Poland’s crooked forest. Photo by Maciej Sokolowski.
It’s Friday, almost time to unwind
May 25, 2012
Curaçao!
May 22, 2012
So I arrived safely in Curaçao yesterday an have been on a whirlwind adventure since then!
Once we finished getting luggage we were transported to our hotel. The Hyatt Curaçao is beautiful! It’s a little hike to get to, but I am loving the hotel so far! My first stop was to the Stay Fit fitness center where I did a half hour intense cardio! Yup that’s one of the first gyms I have used on vacation!
Our dinner function was at the Sandton Hotel Kura Hulanda. It was buffet style in this beautiful courtyard area. There was an awesome steel drummer! A great aspect of this area is that there is a museum surrounding it with many artifacts from some of the cultures that make up the people and life here.
I want to put up pictures but I don’t have them on my iPhone and that is how I am blogging tonight. Pictures will follow!!! Time to get ready for dinner 
Have a great night!
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To Park or Not to Park
May 21, 2012
As I lay on the couch thinking of the clothes I still have to put in the suit case, I’m overjoyed to know that I will NOT be parking! Danny has kindly offered to drive me to the airport so that I could sleep a few extra minutes, blog to you all, eat breakfast and still make it on time to my plane for Curacao! Does that seem like a lot of things I’ll be able to do simply because he offered to drive me? Perhaps it was a slight exaggeration, but don’t be fooled. Parking at the airport can sometimes seem to be a chore. Fear not… you have options.
One of my favorite places to park is called Park n Fly. This lot, along with many others like Park N Go, offer a very special service. You park in their lot, a bus will pick you up and take you to your terminal, after your trip, they will pick you up at the airport and bring you back to your car. This takes a few extra minutes over parking in long-term parking at the airport, but will save you approximately $10 per day. That’s a big savings!
It’s like concierge parking services!
Another option is one that I usually use in Philadelphia. Most airports will offer some kind of shuttle service where they can pick you up from any location and bring you to the airport. In Philly this is called Rapid Rover. I have taken Rapid Rover from the airport to Cherry Hill, New Jersey many times. It’s a pleasure! Check out what it is called in your home town. A great and inexpensive option!
Economy Parking. This one I have used in Miami. Definitely not my favorite, but it is the least expensive option if you are planning to leave a car at the airport. We drove for what seemed like forever, parked in the lot, and took the shuttle bus to the airport. I think the ride to our terminal was something like 5 minutes. Plan on the extra time this option will take! My major complaint was that when we returned to Miami, it took almost 30 minutes for the shuttle to pick us back up. For $8 a day at the airport, who was I to complain! 
No matter how you choose to get to the airport, one thing remains the same. Be safe, and arrive at the terminal in plenty of time for your flight!
Today I am off to Curacao! It’s my first time there, so here is an all new Sojourn for us to share together! Check out Boca Express Travel on twitter for my status updates while I’m gone!
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A Few Moments of Zen
May 18, 2012
Emerald Lake in the crater of an extinct volcano. Tongariro National Park – NewZealand
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Know Your Rights
May 16, 2012
My parents flew to New Jersey this past weekend. As a lot of you know, they are both travel agents with me. When they returned I heard their stories of the time spent on the runway without food and water and we started questioning if Jetblue was in any way wrong ignoring their rights as passengers. If three travel agents don’t know the answer, a lot of other people might not either. So I did some digging. On April 20th, 2011 here is what the government put in to effect:
Tarmac Delays: This is what most of us heard about on the news. People stuck on planes for 5, 6, 7 hours at a time and no food or water were offered. Bathrooms over flowing… all that horrible stuff. Legally the airlines MUST serve food and beverage after two hours of sitting on the runway. There is a limit of four hours being stuck on the runway also. The airline is required to provide working lavatories as well as any medical treatment while you are waiting.
Stuff we don’t normally hear about:
Lost Baggage and Bag Fees: If your bag is lost between checking it at the airport and the baggage carousel at the other end of your journey, the airline is REQUIRED to refund your baggage fee. They are to compensate passengers reasonable expenses for lost, damaged or delayed baggage. And a biggie for all of you connecting international travelers, the baggage allowance and fees are required to be the same on all legs of your journey.
Additional Fees: Finally. We as travel agents and the airlines are required to tell you what you might be paying! Seems like a no-brainer right? If you are traveling by air, you’ll be able to find the fees for everything including baggage, meals, seat assignments, changes, and more! It used to be like pulling teeth to find out what was allowed as checked bags and what they would charge if we went over the limits. Not anymore (or not supposed to be anymore). If you shop online for airline tickets, you may have noticed a jump in the displayed airfare prices a few months ago. No, they didn’t all just go raise their prices. They finally started quoting with taxes IN the price instead of letting you get to the purchase screen and suddenly magically your price jumped to almost double from taxes! I love that change!
Bumping: When I have time, this is my favorite thing. I sit in an airport a little longer and then get a free flight and some meal vouchers! The rules for this were also modified. If you are bumped off of your flight and the expected landing time of your new flight is between 1-2 hours for domestic flights and 1-4 hours for international flights of your original time, you are entitled to up to double the cost of your original ticket (up to $650). If your wait is longer, you are entitled to up to four times the value of your ticket ($1300).
These are the major issues covered by the Passenger’s Bill of Rights. 
Learn your rights HERE .
Please remember there are exceptions to every rule, even the ones stated above.
What as the worst experience you had waiting on an airplane?
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Guest Blog – Savannah, GA
May 14, 2012
Thank you to my co-worker Roe for this insight on Savannah, Georgia.
The Mercer House
One of the most beautiful cities in America was found in 1733 by General James Oglethorpe with many squares that used to allow for military exercises.
Today there are 22 squares left and are park like with many weddings taking place daily.
In the Historic District you have amazing architecture, quaint restaurants and inns, beautiful Oak trees with Spanish Moss hanging from them.
Calhoun Square
Great place to walk around is to start at City Market and just walk thru the different blocks and alleys. We happened to look for a place to have breakfast and came across Paula Deen’s Lady and Sons restaurant. It was incredible to see people lined outside the restaurant about a block long waiting to make reservations for lunch and dinner there. Attached to the restaurant is a 2 story store dedicated with all of Paula and sons gift shop, which was a cooks heaven.
Cathedral of St. John the Baptist
The Riverfront is absolutely charming in the evening with bars, stores and restaurants. Georgia’s first city offers a remarkably beautiful destination. Before traveling to Savannah a must see or read is Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, which gives you an idea of what this destination is about as well as fun when you walk past the house that it takes place in.
Hamilton Turner House
The history of no Catholics allowed on in this colony and how the Jews got in because the only doctor there died and the ship the carried the Jews had 2 doctors on it is simply irresistible. The only neo-Gothic Synagogue (Congregation Mickve Israel) in America was founded over 275 years ago to accommodate them.
Overall Savannah is a great destination to explore the Historic, Victorian and modern combination of beauty and charm.
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Friday’s top ten! – Silly Cruise Questions
May 11, 2012
Top Ten Silliest Questions asked on a Cruise Ship
I have a camera and a passport and I’m ready to go!!!
10. Do these steps go up or down?
9. What do you do with the beautiful ice carvings after they melt?
8. Which elevator do I take to get to the front of the ship?
7. Does the crew sleep on the ship?
6. Is this island completely surrounded by water?
5. Does the ship make its own electricity?
4. Is it salt water in the toilets?
3. What elevation are we at?
2. There’s a photographer on board who takes photos and displays them the next day… the question asked…If the pictures aren’t marked, how will I know which ones are mine?
1. What time is the Midnight Buffet being served?
What’s the best silly cruise question you have heard???
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Celebrity Solstice
May 9, 2012
About the same time that Royal Caribbean brought us the wonders of the Oasis and Allure of the Seas, Celebrity was working on a special ship of their own. Their newest class of ship is call the Solstice Class. This includes the Solstice, Equinox, Eclipse, Silhouette and Reflection. Each is a better version of the last. I was on the inaugural sailing of the Solstice and fell in LOVE!
Cellar Masters is a wonderful place for a glass or bottle of wine
This ship is elegant, it is fun, it is trendy, it is beautiful! I love the decor. I love the night life. I love the bars. I love the food choices. I love the buffet. I simply love this ship.
The first thing that I learned about this ship is that they brought in a panel of women to help design the staterooms. You know how the little things are what matter? The shower in the bathroom is not just larger than most of the other ships, but also has a step bar so that women can shave their legs without falling over. Unbelievable! The bed is a little higher than normal so that your suitcases can go underneath while you are sailing. Seriously… the little things!
The ship has dancing water! I LOVE dancing water!!!
There is a lawn on the top deck. For real. Real grass. I took my shoes off and walked through the grass and it was all I could do not to drop and roll around (in Florida we have this crappy stuff called Crab Grass and I hate hate hate it!). You can have picnics, play bocce ball (does anyone know how to play bocce ball?), take a nap… whatever you’d like. I even watched the gardener cutting the lawn! One the first three ships they even have the Hot Glass Show. There are professionals on board who do demonstrations of blowing glass.
Yup, those are my feet in the grass!
There are great dining venues and even better bar choices! Blu is a spa cuisine restaurant which acts as the main dining room for people staying in Aquaclass cabins. Silk Harvest is an Asian Fusion restaurant. Murano is so beautiful. It’s decorated in glass, and the food is a great combination of different European flavors. And last but certainly not least is Tuscan Grille which is a wonderful steakhouse! Don’t forget to check out the Martini Bar (the bar is an ice bar!)
Murano is gorgeous!
Check out each of their ships for a different and yet amazing experience!
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A long time coming – the Allure of the Seas
May 7, 2012
I just realized something shocking to myself. I have been writing this blog for a long time. Almost a whole year! And I have managed to never write about one of my favorite travel experiences of all time. Cruising. This week is going to be all about the ships I have travelled on. Each is special and wonderful in its own way.I may as well start at the biggest and work my way down huh? Friday is going to be spectacular and wonderful, and small! Stay tuned. Today I’d like to talk to you about Royal Caribbean’s masterpieces. The Oasis of the Seas and the Allure of the Seas. These two ships are sisters so mostly everything is the same. A few of the dining venues vary and the shows are all different. We went on the Allure of the Seas in January 2011.
Danny and me at dinner on the Allure!
With this ship I was convinced that there would be major service issues. They have 5000-6000 people on board every week. How on earth can they do this efficiently? I thought for sure boarding would be a nightmare! And it wasn’t. With the building of the new terminal and having 90 check in counters…. it was the fastest I have ever gotten on a ship. My grandparents, Danny and I were all standing on the Promenade of the Ship in less than 15 minutes. I have stood in line for a normal sized Carnival ship and taken 2 hours to board before.
Carousel on the Boardwalk
This ship is broken down in to neighborhoods. Entertainment Place (comedy club, jazz club, night club… lots of club?!), the Boardwalk (can you say working Carousel?!), Central Park (dining and shopping and peace… oh my!), the Royal Promenade (cupcake anyone? How about a Latin night club? or Starbucks), Pool and Sports Zone (anyone up for some zip-lining???), Vitality at Sea (think spa, fitness center, health food bar), and last but not least The Youth Zone (for kids from 6 months to 17.9 years! 29,000 feet of happiness and excitement).
Us hula-hopping on the Boardwalk
One of our favorite experiences was the dining. We actually never made it to a specialty restaurant even though I fully intended to. I have tasted the food they create in those restaurants and was SO looking forward to it. However, it is my firm belief that the dining staff can make or break a vacation. This time, they made it. We still talk about the dining experience we had in the main restaurant… The food was great, but even better were the people who took care of us. Angelo, Jicento and Jitendra.
We gave our wait-staff cupcakes as a way to say thanks for making it an incredible trip!
I’m pretty sure I’m not spelling those right, but can you believe I remember them even a year and a half later? They definitely made an impression. Each night Jitendra (he was our head waiter) would come to our table with tooth picks and give us another brain-teaser. Also in the category of dining was my favorite place for breakfast and lunch. The Park Cafe. I loved going in the morning for a parfait or a breakfast sandwich and sitting outside in Central Park to eat. Lunch was great because they do the chopped salads, unique sandwiches, and great desserts. I still regret not making it to the sushi bar.
Keeping our brains sharp with toothpick brain-teasers
The shows were outstanding. Dan still talks about Blue Planet as being his favorite show ever (and I took him to see Wicked!). We were awed by the water show OceanAria where divers and acrobats flew through the air. Chicago was energetic and exciting, Ice Games was exhilerating, and there were so many more show options to keep us entertained.
Who says you need to be on land to zip-line?!
And what is life without a stroll down the Promenade! The indoor cobblestone street with shopping and dining and dancing. There is a place where you can buy and decorate gourmet cupcakes (I recommend the one that looks like Shrek), there is an English Pub where you can drink beer and have a sing a long with a guitarist, and so much more!
Of all of the cruises in my life, this is the ship that you can stick me on and I’ll never want to leave.
Have you been on the Oasis or Allure? What was your favorite part?
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Making the Most of Your Cancun Vacation
May 3, 2012
So you have decided to go to Cancun. Congrats! You are going to have an amazing experience! If you have plans or would like to have plans to travel to Cancun, here are some helpful tips that I have picked up along the way. And knowing is half the battle!
1) Bring your patience. As with every airport, sometimes it may not be the fastest experience. When we arrived, the line to get through customs snaked all the way back to the baggage claim area and looped around three times!
One the line got moving, it moved very quickly, but wow it looked like this would take us forever!
They also do random searches. After your luggage is scanned (yup, you get scanned before and AFTER you are on the airplane… not sure what they think you are picking up in the airport and on the plane, but… I go with the flow. Actually on the way home I was marked to get searched. The funny thing was that I was searched at the security check point and the AGAIN at the boarding of the plane. Again…I am not sure what they thought I picked between security and the plane, but hey… Better safe than sorry?
2) When you get through customs, you go through a set of doors. Beyond those doors are the money exchange places, the information places, and the vultures. By vultures, I refer to the scores of people lining the walls, all dressed the same, all trying to convince you to come over to their table and listen to their presentation. They are very very sneaky. I have seen even seasoned travel agents fall prey to their cunning ways! “Which hotel are you going to? Oh good I’m your ride!” No they aren’t! Your ride is actually waiting outside the next set of glass doors for you. All you have to do is survive the vultures!
3) Safety: a lot of people hear that I am getting married in Cancun and ask if I am sure that it’s safe. Something important to note about the size of Mexico. It’s really big. Not like a little big, but most of the US big. The distance from Cancun to Nuevo Loreto (just using this famous problem child of a town as an example) is approximately 913 miles as the crow flies (that means straight) and 1500 miles if you have to drive it. That’s like saying that you shouldn’t go to Ft. Lauderdale because there are problems in Boston. Of course I’m not saying that you don’t have to be careful, or that there is no crime in Cancun. I’m saying that the crime in Cancun is no worse than the crime in other large cities. Go to Detroit, or go to Washington DC and you still have to be vigilant and careful. Pack your brain when you travel.
4) Explore. If you are there more than three days, book an excursion and get off the hotel’s property. The Yucatan Peninsula is filled with unbelievable history and so many wonderful things to see. Go to one of their natural adventure parks such as http://www.xplor.travel/ or http://xcaret.com/. Take a day tour to Chichen Itza, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Personally I would skip Tulum if it is offered. I was there a few years ago and my biggest disappointment is that they had to block off the actual structures of the ruins and you couldn’t get close enough to touch them. It was very hard to appreciate the experience when there were ropes everywhere blocking everything off. Chichen Itza you can still (for now) go up to it, touch it, climb it, feel the power of it. Take a trip from your hotel up to Playa del Carmen. I especially love it at night (if you love shopping, you’ll also love it during the day). http://www.cocobongo.com.mx/ and http://www.blueparrot.com/fireshow/are two of my favorite things to do! There is so much to see and do in and around Cancun, you’ll never be bored!
Fire show at the Blue Parrot
5) Protect yourself. In this era of health consciousness, ads about caring for your body, ads for beautifying your body… you’d think people would remember sunblock. Isn’t skin cancer one of those things that television commercials and magazine articles and parents warn you about all the time? I can’t even tell you how many people we saw who were burned to a crisp! It’s like they left their house and forgot everything they knew about sunbathing safety (well… as safe as sunbathing can be). I’m sitting here with Danny wishing I had thought to take pictures of every lobster looking person that I saw so that I could post them for your viewing pleasure. But sadly I didn’t. So please imagine a large man, in a speedo, with his entire body red like a tomato. Ok thank you, now you have the picture. Protect yourself people. Remember sunblock. Remember to find shade after a while and keep the sun from beating down on your skin for hours on end. And remember that as good as you sunblock is, it doesn’t stand up to water. Reapply after you go in the ocean so you don’t regret it for the rest of your vacation!
Too much sun?
There are so many more things to say, but today I think I have given you enough to digest. Keep checking back, I’m sure I’ll write about this again!
