A Father/Son Escape to Montego Bay

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Montego Bay, Jamaica  (May 2010)

Thanks, Annie.  We had a great time!

Overall, it was extremely trouble free.  We were rather well prepared, especially for me, since I generally don’t prepare for anything.  The plane was a breeze to confirm and we were able to get our passes before we left home.

I had always meant to try to get two aisle seats, but never did before.  That was very nice since the window is not important to PJ anymore and we’d both rather have room.  The flights were great; both were on time and very uneventful.  The JetBlue TV’s are a nice convenience.

On our arrival, right after we got through Jamaican Customs, there was someone directing people to the tour operators and we got right to ours.  There was no line and it took about 5 minutes before we were off to the bus. 

The hotel (Holiday Inn Sunspree Resort) was the second stop and about 15 minutes from the airport.  It was very hard to adjust to their driving on the wrong side of the road though. I don’t think that I ever did. 

At the hotel the check in was a little longer, though, but still pretty quick and painless.  We were able to store our bags until the room was ready and explored somewhat.  The hotel and location were really beautiful.  Everything was right on the water, including the pool. The gym was fantastic. Lots of equipment – all clean and available.

The hotel had the kayaking, snorkeling and sailboats, but we did not see any of the motorized activities while we were there.  On the last day (Sunday) they had a lot more.  There was wakeboarding, parasailing and fishing, but we were leaving.  It might have been the ocean conditions, but it generally seemed rather calm to me.  All the people we dealt with were nice and helpful.  I didn’t realize that there were a number of tour operators there until the end and the lady in the lobby directed us back to Jamaica Tours for a trip she couldn’t book.

The room was very nice; right on the ocean and very clean.  It was a little far from the pool, though, since PJ was not allowed in the adult pool which was right next to the room.

The food was great, and too plentiful. We ate like crazy.  We only went to the Caribbean restaurant and it was very nice and the food was good.  We weren’t too interested in the shows, so the nights were a little slow.

We took 2 excursions.  The first was for zip lining (through Chukka Tours) and it was a real adventure.  It was quite a way, but very nice. Lots of fun.  They advertise the longest zip line in the Caribbean, but omitted any mention of the height, which on one of the runs they claimed was a few hundred feet over the river.  In the very brief time I looked down all I could tell was it was high!  That was probably for the best since, had I known, I would have chickened out. They had very nice clean new equipment which was comforting.  They also were willing to teach what they could about what we were supposed to do.  That was a really good time.

The other excursion also involved ziplining (thankfully more tame and they did everything for you).  We also went to Dunn’s River falls and Mystic Mountain.  The climb up was really scenic and nice and had lots of photo ops. The bobsled ride was good too. 

As far as what we learned, I now remember that it’s a really good idea to have lots of small bills, since not doing it makes you much too popular! I would also inquire into how often each of the hotel activities were offered.  Other than that, relax and enjoy.

Pat

Excuse me, can I return this vacation?

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Have you ever purchased something online and been disappointed when it arrived? Maybe it turned out to be the wrong color, or it didn’t fit, or it just wasn’t exactly what you had pictured when you saw it on that web site.  With a sweater, you can just return it … but what do you do if it’s a vacation that you had purchased?? Most people are pretty disappointed when they find out that they’ve wasted vacation time and money on something that’s not quite what they expected.

I just came across a great column that describes some of these travel mishaps and mistakes that can happen (recognize any?) and reinforces the fact that using a travel agent could have helped to avoid all of them. It’s true what they say … “Without a travel agent, you’re on your own”.

Good news for families

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The “Happiest Place on Earth” is going to be making families even happier in the future. Walt Disney World has just announced plans for a new resort option featuring family suites that can hold up to six guests each. This is welcome news for families that have had to splurge on a two- or three-bedroom villa at one of the deluxe properties or scramble for the limited number of connecting hotel rooms at other on-site properties.

Disney’s Art of Animation Resort, scheduled to open in late 2012, will include 1,120 family suites (with separate living room and bedroom) and 864 hotel rooms, all designed around four unique themes:  The Lion King, Finding Nemo, Cars, and The Little Mermaid.  The resort will sit on a 65 acre piece of land across the lake from the Pop Century Resort, and will feature giant icons from each of the four movies (including a 35′ tall King Triton) in a central courtyard.

 Walt Disney World's Art of Animation Resort will feature a giant statue of King Triton

If you just can’t wait two years to take the little ones to Walt Disney World, give me a call. I’ll help you find the best accommodations available for your family now (whatever the size), and we’ll get you in on the “Free Dining” promotion that Disney is offering for later this year!

A long-weekend cruise getaway

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Norwegian Sky,  April 23 – 26, 2010

I recently enjoyed my first cruise on Norwegian Cruise Lines (a quick 3-night Bahamas cruise out of Miami) and was very interested in comparing it to my past experiences on other cruise lines, including Royal Caribbean, Princess, Holland America and Celebrity. The verdict? It was nice, but it was not my favorite cruise ever – and I don’t know whether that was due to the length and/or the itinerary more so than the cruise line itself. Guess I’ll have to try another (longer) NCL cruise in the future! In the meantime, the trip report is below (and here are the photos): 

Because we were dropping the kids at my mom’s house in NY, we flew out of La Guardia (boy did I miss our great little Providence airport!) on a non-stop to Fort Lauderdale. There, we were met by our driver from SAS Transportation for the short (45 minute) shuttle ride to the Miami pier. This turned out to be a great decision. It was cheap ($15pp), easy, and stress-free, and saved us the hassle and expense of flying into Miami. I will be using them for all my clients in the future.

Sailing out of Miami harbor on the NCL Sky

We arrived at the pier at about 11:30 am, which is technically before boarding even begins, but were on the ship within 15 minutes and heading for Il Adaggio for a lunch of pizza and pasta. The announcement that cabins were ready was made at about 2 pm, and we headed off to find ours. We had a “Superior Inside” cabin on the Fjord deck (#9142), and it was certainly large enough for the two of us, but it was the smallest cabin I’ve had on any ship. Given that, I don’t think I would have liked the regular (smaller) inside cabins.

The ship is mid-sized and fairly easy to get around, but I did think there were some strange things about the layout – like the fact that the (small) nightclub/dance club area was in a very open high-traffic spot in the middle of the ship, and the main (only) theater seemed to have a lot of poles blocking people’s sightlines.  Odd quirks aside, I liked the vibrant Caribbean/Hawaiian décor, and we did find some favorite “nooks and crannies” in which to hang out.

That first evening, we enjoyed the sailaway party on deck, some two-for-one martinis in the Plantation Club (a recurring theme for this cruise!), dinner at the buffet, and a fun and lively Rock N Roll show at the theater.

Saturday morning we docked in Nassau, and Everett was up early to take photographs of the ship and the port. We had a quick al fresco breakfast on the stern of the ship and headed off to spend the day at Sandals Royal Bahamian resort. It was great to see the renovations they’ve made to this property since we were last there (about four years ago), and we enjoyed a very relaxing day on the beach.

Sandals Royal Bahamaian, Nassau

Back on the ship that evening, we had time for a quick swim in the pool, some pear martinis at the Plantation Club, and a so-so dinner in the main dining room (Crossings). This cruise was our first experience with Norwegian’s “Freestyle” dining, and I have decided that I really do prefer a more traditional/formal dining experience. The food was not great, the service was not great, and the dining room just felt quiet and “blah”.

Sunday morning dawned bright and sunny and the ship anchored just offshore of Great Stirrup Cay (NCL’s private island). I had not realized that Royal Caribbean’s private island (Coco Cay) is literally right next door, and it was fun to see the RCCL ship anchored right next to us!

We took the tender to shore and claimed the lounge chairs and “clamshell” shade that I had pre-reserved through the Shore Excursions desk. This turned out to be a GREAT idea, as it was very hot and sunny, and we would not have lasted for the day without some shade. Everett rented a snorkel and fins and went off to explore, and I spend the day reading my book, people-watching, and taking advantage of the bar service and the beachfront barbecue.  As beach days go, it was just about perfect.

Norwegian Sky docked at Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas

That evening, we toasted our last night on the ship with more two-for-one martinis and met a nice couple from Colorado at the bar. We had dinner together in the other main dining room (Palace), and stayed out late for drinks/dancing.

Monday morning came all too soon, and we were up and out for a last breakfast in the outdoor Garden Café before disembarking the ship and meeting up with our SAS Transportation shuttle back to the Fort Lauderdale airport. Again, the process could not have been easier. We elected to do “self-disembarkation” and walk off the ship with our own bags. As soon as we got outside the terminal we called SAS and the driver swung by within minutes to pick us up.  A few thunderstorms and a LONG airport delay later, we were on our way back to NY to pick up the kids.

So, here are some overall observations about the cruise:

  • The crowd, as might be expected for a short weekend cruise out of Miami, seemed to be very focused on “sun and fun”. Lots of activity at the pool all afternoon, lots of drinking (but nothing out of control), but there did not seem to be much going on at night. The ship did not have the variety of entertainment options that I’m used to (piano bar, movies, multiple show times, etc.) and we had a tough time finding stuff to do in the evening.
  • The food was just average. I can’t say I had any dish that really impressed me, but I didn’t have anything truly awful either.
  • The service was also not what I’m accustomed to, but I don’t know if that’s due to the short itinerary (staff does not get the time to know you), the “Freestyle” concept (no continuity with the same servers every night), or something specific with this cruise line. I’m definitely willing to give them another chance.

I will say that we got what we wanted from this cruise, which was a few days in the sun to relax without the kids. With that as our goal, we were perfectly satisfied.

Here’s another link to the photos.

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You provided excellent guidance for us. I appreciated that you really had us think about what was most important to us when we were selecting the right cruise – and not to totally focus on what other people had to say. THANK YOU for helping to make this a memorable trip for our family! It really was a trip of a lifetime!

– Clare and Mark (family cruise to Alaska)

The level of service we experienced was out of this world (and we did NOT make it easy on Ann). We weren’t quite sure where we wanted to go, when we would be able to go, or what “vibe” we were going for. After asking us some key questions (what we liked, didn’t like, why, etc.) Ann helped us narrow down our trip details and planned the honeymoon of our dreams. She helped book some of our excursions, answered some emergency questions while abroad and was always available/willing to help. I think it’s safe to say we won’t be using anyone else for future travel planning – Ann is a rockstar!

– Carli (Italy and Spain)