Costa d'Este!

 After a wonderful visit to the West Indies last week and then coming home to snow and below freezing weather, we are already looking for a beach get-away trip in January.  This is Black Friday weekend and tomorrow is Cyber Monday.

Our favorite Villa in Florida, the Costa d'Este is running a promotion of up to 40% off.  So yesterday we booked our flights to Florida and will be staying at the Costa d'Este January 21-26, 2024. We discovered Vero Beach 4 years ago and this will be our third visit.  Owners, Gloria and Emilio Estefan have brought Miami's chic style and sophistication to Vero Beach - a largely undiscovered treasure a couple of hours North of Miami.  We love the white sand, the quality restaurants, and the refreshing orange slushies combined with vanilla ice cream.

Here are some photos of the resort:

So if you want to join us, please call Costa d'Este now or book online and join us.

Costa d'Este  https://www.costadeste.com/

Address: 3244 Ocean Dr, Vero Beach, FL 32963

Hours: 

Open 24 hours

Phone: (772) 562-9919

St. Kitts

 A delightful island experience to end our tour - we rode a train along the coast of St. Kitts.

I had shared with the tour group an experience we had during our mission when we took a flight home from Barbados and the plane could not land in Trinidad due to a goat on the runway.  It circled for an hour, flew to Tobago to refuel and then returned to Trinidad.  Not one person grumbled.  They just laughed and cheered.  Such is the Caribbean culture.  And here is a picture of a goat that was on the train track before we passed by.

Martinique

 Martinique is a French island with a population of over 300,000.  What is sobering is that in 1908 there were 28,000 people destroyed in 7 seconds from the eruption of Mt. Pele, a volcano, that spewed out lava as rain rather than rolling down the hillside.

We took a tour through lucious rainforests and Diane and I met up with the Occoliers, and drove around the city looking at the Church buildings where we met during our mission.  Lionel is now the district president.

St Lucia

Oprah once said that of the top places to see before you die, the Pitons of St. Lucia should be at the top of the list.  So we introduced our group to the Pitons.

We took a catamaran to Sugar Beach in near the Pitons and did a mud back, a water fall, and had a wonderful time.

Barbados

 A perfect day!  We went to the best beach on the island (Carlisle) and swam with the turtles and snorkeled around a shipwreck.

The water is warm and is my favorite spot for swimming in the West Indies.

Antigua

After a long, winding tour of the island up to its highest peak, Shirley Heights, we had a good view of the shoreline. 

The highlight of the day was the Jolly Beach, one of the most popular of the island's 365 beaches.

You can see that the sargasm (seaweed that plagues the Caribbean, has hit this beach, but they keep it under control.

Senior Couple Mission? Think West Indies

We are enroute to five of the islands in our mission with 110 of our best friends.  Tomorrow we will in Antigua and on Tuesday in Barbados, we will meet with two sets of senior couples in the Bridgetown, Barbados Mission.  They will talk to us about what it is like to serve an island mission.

This video we prepared during our 3 year mission there will help convey our feelings about senior couple missions, too.

President Russell M. Nelson has encouraged couples to “get on their knees and ask Heavenly Father if the time is right for them to serve a mission.” Of all the qualifications, he said, “a desire to serve may be the most important.”

"I ask you to serve as a missionary in the gathering of Israel and perhaps even serve again. We need you—we need you. We are grateful to you seniors for the lives you have led and the examples you have been in your homes, wards, and stakes. I now invite you to take your know-how, coupled with your time-honored testimonies, and go on a mission." (Elder Rasband, General Conference, October 2023)

West Indies Cruise - back to our mission field

 

After a year of planning and recruiting our friends and their friends to go with us to the West Indies, we left on the Celebrity Equinox to visit Antigua, Barbados, St. Lucia, Martinique, and St. Kitts - all islands in our mission. 

Here is our group:

You can find details of our upcoming trips at our website:  www.journeyings.org

Wheelchairs on Cruise Ships

 

Wheelchairs are not available on the Celebrity Cruise Ship.

If you would like to ensure you have a wheelchair onboard available, you can bring your own or rent one from an outside vendor who will deliver it to the ship. The following vendors rent wheelchairs to guests with disabilities and have security clearance to get on and off our ships:

·         Special Needs at Sea: 1-800-513-4515 or 1-954-585-0575

·         Scootaround (formerly Care Vacations): 1-888-441-7575 or 1-204-982-0657

I called Special Needs at Sea and found out that the cost is $125 for the rental.  The chair would be delivered to your stateroom and picked up from your stateroom at the end of the cruise.  You can give them a credit card number on the phone as well as your name and stateroom number.

Plan ahead so that you are not surprised.  This tip is for cruising out of Fort Lauderdale.  Ask your cruise ship toll free number about out ports of departure.  

The advantage to this is not having to check a wheel chair on the plane.  Airports provide them.  And Cruise Lines accommodate this.

Seven Mistakes To Avoid When Cruising

My friends Rob & Kerri Stuart recently published a podcast on mistakes to avoid when cruising. They know cruising better than perhaps anyone. Rob & Kerri literally wrote the book on cruising! (And I don’t use the word literally willy-nilly).

1. Not Using A Travel Agent.
2. Not factoring in the total cost of the cruise.
3. Not getting travel insurance.
4. Not planning shore excursions in advance.
5. Picking thewrong cabin.
6. Choosing the wrong ship or cruise line for you.
7. Booking last-minute or not far enough out.

Plus, a bonus tip at the end.

Not Using a Travel Agent

This is mistake number 1. If you don’t make this mistake–if you use a travel agent, the other six mistakes are pretty much moot points. A quality travel advisor will help you make sure you don’t make the other six mistakes.

You’re free to live your life and let your travel advisor take care of the details of your trip.

Can you imagine paying nothing extra for your cruise and someone else waiting on hold to call the cruise company for you?

Using a Travel Agent Costs You Nothing

Travel advisors don’t charge you a fee. The cruise line pays the travel advisor to help ensure you maximize your experience on your cruise.

You DON’T Get a Better Rate Booking Yourself

You’ll see the same prices either way. For the same trip, you won’t get a cheaper price for your vacation, but they’ll help ensure you go at the best time and can take advantage of the best vacation for you.

Not Factoring In the Total Cost of the Cruise

The 2nd of the mistakes to avoid when cruising involves understanding what is included in the fare. This is when you see the cost of the cruise in an ad for the cruise line. It looks like a great price, but you have to be aware of what you get with that price.

That rate will likely include an interior cabin on a lower deck and probably bunk beds. Paying extra for a cabin with a balcony will greatly enrich the quality of your trip experience.

Instead of squeezing out the least amount you can for a vacation experience to spend as little as possible, make the best investment into getting the most out of the month you spend.

Consider the Cost of Getting Off the Ship

The cost you see advertised will be completely different than the bill you receive when you get off the ship. Unless you’re enjoying a truly all-inclusive cruise, you’ll likely have other expenses during your vacation.

• Adult beverages
• Shore excursions
• Specialty dining
• Souvenirs
• Wi-Fi connection

Many cruises with more expensive fares end up costing you less than cheaper cruises because the luxury cruise lines include more items in that fare.  Knowing about these opportunities can greatly enhance your vacation experience and ultimately cost you less money out of pocket.

Not Getting Travel Insurance

Failing to get trip insurance isn’t just one of the mistakes to avoid when cruising, it’s a mistake to avoid for ALL travel.

You never know what’s going to happen. Anything can happen:

• Weather
• Medical emergencies
• Accidents
• Missing transportation
• Airlines losing luggage

Buy trip insurance and enjoy the peace of mind of knowing that the unknown incidents will be covered. Furthermore, relish knowing that you’ll know exactly who to contact if you find yourself in an unexpected, unpleasant situation.

Not Planning Shore Excursions in Advance

You don’t have to plan your entire vacation. I recommend planning a few big, important experiences you want and enjoy relaxing, improvising, and being fully present for the rest of your vacation.

For those primary experiences you want, though, book those in advance. Don’t leave it to chance. Excursions will sell out! Get them booked early to ensure they don’t fill up and make sure to maximize your vacation experience.

This will save you time on your cruise. If you book the excursions on your cruise, you’ll likely have to stand in line behind the others who didn’t plan ahead and spend your vacation waiting on them to ask questions and ponder what they want to do.

This also gives you chance to have a good plan for your port days. You can enjoy a fulfilling experience and make great memories instead of getting stuck in a crowded, touristy area.

Picking the Wrong Cabin

This is one of the most common mistakes to avoid when cruising. You just want to be on the ship, right? So you spend the least amount of money you can on the cheapest cabin you can find.

We hear this all the time: “I’m only going to be sleeping in my cabin. I don’t need an ocean view.”

Do you really think that you’re only going to sleep in your cabin? You may need a nap or some chill time. You will spend more time in your cabin than you think.

If you want to see a gorgeous site early in the morning. Do you want to have to get up extra early, navigate to the deck where you can see what you want to see, and try to enjoy it with the rest of the passengers with interior cabins?

Rolling out of bed and onto your balcony with a cup of your favorite beverage to enjoy the view will be a much better experience and magical memory you’ll always treasure.

Newer ships are building few interior cabins for good reasons.

Choosing the Wrong Ship or Cruise Line for You

This is where a travel advisor can really help you enhance the quality of your vacation experience. I have a friend who is a very calm, artsy, contemplative person. His family wanted to try a cruise and they went on a cruise line with more of a younger, partying crowd.

I think those cruises are fun, but that was not the experience he wanted. My friend and his family wasted their time and money on a trip they didn’t enjoy.

A few cruise lines advertise a lot. Their names are household names. It is entirely possible that you’ve never heard of the cruise line that would give you the best experience.

There are a wide variety of cruise experiences:

• cruise themes
• ship sizes
• port sizes
• demographics
• experience types

Don’t simply settle for the names you hear frequently over the experience that will best match your vacation preferences.

Booking Last-Minute or Not Far Enough Out

There are a couple of misconceptions about so-called close-out deals.

Myth: If a Cruise Isn’t Full, the Cruise Line Will Have a Big Sale to Fill the Ship

This is not true. If a ship is undersold, the cruise line will reach out to travel agents first. They’ll give those lower prices to travel agents rather than consumers.

They’ll give the cheaper fares to travel agents so that the travel agents can use that experience to help sell for that cruise line. There is no investment in selling those discounted fares to the consumer for a couple of reasons.

You’re getting what is left. The better cabins, dining reservations, and excursions are already sold out to the passengers who booked earlier. Yes, your fare would be less expensive, but your experience would less quality.

You’d spend more time bragging about the cheap fare than your fantastic experience. If you spend the market rate for our experience you’re more likely to be a spokesperson for the experience and memories, not the money you didn’t spend.

Giving the lower price to the travel agents will more likely result in more cruise sales.

Supply and Demand, But Mostly Supply

Secondly, as the cabins and excursions book up, the diminishing supply increases the demand and thus, increases the price. Book early for the lowest fare and the best selection of experiences.

1. Book early
2. Get the cabins and excursions you want
3. Stay familiar with the cancelation policies

Bonus Mistake to Avoid

Not Coming In a Day Early for Your Cruise

Don’t risk missing your ship. Maritime laws require that the ships leave on time. They can not wait for late passengers for any reason.

Be close to the port the day your ship departs. If you’re flying last minute and your flight is delayed, even if you make it on time and not miss your cruise, the stress is just not worth it.

Fly in a day earlier and enjoy the morning before your cruise.

If you can, fly out a day later after your cruise. Then you can enjoy the last day as well. You can relax and watch all the people not staying an extra day while they stress and rush to not miss their flights.

https://shayne.fun/mistakes-to-avoid-when-cruising/

How does tipping work on Cruises & Excursions?

 

Should you tip on shore excursions?

October 4, 2023 | Travel Pedia

On shore excursions, it's expected that passengers tip tour guides and bus drivers. How much you tip on cruise excursions is entirely up to you, but a suggested starting price is $3 per person for a half-day tour and $6 per person for a full-day tour for the guide and $1 to $2 for the bus driver.

On the Celebrity Cruise we are taking to Antigua, Barbados, St. Lucia, Martinique and St. Kitts, we recommended $5 per half day and $2.50 for the driver.  This is what is built into the the trips we contracted for Antigua and Barbados.  For St. Lucia, Martinique and St. Kitts, our guests need to carry small bills on the excursion in US dollars so they can tip the guide and the driver.  It is not necessary to exchange money into local currency.

Is it better to prepay gratuities on Celebrity?

All guests on the Celebrity Equinox are required to pay the gratuities upfront in their booking fee for cruise.  Guests who have pre-paid their gratuity will not see a daily charge during their cruise. The automatic daily gratuity is based on customary industry standards. Applying this charge automatically helps streamline the recognition process for the crew members that work to enhance your cruise.

Do cruise workers get their tips?

Normally there is a standard rate of about $15–20 per day, which is added to your bill at the end of the cruise, this is divided up to each of the service staff, so cooks, laundry workers etc get a share, and of course, for excellent service you can tip people directly, cabin stewards for example.

Do housekeepers on cruise ships get tips?

Generally speaking, mainstream, U.S.-based cruise lines automatically add gratuities of about $14 to $15 per person, per day, to your onboard bill. These tips are divided among the dining staff (waiters, assistant waiters and head waiters) and housekeeping staff (such as cabin attendants).

Can cruise staff accept cash tip?

Some cruisers believe offering a tip at the start of the cruise helps ensure excellent service, and another tip at the end if they've done an extraordinary job. If you want to tip your attendant, a cash tip at the end of the cruise is appreciated. A tip of $10-20 per guest is appropriate.

What is Celebrity's automatic gratuity program?

(most in our group paid $18/person per day or $180.

A service gratuity will be automatically applied to each guest’s SeaPass® account on a daily basis for sailings*, excluding guests in Excluding Bookings.** Current amounts*** for the daily gratuity are listed below.  The gratuities described above are distributed to the crew, such as dining, bar and culinary services staff, stateroom attendants and other hotel services teams, and others who work to enhance the overall cruise experience. 

 

• Inside, Ocean View, and Veranda staterooms:      US$18.00 per guest, per day
• Concierge Class and AquaClass staterooms:       US$18.50 per Guest, per day
• An 18% gratuity will be automatically added to spa and salon purchases and a 20% gratuity will also be automatically added to specialty dining, beverage, beverage package, room service and mini bar purchases.
• Gratuities may be adjusted at the guest’s discretion onboard at Guest Relations up until the morning of their departure.

https://lovethemaldives.com/faq/should-you-tip-on-shore-excursions

What do I pack for the Celebrity Cruise this month?

 

PACKING LIST FOR CELEBRITY CRUISE

When shoreside, pack swimsuits and cover-ups, walking shorts and shirts (that protect from the sun), lightweight slacks, skirts or sundresses, and a light sweater or jacket. Hats, sunglasses, and sunscreen are always encouraged.

 

Consider appropriate shoes and gear for the planned excursions and the terrain you’ll encounter. For instance, you may pack water shoes if hiking a waterfall, or a headscarf, or a conservative dress for visiting museums and churches. 

 

Throughout the ship, casual resort wear, sundresses, shorts, polos, or button-downs are appropriate, paired with sandals, low heels, and loafers. Bring activewear and sneakers if you plan to hit the gym!

 

When poolside, bathing suits with cover-ups, T-shirts, tanks, hats, and sunglasses are welcome. 

 

In main and specialty dining, we ask guests to refrain from wearing swimsuits, see-through cover-ups, robes, tank tops, T-shirts, and baseball caps. Shoes or sandals are also strongly encouraged.

But don't dress like this!

 

“Smart Casual” attire is required to enter main dining, specialty dining, and the Celebrity Theatre at night. “Smart Casual” means you look tastefully comfortable in a dress, skirt, long pants, or jeans, and a stylish top or button-down. Shorts and flip-flops are not considered “Smart Casual.” 

 

Your itinerary will feature two “formal” nights we call “Evening Chic.” “Evening Chic” may include a cocktail dress, skirt, slacks, designer jeans, an elegant dress top, or a blazer. Some guests even pack a tuxedo or gown for onboard photos. 

The Daily Program, delivered to your stateroom and available at the Guest Relations Desk, will guide you to the correct attire each evening. If you do not wish to participate in “Evening Chic,” “Smart Casual” attire is acceptable for dining and the theater.

Seven mistakes people make with carry-on bags

 

Here are seven things not to do when packing a carry-on bag.  There is an art to packing a carry-on bag. Travelers must balance the requirements of airlines and airport, security, make sure important items are easily accessible, and remember all the little things that will keep them comfortable in flight.  We’ve gathered seven common carry-on bag mistakes you can avoid to set yourself up for airport. Success steer clear of these, and you’ll save money have a better flight and avoid running a foul of airport security 

One. Don’t bring liquids or gels larger than 3.4 ounces. 

If you’re traveling with a full size bottle of shampoo or sunscreen, it must go in a checked bag. Don’t be that bleary-eyed traveler who shows up at an early morning checkpoint with a cup of hot chocolate, you just bought, only to have it thrown away  

Two. Don’t pack prohibited items. Each country's government has different rules about what can and can’t be brought on board but as a general rule, never put any of the following in your carry-on: firearms, explosives, baseball, bats, or other sporting equipment that could be used as weapons, self-defense, sprays, or sharp objects, such as knives or razors  

Three. Don’t bury your liquids and gels deep into the bag.  Save time in the security line by making sure your plastic bag of liquids and gels is right at the top of your carry-on bag. That way you’re not digging around for it while passengers behind you are tapping, their toes and becoming irritated. The same goes true for a laptop computer . You’ll have to take this out at the security checkpoint for screening 

Four. Don’t pack too much. You are  aware that checked bags  are subject to extra fees if they’re overweight, but did you know that many airlines weigh carry-on bags as well.  Consider buying a small luggage scale to weigh your bag before you leave.  That way you can redistribute or discard items in the privacy of your own home  

Five. Don’t assume your carry-on bag won’t be get checked. Even if your bag is perfectly within the airlines weight and size limits you might still have to check at the gate, if the plane is full or if it’s a smaller aircraft than expected.  Just in case this happens, make sure everything vital -- travel documents, pricey gadgets, and medicine are stowed in the personal item you keep with you, not in the carry-on you might have to check.  Also make sure there’s a luggage tag on your carry-on. Checked bags are occasionally mishandled just as regular check bags are. 

Six. Don’t forget your in-flight essentials. Especially for longer trips, you will want to stock your carry-on bag with must haves such as earbuds, hand sanitizer, and  a travel pillow, a phone charger and plenty of reading material 

Seven. Don’t forget to pre-pay for your carry-on.  Some low cost carriers, including Sprint and Frontier charge fees for not only checked bags, but also carry-ons. You pay the lowest possible fee for the carry-on if you pay it online in advance, rather than when you arrive at the airport. If you know you’ll be bringing a carry-on bag for your flight, pay for it when you book.

Source:  https://www.smartertravel.com/7-things-not-packing-carry-bag/?source=91&u=DNLLCBDMXS&nltv=&nl_cs=54199450%3A%3A%3A%3A%3A%3A&e_send_id=3e646c79-5edb-4323-a2a3-bb66f721a6e0&emd5=42be0b90858c6c76dbaa8eb8d6551b86&esha256=018bec8f2cc1e80690d22a361ac3ced46d66fde721c5cb4ecc2de13df1e3ea69