cruising out of a new port.

The stateroom was smaller than we usually have (category 11 inside room) and it didn’t have the split bathroom.  We did miss that but made it work as we never spend much time in our stateroom.

Our travel party was 9 people.  Dinner seemed to take longer for us and the night we all dressed up for the pirate party we missed Jack Sparrow because we didn’t get to him in time from the hold up at dinner.  Later in the cruise the kids wanted to go to a  cooking school at their kids club after dinner and before the show so we made sure to tell the waiters that they needed to be out by 7 and they were able to get it done.  The dining room staff was excellent and we loved our interactions with them and how they were with our children.

We celebrated my father-in-law’s 70th birthday on this cruise.  It was so nice to have us all together.  We are all from different states so we don’t see each other much.  It was nice to see the kids enjoying one another and just being silly.  We hope to take trips every other year to keep this up.

I also want to thank you for the wonderful advice and answers to all of my questions.  You are always so prompt and helpful!

We had a great cruise.  The Fantasy is beautiful!  However, I really think I prefer the size of the smaller ships, and I think the (Disney) Wonder is still my favorite.  I think the dining experiences on the smaller ships overall have been better because of the smaller ratio of tables to the servers. Our servers on the Fantasy were really stretched a bit thin and they had long distances to the kitchens and the service areas.  But, the smaller ships don’t have Remy.  Remy was fantastic!  The rest of my family didn’t have strong opinions regarding one ship versus the other.  The younger 2 kids enjoyed the kids clubs.  The older 2 girls enjoyed the On Demand programing on the TV in their stateroom.

We had 3 very good excursions through Disney.  The first was Discover Native Cayman & the Saltwater Forest in Grand Cayman.  This was a really fascinating and fun biology lesson about the Mangrove ecosystem around the island.   The second excursion was the Chacchoben Mayan Ruins out of Costa Maya.  The guide was excellent and the ruins were impressive.  The 3rd excursion was the Mayan Ruins & Discover Mexico Cultural Park in Cozumel.  These were the ruins of San Gervasio which were really different from Chacchoben.  Again we had a great guide.  We had fun at the park and had a nice lunch which was included.  Then the younger 2 kids had fun breaking open the pinata.  I would recommend all three excursions.

Out staterooms were fine, but I did hear a lot of noise from the stairs.

Thanks so much Tim!

This September I was fortunate to stay at the Alyeska Resort near Anchorage on a travel agent tour of the area.  What a resort this is!  Our guide said it was the best resort in all of Alaska, and it did not disappoint.

For starters, I liked the mountainous setting of the Alyeska.  Only 40 miles from Anchorage, I recommend it to our clients who end their Alaska cruise in nearby Whittier.  While a more extensive land tour of Alaska is a good option after a cruise (including a visit to Denali National Park), not everyone has the vacation time for that (it takes at least 3 days to sample Denali).

The Alyeska promotes itself as “your Alaskan base camp”.  I found the concierge staff to be very helpful in helping visitors plan a number of activities in the area, including guided hikes, flight seeing, world class fishing, and more.  In the winter the Alyeska is Alaska’s top ski resort.

The highlight of my stay was dinner at the Seven Glaciers Restaurant, accessible by Gondola ride from the main resort.  I found the views from the gondola and from my window table breathtaking of the surrounding mountains and valleys.  The food matched the great views (I had delicious Alaskan Salmon as my main entree).  This restaurant is extremely popular during the summer months.  As a service to our clients we’ll not only book your stay at the Alyeska but also make reservations for you at this not-to-be-missed mountain top eatery.

A stay at the Alyeska resort is one of many suggestions we have to make your Alaska vacation one of the best yet.  Why not contact us for a no obligation price quote today?

Photos courtesy of Alyeska resort/Ken Graham Photography.

Feast at Lele
Luau in Lahaina, Maui
June 2012

As the sun set in an array of colors, we enjoyed Harore Kumara from New Zealand (roasted mushrooms with sweet potatoes) and reflected on how we got here. It was our last full day on Maui, and we had planned to stay at our resort and relax all day. In reminiscing about the fun things we had done while in Hawaii, my daughter Nicole mentioned that she wished we had gone to a luau during this trip.

I knew from past experience that the best luaus sell out weeks ahead. Not surprisingly, I checked into it and every luau nearby was sold out. One place, the Feast at Lele, said they’d put us on the waitlist. This is a fairly new luau, and quite upscale compared to most. We got a call around 3:30, while we were at the pool, indicating that a table had opened up. We took it.

 Upon arrival we were each given a drink and a Kukui Nut necklace as we were led to our table. For getting a last-minute spot, we sure were given an excellent location, up front in the far corner. I think they were especially good to us because my Dad is not very mobile. We had a perfect view of the beach and show. Each table is a private table, just for your own group, and has two servers who describe each course as it arrives. The luau is held on the beach toward the southern end of Lahaina, and we had a great view of the sunset. The weather was wonderful – calm and warm.

 The show was excellent – they showed performances from four islands: Hawaii, New Zealand, Tahiti, Samoa. My favorite was Tahiti, with the fast dancing. I also liked Hawaii with their slow, graceful style. At the end they had a fire dancer. The whole evening is a slow-moving affair, allowing you to take it all in as we moved from island to island. And allowing our food to settle a bit between each course.

Throughout the show, they served meals to match each of the islands that we “traveled” to. The food was outstanding and served with wonderful service. Definitely not your typical luau buffet meal. The banana and sweet potato chips with mango-type salsa were a great beginning.

There were a lot of new and different foods for everyone to try. Brent and I were especially proud of the kids. They tried every single item that was put on our table, no matter how weird-looking. And they agreed that it was all tasty!  See our menu at the end of this posting.

The kids were also thrilled with the drink selection – so many fancy drinks to choose from!  Though they tried many (mai tai, pina colada, etc), they liked the lava flow the best – a pina colada with strawberries and banana. The adult drinks were especially potent. We learned quickly to order two drinks at a time, one with alcohol and one without. That way, we could mix them to tone them down a bit.

From Nicole (13 years) – I am so happy we fit in a luau at the last moment. I really wanted to go to one. The food was superb, the drinks were delicious, and the dancing and music was very enjoyable.

All in all, we were very happy with this luau. Compared to the other luaus I have been to, this was the best, but also the priciest.  If you are a foodie, or just enjoy a slower and more relaxed meal, you will enjoy the Feast at Lele. If you prefer all-you-can-eat buffets, communal tables, and a more exuberant atmosphere, you may be better suited to one of the other many luaus on any of the Hawaiian Islands.

Did you know you can renew your passport by U.S. Mail?  You can renew your passport by mail if:

• Your passport is undamaged and can be submitted with your application.
• Was issued when you were age 16 or older.
• Was issued within the last 15 years.
• Was issued with your current name or you can legally document a name change.

 
Anne and I recently sent in our passport renewals and this mail process made it easy!  Click here for more information.

Even if your passport doesn’t expire until later in the year (ours expire in September) we recommend renewing early.  Many countries require that your passport not expire until 6 months AFTER your trip to their land is complete.  The whole renewal process takes about 6 weeks, with expedited service available for an extra fee.

Over the Holiday season, Karen’s clients from Colorado spent a wonderfully relaxing 10 days at the Now Jade all-inclusive resort just outside Puerto Morelos, Mexico, on the Yucatan coast. Following is a review of the trip, from the perspectives of both the Mom and Dad. Also along for the trip were their kids, a girl (9) and a boy (12). I’ll call them Daughter9 and Son12.

In Dad’s Words

Thank you again for all your help (and concern) regarding our trip.  We had a very good time and the flight delay was really not a huge issue when the end-of-the-day came; luckily we were able to fly standby on the last flight out, but we barely made it on that flight .  We had no troubles on the flight home!

We really enjoyed Now Jade as a resort.  The staff was friendly, the location was remote (like we wanted) and the accommodations were clean and well-maintained.  The food was also good, we were able to eat at all the restaurants and they were all very nice; I’d say the French place was the best (there were also Asian, Italian and Mexican, along with the buffet and the snack restaurant during the day near one of the pools).  They had a no-reservation system for dinner which seemed to work most of the time…There are patterns, such as show up when they open or 90 minutes later, etc…If more people were engineers they’d figure that out .

The beachfront was very nice…There were rocks immediately off the beach so the activities in the water for the kids were less, but that didn’t stop them from trying anyway.  They had several pools, all of which were nice and well-kept.

All-in-all, we’d definitely stay there again…Although I’d like to get the family room; the room we had was great but I would have liked more space away from the kids at times .

They are building another resort just south of Now Jade, which I think will take away from the location.  The construction was shut down until after the New Year and it really didn’t bother us, but if someone were going there over the coming months. I would recommend that they may want to stay elsewhere depending on their level of acceptance of that activity nearby.  And as I mentioned, once built, I think it will distract from the location overall.

We did venture (briefly) into Puerto Morelos and for the little time we were there, we liked it.  Mom will comment that it’s my fault we didn’t explore more, and that’s true.  The truth is that it took me a long time to fully disconnect and relax.

We also went to Chichen Itza which was great.  I couldn’t have been happier with going there, except I could have stayed there for days rather than hours .  Otherwise, we did not get out and explore. Again I was coming off a long year and needed a lot of time to disconnect.

The one thing that I missed over the vacations on the west coast was the sun setting over the water.

In Mom’s Words
We all had a blast in our own way.

Kids – old enough to play in water with only “keep an eye on” supervision!!
Pool was big enough for kids to have more than one section to be in.   4’6″ depth and deeper in the middle was a challenge at times (harder for the younger and/or shorter set).  There was a very nice shallow pool area for the itty bitty’s, though.  Kids loved swim up bar to get Shirley Temples and smoothies.  Kids’ club was geared toward younger kids, even though it said up to 12.  We sent them one night so we could go to the adult-only restaurant.  They hated it, but dealt with it since they were told to!!
However – during many of the planned entertainment activities offered throughout the day, efforts were made to include all ages and abilities of those wanting to participate.   They had dance lessons, volleyball, water volleyball, etc.  I didn’t choose to participate, but observed this on my trips to the bar!!

Food – agree with Dad on the restaurants, although I liked Asian and Mexican best.  Once you figured out a system, it wasn’t too difficult to plan.  For folks needing a “snack bar-ish” style food area that is open most of the time and has lots of kid friendly food and is pool/swim suit friendly, that was not available.  They had a snack area, but it was still sit down and be served.  So it could take quite a while.  Also it was wise to check the activity paper, as the Buffet was not open every night for dinner.  (Usually was replaced with a special activity/theme buffet in another area of the hotel).  It was open for breakfast and lunch daily.
Also – we had gone to dinner one night and Daughter9 started feeling sick.  So we left after ordering and Dad/Son12 stayed.  The waiter had my dinner sent up via room service.  (Son12 and my appetizers were mixed up, but still a wonderful thing)  Not everyone may have done that, so it was special to me. I’m sure I could easily have skipped dinner, though!!!

Room – Enough space, new looking, clean, we opted out of having linens/towels changed daily.  Also had to figure out system for how they did things in the room.  Often new towels came after we had showered for dinner.  So we learned to keep towels longer.  (Granted, we could have called and requested).  Had a large balcony also.  We did overlook the job site, but oddly it was interesting to look at too.  Especially for Son12.  If he was 2-3 years old I would have never seen the beach when the guys were working!!

Location – I actually liked being in our own little space.  Not many people invading the area.  Only 1 guy selling necklaces and 1 guy selling something else.  (They were also not pushy and insistent).  Also only 1-2 times did a brochure from random beach man get to us.  Also since we were out on our own, the tourist and extra traffic on the beach was not there!
The rocks were definitely there, but we are not too difficult to please and the kids found spots where there were not rocks.  The beaches at the hotel grounds were cleaned nightly, but that cleanliness did not extend beyond the hotel edges.  Lots of trash and junk up on the beach just past the hotel to the Playa Del Carmen side.  Yucky to look at, but for me a good reminder and reality check of the special things that go on behind the scenes on that type of vacation.

Excursions – yeah – Dad really wasn’t interested, but neither were the kids.  I think I got the most restless – but jogs on the beach are helpful and can get a person in the mood to lay on it later!! Plus it is easy for me to switch to slug mode.
The hotel offered a free bike tour to Puerto Morelos – glad we went.  They had 1 speed adult bikes (one size) and kids sized bikes as well (1 speed - 1 size) and supplies helmets.  Had we done that earlier, I would have liked to taxi or walk back and spend more time hanging out in the little town.

Shopping – they did have vendors come the hotel on several nights for typical souvenir items.  Prices of course were a bit steeper than in town, but we didn’t actually have to go to town did we?? They had some of their own stores as well – souvenirs, personal care items, snacks, etc.  We did not compare prices to town, but some things were very overpriced.

I did not clean much, never cooked, never taxied anyone, and got to read 3-4 books.  I did not grocery shop or run errands.  I had lots of fun drinks that were like grown-up slurpies.  I played in the sand without rushing to do something else, I took walks on the beach, I played with the kids.  I watched them have a blast.  I saw sunsets and a few sunrises.  I wondered if Dad was having a good time too.  He was also a major slug.   And my huge internal to-do list had suddenly shrunk to a manageable level with really hard agenda items like – watch kids, plan times to eat, maintain hydration, play, roast front and back.

Thanks for everything!!!!!

In January 2012 we took a terrific helicopter tour of the island of Kauai (Hawaii) with Blue Hawaiian Helicopters.  It was our first time in a helicopter and we enjoyed the experience very much!

Our veteran pilot spoke to us throughout the flight on his microphone, describing the areas we were flying over.

Here’s Anne with her headphones on.  We had a clear view out the windows while listening to the narration from the pilot.

Takeoff!  The flight was smoother than I expected.

We had some great views from the air, like of this golf course.

The scenic Kauai coastline.

NCL’s Pride of Hawaii cruise ship was docked at Kauai this day.  It was cool to see a view of this beautiful ship from the air!

The interior of the island was also stunning.

The video above gives you an idea of what the helicopter ride was like from the inside.

We had a great experience seeing Kauai in the air and we highly recommend Blue Hawaiian for a safe and scenic flight!

Contact us for help in planning your next Hawaii vacation!  We can recommend and book activities like this Blue Hawaiian Helicopter flight and many others, in addition to giving you resort suggestions.  Hawaii is one of our favorite destinations!

In September 2012 I sailed on a wonderful day cruise out of Seward, Alaska touring the Kenai Fjords National Park with Major Marine tours.  This was my second experience with Major Marine, I had taken my wife and 11 year old twin boys in 2005 on the same cruise, and both cruises were great!  I’ll show you some of my pictures from both of these cruises and tell you why the Major Marine tour is a not-to-be-missed Alaska adventure.

It was a beautiful Sunday morning as I arrived at the Seward harbor.

The Holland America Zaandam had arrived earlier that morning – the last cruise ship to visit Seward for the season.  A Kenai Fjords cruise is a great pre or post cruise add-on for those who start or end their cruise in Seward.  Several major cruise lines, such as Holland America, Celebrity, and Royal Caribbean, have a number of ships arriving and departing out of Seward each week during the May – September Alaska cruise season.

You may ask, “why take another cruise when I just got off a 7 day one?!”  Well, the Major Marine Kenai Fjords cruise is a different experience than what you get on the larger ocean cruise ships.

Here’s a picture with me, my wife Anne, and our twin sons Josh and Andrew back in 2005 before going on our Kenai Fjords day cruise.  We had just come back from a 7 day Celebrity cruise ourselves and we looked forward to the scenic views we would get from a smaller boat.

One difference between the big ships and Major Marine is that on a smaller vessel you can have a lot of motion, especially in the segments where the Major Marine boat is on the open ocean.  I strongly recommend taking an over-the-counter seasickness medication – like Bonine.  On our 2005 cruise we saw many people get sea sick on our tour.  Even Josh and Andrew got sick and they had never been sea sick on our previous 10+ ocean cruises!  In 2012 I was ready – I took a Bonine pill one hour before my Major Marine cruise.  Though I never get sea sick, even on that 2005 cruise, I didn’t want to take any chances!

If it was too windy outside you could sit at a table inside next to a window.  Here’s my family from our 2005 cruise studying our route on a map Major Marine provided.

A Kenai Fjords National Park Service Ranger is on every Major Marine cruise providing narration of the sights.  For kids a “junior ranger” program is offered that Josh and Andrew enjoyed.

Also offered is an “all you can” eat prime rib and salmon buffet with dessert later on.  Delicious!

Back outside we sailed close to some rocky islands.

The rocks towered over us as we sailed very close to the shore.  An impressive sight!

We saw lots of wildlife.  Here are some sea lions enjoying a sunny day.

If you look close you can see a bald eagle in the trees.

The highlight of the cruise for me was a closeup view of a glacier.

I went on the outside deck to get the best glacier view, and as you can see I was joined by a few others!

The above picture is from our 2005 cruise where we saw glacier calving – large chunks of ice breaking off and crashing into the sea.  Very cool!

I enjoyed my Major Marine Kenai Fjords cruise very much!  Another company that offers day cruises in this area is Kenai Fjords Tours, which I hear also offers a good experience.  We are glad to help you with Alaska tour suggestions, like a Kenai Fjords cruise.

Contact us to plan your Alaska vacation!