Travel Tips From the Seven Dwarfs: Doc

The leader of the Seven Dwarfs is Doc.

He certainly has not gained his position by his mastery of verbal skills, as he seems to have a sort of verbal dyslexia.  This probably indicates a lack of something most motivational speakers would consider to be a primary pillar of leadership: self-confidence.

He's neither smooth nor slick, qualities which have elected many an incompetent man to postions of political leadership.

Nonetheless, he thinks strategically, formulating plans which the other Dwarfs follow, and that is the essence of true leadership.



A group vacation becomes a happy shared memory,
as seen in this family portrait from St. Petersburg, Russia.

In a group of friends or family, leadership may shift according to the situation.  When someone has the bright idea to go on a vacation as a group, she usually will be the one to pick the destination and get the ball rolling by inviting a few friends to join her.

Sometimes, it can be like a snow ball rolling down hill, gathering size and momentum as it goes, but other times it can turn out that only the potential leader makes the trip.  Nonetheless, there is one thing for certain: if you can't get excited about where you're going, you probably won't convince others to join you.

But getting there can feel like herding cats...
or llamas in Saksaywaman, Peru.

Leading a group carries a formidable responsibility to handle lots of details.  It can be quite time consuming, especially if you already have a full plate at work and home.

There is a better way, which you can check out at this hotlink (click here).

By the way, next summer Carnival will bring a cruise ship back to the Mexican Riviera for seven night cruises from Long Beach.  While the Carnival ship doing 7-night cruises is definitely their best ship in the area, Carnival will also continue their 3 and 4 night cruises from Long Beach on both Imagination and Inspiration.

Don't delay.  Contact Wes@CruisePlanners1.com to lock in the best early saver rates for your next great vacation.

Who knows how many other friends and family members might want to join you once you start planning by choosing where in the world you want to go?

It must be fun being you!

Laszlo,Gina,Jay,Julie,Wes,Darlene, Brooks, Amy in St. Petersburg

This morning, someone told me, "It must be fun being you."

I thought, "That's exactly what I needed to hear.  It is fun being me."

Changing the emphasis of the words, I realized that we all must make an effort to have fun being ourselves, or we will become a burden on others who have their own troubles to sort through. 

Dolphins in Cozumel

A good way to hit the reset button is to spend a week or two finding yourself among other happy people visiting amazing places you've never been or returning to favorite ports. 

Better service leads to better trips.

Do shore excursions make the cruise?

19th Century Scottish sculptor John Steell's statue of poet Robert Burns in downtown Dunedin  turns out to be the meeting place for more than one tour, but you manage to hook up with the right guide, who immediately begins sharing local color about this charming village that could be in many parts of the United Kingdom.

As your bus winds slowly uphill, you enter a bucolic world of rolling farm fields and pastureland, with yellow Gorse flowers spreading wildly across what seem to be less-domesticated stretches.

You obviously must be in Ireland or Scotland.

Only you're not.

You're in New Zealand, driving to the Royal Albatross Colony, where you'll learn about amazing birds whose massive wingspans catch wind currents to fly around the world.  You'll later visit a penguin sanctuary, home to adorable flightless creatures whose own unique adaptations allow them to fly underwater through ice-cold oceans.

You can be forgiven for having misread the landscape.

The architecture and agricultural have been imported from the UK by homesick Scotsmen.  In fact, they introduced that yellow Gorse and rabbits, which have run rampant without natural predators, to New Zealand as reminders of home.

The city's name, in fact, is an adaptation of the Gaelic name for Edinburgh, Dùn Èideann.

Everything you need to know to make the most of this Scottish outpost in the Southern Hemisphere will be explained to you by a knowledgeable guide who knows exactly where to go and why.

You've heard the expression, "Clothes make the man," and how you dress can certainly effect the viewpoint, attitude and experiences of not only you but of those around you, but is it shore excursions that actually make or break the cruise?

The answer depends as much on you as on the itinerary or individual ports.

An excursion like the one summarized above certainly gives the traveler a great breadth of experiences over the course of a single day, but I dare say that someone who managed to make it to the same quaint village for a lengthy stroll through its quaint streets, punctuated by tipping a pint or munching on fish and chips in a pub, could certainly enjoy a wonderful day as well.

In fact, I know many people for whom the cruise ship itself is the primary destination, and if they get off the ship at all, it is just to visit a nearby internet cafe or souvenir shop.

They love the meals, entertainment and camaraderie found on board as well as the beautiful views across the water.  This is particularly true for repeat cruises in the Caribbean or Pacific.

However, if you've traveled half way around the world, you would probably want to include at least one or two in depth excursions that give you greater insights into the region.

After all, you must have taken that long flight for some reason.

There could be one specific highlight that makes the entire trip worthwhile.

My brother-in-law Brooks wanted to visit the Hermitage in St. Petersburg to see one special painting, something that would have been nearly impossible a few years ago, so he and my sister joined us on a memorable Scandinavia/Russia cruise.  It would have been crazy for him to stay on board when the long awaited opportunity to visit what is truly one of the world's finest museums arrived.

At the other extreme, some people want excursions in every port, and if you're among them, excursions definitely do make the cruise.

An all-inclusive or more inclusive vacation like a river cruise or the Viking Ocean Cruise might be more cost effective than a mainstream cruise for you, particularly if you always choose mini-suites or suites for accommodations.

Bridging the gap between extremes, Oceania Cruises' OLife Program may include free excursions for up to five ports, while mainstream cruise lines may feature on board credits specifically designated toward shore excursions.

Most of us will choose ship sponsored excursions for a couple of key ports on the itinerary, often those which would be perceived as difficult or dangerous to approach on our own, such as Istanbul or Israel, and then explore easier destinations on our own.



It's also possible to use third-party excursion companies, though you should exercise due diligence in researching independent vendors, as tours with similar names aren't necessarily the same.  Cruise Planners has partnered with Shore Trips to give you a safe alternative to ship sponsored excursions, including multi-port packages for potential savings.

Shore Trips has proven itself particularly adept at providing private van excursions for small groups prepared to pay a premium for a more custom-tailored experience ashore.

Surprisingly frequently, however, it will be some smaller port which perhaps you had never considered visiting and simply wandered toward without expectations that turns out to be a highlight of your trip.  Allow some time for serendipity during your voyage.



Whatever you do, mix it up.  Make each port memorable in its own right rather than repeating the same type of excursion to the same types of places and activities in every port.

In the final analysis, cruise lines do not haphazardly throw together itineraries.  Like carefully curated pieces of art from a larger collection in the Hermitage, the ports have been selected to weave a story about the region, adding significant strands in each port and also during onboard presentations.

If we pay attention, we fully experience a region and gain enlightenment as well as entertainment on these epic sojourns.

We return home with newly stretched minds.  As the great travel writer Mark Twain wrote, 

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.”

All of the photos in this post, by the way, are from New Zealand .

Cruising Versus Cruising

Pat, Gloria and Wes about to head east in 1976.

As you may have noticed from recent articles, I enjoy a good road trip.

However, in terms of relaxation, a car can't compete with a cruise ship for a long voyage.

While anyone taking a drive may enjoy seeing the countryside, road warriors must contend with road construction projects, speed traps, accidents, rubber necking, driver errors (both your own and other) and inevitable disagreements with passengers squeezed into a cramped space together for hours upon hours.  "Are we there yet?"

Holland America Pool

By comparison, the longest distances traveled by cruise ship leave you free for dining, enjoying world class entertainment, sleeping, relaxing, ocean gazing and laughing with friends and family.  On a cruise, you pack and unpack only once, and you arrive at your ports relaxed and ready to explore.

I'm sure you get the idea without my connecting all the dots for you. 

What else could you ask for?



How about free beverages?  On all cruise ships, you enjoy free regular coffee, tea, lemonade and milk to accompany fantastic dining, but right now, if you book an ocean view or higher on select sailings, Holland America offers their Signature Beverage Package as part of their Explore 4 promotion, which also includes reduced rates for third and fourth guests, 50% off deposit and a free Pinnacle Grill Dinner.

Aruba

Imagine embarking a fabulous Panama Canal cruise on February 2, 2015, with sensational port days on the Caribbean side of Costa Rica at Puerto Limon, two Dutch West Indies ports of Aruba and Curacao, the beautiful private island of Half Moon Cay in the Bahamas, and exotic Cartagena, Columbia, with Verandah (with private balcony) rooms starting at only $1799.  Choose this Holland America Zuiderdam cruise, and you'll receive Explore 4 as your bonus.

Peterhof in St. Petersburg, Russia



Or choose a different 2015 Holland America cruise featuring Explore 4.

In fact, you can go about anywhere else in the world you can imagine by cruise ship.

Where in the world would you like to go?



The Winter Olympics and Zambonis

Like most of you, I've been watching the Winter Olympics off and on. I haven't been obsessive about it. I don't watch them on my cell phone or look for constant updates. In fact, our DVR allows us to record the games and fast forward through four hours to see more than enough in about an hour a day.

Still, I'm happy and strangely proud to see Americans like Shaun White and Lindsey Vonn perform their best and be rewarded with Gold Medals. I also like watching athletes from all over the world doing their best.

When I was a child, I remember hating those stern Russians and Eastern Europeans who would beat our smiling Americans in ice skating competitions because of their judges not being as fair as western judges, or at least that's how I saw it. After visiting St. Petersburg and Warnemunde, where I found the people to actually be very much like Americans only living in more harsh conditions, I now find myself sympathetic toward them.

I'm pulling for Russia's Evgeni Plushenko, who is making an amazing comeback after three years off during which he found driving a fast car and being relatively wealthy couldn't equal the thrill of beating his "enemies," by which I believe he means his opponents, although I'm not completely sure.

Selling cruises is not very much like being an Olympic athlete. However, I can help my clients "watch the right events," which is to a great extent the equivalent of getting them on the right cruise line and ship in the perfect room for their budget. I can even help them know what to watch for as highlights on their cruise so they don't miss out.

Many people, however, will hunt and peck their way through web sites to find their own trip, and if they devote enough hours to their search or get lucky, they may find the best possible choices for themselves. Even if they don't book the perfect trip, they're likely to have a good time if they make it onboard, because as my buddy Mike frequently says, "I've never been on a bad cruise."

In addition to the shining moments and heart-breaking falls, the Winter Olympics this year has also experienced a few technical difficulties. Perhaps you saw different skaters and coaches complaining about the ice surfaces being uneven and unacceptable, and like me you concluded that the Zambonis had failed to do their jobs.

It turned out that was an incorrect judgement. You see, Zamboni did not win the Olympic sponsorship this year, and a company called Olympia which sells a similar machine is responsible for the poor ice conditions. If everything had gone well, no one would have said, "Wow, look how smoothe that ice is for the skaters. That's going to lead to amazing performances. Three cheers for Zamboni!" However, when things weren't so smoothe, Zamboni was immediately the scapegoat.

Perhaps most people will never know that Zamboni wasn't responsible for the ice problems and that a company named Olympia was. Fewer still will know that Olympic organizers brought over a Zamboni from an ice rink in Calgary to bail them out of their rough situation, so now it should be smoothe skating.

You see, it's only when things go awry that you begin to realize that cutting corners might be a problem. My brother-in-law Mike has lamented the fact that his plumbing business has been undercut on quite a few jobs lately. His company pays a fair wage to their workers and does top quality work, but he's losing bids to people who may not even know what they're doing but will do it cheaper. The lesson will only be learned when the leaks begin and the company you bought from is nowhere in sight.

Sometimes, it pays to go with the REAL Zambonis of the world. "Better service leads to better trips!"

P.S. Did you know you could ice skate to the Caribbean, Mexico and Europe? Call 866-554-5553 and ask me how.

European Cruises This Summer!

If money were no object, where would you take your summer vacation? For many of us, the answer is Europe. The Mediterranean brings fascinating history and exciting fantasies alive with ports in the French Riviera, Italy, Spain, Greece and more. Imagine sipping wine at a sidewalk cafe in Cannes, gazing past white washed buildings at the azur sea in Greece and flamenco dancing in Barcelona, all on the same trip.

Or perhaps your Old World dreams are of delightful villages in Denmark, spectacular Norwegian fjords and regal domes of St. Petersburg. Whether you seek sunshine or a cool respite, it's hard to beat a European cruise. The cruise prices can be surprisingly affordable, often on a par with similar length itineraries in North America for summer months. After factoring in the value of gourmet meals, onboard entertainment, transportation between cities and comfortable accomodations, Euopean land vacations have trouble competing with cruises value wise.

While interior cities require land exploration (or a river cruise), much of history unfolded at the great ports of the world, and cruising delivers enticing panoramas to your floating resort. What's stopping you from experiencing this grandeur for yourself? Summer air fares and complicated travel plans to see everything while "in the area" stymie many people from taking the plunge. Yes, cruise line air arrangements frequently cost a bit more than booking independently, but this year the gap is less. By the time you consider included transfers, cruise line air arrangements are very competitive. If the cruise plus air is within your budget but additional days on land price you out of the picture, then re-consider your plans.

Hotels and meals in major European cities will seem expensive relative to cruising, so rather than trying to do it all on this trip, maybe you should save that city as a port to explore on your next cruise. Just don't talk yourself out of a great experience trying to stretch the cruise beyond your financial comfort zone. Then again, if you have the funds, and for many people time is a more valuable commodity than money, take a tour in conjunction with your cruise, or spend a couple of days in Rome, Barcelona, London or Copenhagen pre-cruise. In short, live your dreams this summer. Call Wes toll free at 866-554-5553 to start planning your cruise in Europe or another fascinting vacation. Better service leads to better trips!

Going Upscale in a Down Market

No one will be shocked to learn that the economy has been struggling lately, and as a result cruise lines have aggressively priced some cruises when necessary to fill them. I love taking advantage of these deals for my clients and myself.

What may surprise you is that like salmon swimming against the stream, many products have edged upscale and demand premium prices. Royal Caribbean's new titan, Oasis of the Seas, takes the concept of floating city to entirely new levels. As usual with the newest and greatest, this ship earns big demand despite prices about 30% higher than other Royal Caribbean cruises. It's the chance to be among the first to experience this New Wonder of the World. When ship construction completed a few weeks early, Royal Caribbean added a few extra cruises in late 2009, which resulted in a little slack, but overall bookings have been very strong. As even her harshest critics agree, it really is a ship that doesn't even need ports to be a travel adventure. For the environmentally conscious, you will be pleased to know that despite all the amazing features on this gargantuan ship, it is more fuel efficient per passenger than most cruises.

When people think really upscale, however, they think smaller ships and more personal service. To this end, Azamara Cruises announced it will take its 694-passenger ships to higher levels of service. It will be renamed Azamara Club Cruises to differentiate the new incarnation. New Azamara Club Cruises CEO Larry Pimentel intends to give upscale cruisers exactly what they want at prices considerably lower than brands like Silversea and Seabourn. They've listened to agents and customers who say they don't want to be nickel-and-dimed once on board, and so they will now include fine wine with lunch and dinner at no additional charge. Premium coffee, sodas and bottled water will also be included.

Free shuttles into town will become standard in all ports, something sorely missing in most European ports in particular. Their newest optional excursions will generate excitement, including a Ferrari driving tour in Italy and "In the Steps of the Beatles" in Liverpool. It looks like they will be taking a cue from Princess's "Evening at Catherine's Palace" with their "Imperial Evening in St. Petersburg." The shore excursions will still be optional add-ons, but they will be geared upscale and, as you may have noticed, to baby boomers whose desires differ from their parents.

More overnights in more destinations, including places like Sorrento and Dubrovnik that have never been overnight ports before will give Azamara passengers the opportunity for greater immersion in the cultures of countries visited. For example, a Grand Egypt Tour will allow you to visit both Cairo and Luxor, or in Japan, take a bullet train from Hiroshima to Osaka.

Gratuities will also be included in the price for Azamara Club Cruises, making check out less stressful. Of course, all these upgrades won't be free, but the increased prices will be more than justified for most people.

Azamara had already set itself apart with excellent dining and exemplary service, including a butler for each room, but now the butlers will be upgraded too. Full English-style butlers will "offer that fine balance of anticipatory, pampering, yet non-intrusive service to guests."

If you can afford a better vacation experience without clipping coupons the rest of the year, why not splurge a little? "Better service leads to better trips!"

8 More Cruise Wonders of the World

Without doubt, the lure of destinations motivates us to leave our comfortable homes, or we would just spend those travel dollars on more cable services and pillows to further feather our nests.

Frequently, a cruise vacation means sunshine on beaches in the Caribbean or Mexican Riviera.

Repeating a similar tropical trip remains attractive time after time, because we can't do everything in a single port day, and we each have favorite activities --- for Julie and me, that's snorkeling --- which we never get enough of.

We also yearn for new wonders to view, but where should we go next?.

Princess Cruises commissioned Condé Nast Traveler to garner a list of 8 Cruise Wonders of the World.

Surprise! Surprise!

They all happen to be easily reached on Princess Cruises!

But a list of 8 is not nearly enough, so I thought I'd add 8 more, also accessible on Princess:

9.  Snorkeling with stingrays and sharks in Bora Bora.

10. Romantic, historic Quebec City on a Canada/New England cruise

11. Easy access snorkeling at Black Rock at Maui's Ka'anapali Beach as part of the most complete beach vacation experience available anywhere.

12. Having fun with your family in the unusual destinations around the world.

13. Ziplining through a tropical rainforest to an amazing beach in Roatan, Honduras.

14. Stepping behind the Iron Curtain to visit St. Petersburg, Russia, a region I never imagined would be open to American tourism in my lifetime.

15. Being able to reach exotic shores from a port close to home.

16. Exploring history where it was made through shore excursions and onboard edutainment.

What would you add to your list of places you'd love to visit?

"Better service leads to better trips!"

Affording Your Dreams

Chania Harbor, Crete.

If you've listened to others tell you about their great vacations and said, "I wish I could afford to do that," then I have good news for you.  You probably can. 

Too often, people focus on the price of their vacation in determining affordability, but the best way to choose your next vacation is to decide where and when you want to go, and then ask me to help you find the best vacation value.  Perusing ads, which you have undoubtedly previously found to be frequently intentionally misleading, will just drive you crazy. 



St. Petersburg, Russia

If there is an outstanding deal for the cruise or tour you want, I will find it, and if you want to take an extended stay at a nice resort, my vendors like Pleasant Holidays, MLT and Apple Vacations will match the price of any legitimate supplier.

I will screen the possibilities for you and then help you choose the one that best fits your personal desires at the best value.  All you need to do is share exactly what you want and what in the past you've found makes you happiest.



Ireland

Finding money for a vacation is easy.  Let's say you go out to a happy hour where drinks and tapas run between $3 and $6.  With a couple of drinks each and a few nibbles, two of you will easily spend $35 to $50.  If you do this once a week, that's about $150 to $200 per month.  Over the course of a year, figure that's $1800 to $2400.  I'm not saying you shouldn't go to happy hour or out to a nice meal and a movie, but they are choices that could just as easily go toward a great cruise.

Tisa's Barfoot Bar, in Pago Pago.

You should never say anything about yourself that you don't want to be true.  Our minds are incredibly complex, and for some reason we attract the circumstances that we think about.  Therefore, instead of thinking you couldn't possibly afford a great vacation, or being jealous of people who actually simply made different choices on how to spend their money, decide what you want and focus on that.

Your amazing mind will find a way to make it happen, as long as you aren't simultaneously feeding it negative thoughts of lack. So, where in the world would you like to go?

I'd love to help you get there. 

Better service leads to better trips!

Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena

For people cruising to the Mexican Riviera from Long Beach, the freeways into downtown Los Angeles can seem daunting, but the big city and its suburbs offer lots to see and do.

On Sunday, Julie and I braved the freeway to visit one of the world class museums in the area. Pasadena's Norton Simon Museum has an outstanding collection of impressionist artists, as well as art from many other time periods.

Now it might have been an intentional bias of my Golden West College teacher, but I still remember many of the paintings and sculptures from her slides of key examples of artist works in my History and Appreciation of Art class.

You're greeted to the beautiful grounds by full sized copies of Rodin's famous "Burghers of Calais" and "Balzac" scupltures. After purchasing a ticket for $10 (my daughter Amy and I went a year ago on a day when it was free for some reason, but that is not ordinarily the case), which is well worth the price, we headed to the left, into the impressionist to modern art section. Later, we headed over to the other side.  We don't spend as much time as many people staring at one picture, but we enjoy reading information on some works that interest us and try to spend enough time to actually see a lot of them.

Whereas it doesn't have nearly the inventory of the Louvre in Paris or the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, it does feature beautiful paitings, and usually something surprising that we missed previously. Julie and I both for some reason sounded on A Courtyard on the rue de Fontinelle, a small picture by the French artist Lépine tucked away in an alcove.

In addition to a truly excellent art exhibit, the outdoor gardens featuring a pond with lily pads might inspire you to become the next Monet. Julie and I split a poorly presented but, once it thoroughly defrosted, rather tasty turkey wrap and salad with a plastic cup ("Sorry, we're out of wine glasses.") of Sauvignon Blanc in the courtyard cafe.

The modest pricing obviously only limits crowds and can't possibly defer the cost of upkeep and security, much less acquisition of such an extensive gallery of treasures. Just as Sam Walton's daughter Alice recently opened the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas, with money made providing bargains to the masses at WalMart, there was a successful businessman of a prior area who made the Norton Simon Museum possible, and while you have no trouble guessing his name, perhaps you didn't know the source of his wealth.

Norton Simon was an industrialist and entrepreneur who built an empire which included Hunt Foods, McCall's Publshing, Canada Dry, Max Factor and Avis Rental Cars. It's a good reminder that captains of capitalism not only provide valuable goods and services to consumers, as well as employment with benefits to thousands of others, to meet our present needs but also support the very preservation of civilation's greatest treasures. Think about that the next time politicians bash them as not paying their fair share.

Even someone unfamiliar with the maze of L.A. freeways should have no trouble negotiating the drive. Get on the 110 Freeway and stay on it until you enter Pasadena and see a sign for the Norton Simon Museum on Orange Grove Boulevard and keep your eyes peeled to turn left on Colorado Boulevard about two miles away. It's right there on the corner. It is also possible to take the Metro Rail or bus from Long Beach to Pasadena.

Better service leads to better trips.

Is it too late to book a summer cruise?

Corfu, Greece

After hibernating through Wave Season when you were bombarded by cruise line advertising and then a cooler than normal spring, you may have been shocked to flip your calendar from May to June recently.

Yes, we have reached summer. 

 

Okay, technically summer starts June 21, and if you have kids or are a teacher, the final school bell of the year may not have tolled, but based on the number of people soaking up the sun at the beach this weekend, we are there.



Onboard treats

Your plan to make every successive summer the best one of your life may appear to have failed due to your procrastination, but take heart.

You won't need to wait until next year.

There are some great deals around for cruising this summer.

From Southern California, your choices are easy: Carnival Inspiration will continue offering 3 night cruises to Ensenada and 4 nighters to Catalina Island and Ensenada. These are fun escapes, and you'll return home feeling revitalized, but if you don't mind boarding a plane, there are more remarkable horizons available.







Alaska

For fun in the sun, there's the Caribbean, and while Carnival dominates with the number of ships and departure ports, Royal Caribbean does more than hold its own with the most jaw-dropping ships for family adventures.  And NCL Pride of America will continue offering 7 night Hawaii cruises where you enjoy a port every day, visiting all four major islands of our 50th state.



Summer in Alaska gives you a cool break from hot cities, and right now, you can not only snag some great last minute deals on cruises but also find selected cruise tours available, with some at incredible rates.

St. Petersburg, Russia

With the largest ship deployment in Europe that we are likely to see for a few years, now is definitely the time to take advantage of great deals for the Mediterranean and even Northern Europe, which rarely has deals this late in the game.  That's right, it's not too late to book a cruise to Scandinavia/Russia or the Norwegian Fjords as well as the Western Mediterranean or Greek Isles.

The trip of a lifetime is yours for the taking!

Better service leads to better trips.