Boarding Rituals

Just thinking about boarding the ship … makes me wish it was happening today.  I remember the first time we boarded a cruise ship … we were amazed at the beauty of the Atrium, and, as we wondered the ship, we found so many beautiful areas that brought us great pleasure over the coming 7 days and nights.  But, we both have a ritual that’s lasted since that first cruise, and it’s our signal to relax into vacation mode.  more…

Cruising Family-Style

When Roger and I returned from our first cruise, we wanted our kids to experience cruising as well, because we just knew they’d love it, too.  Our family is special, with two kids who are eleven years apart in age.  When we left for this family cruise, our son was 19, and our daughter was 8.  Our son was too old for the kids’ programs, but not old enough to enjoy some of the adult activities.  I found I was constantly trying to make sure Eric was having a good time, while trying to engage Rachel more in our family cruise activities.  more…

Cruising Memory Triggers

We’ve all got them.  Certain songs, scents, situations, and anything else that immediately makes our minds travel to another place and time.  Sometimes these are nice memories, and some are sad memories.  Every time I hear the song, “How Great Thou Art”, my eyes fill with tears as I travel back in time to my Grandpa Pruitt’s funeral.  This was one of his favorite songs, so it was the perfect song for his funeral.  That song reminds me of every happy memory I ever spent with my granddad, but it also always reminds me the sadness I felt when he died. 

On a lighter note, there are lots of triggers that make me think of cruising.  Dining al fresco, enjoying a glass of wine on the patio, a frozen “foo foo” drink (as Roger calls them) especially if they’re served with a paper umbrella … all these things makes me long for a cruise.  Lots of songs give me cruising fever.  Any Jimmy Buffett song, the songs “Hot Hot Hot” and “Red, Red Wine”, and any song sang with a Caribbean accent makes my hips sway and my thoughts drift into island mode.  There’s even a steel drummer, Darril Harp Edwards, (photo to the right) performing on various Little Rock restaurant patios recently who I love to close my eyes and listen.  And, there’s more … but let’s stop for now for some feedback from my blog friends.  What triggers you into island mode?  Let me know …

New Port Every Cruise

When we walked in our travel agent’s office so many years ago now to book our first cruise, we told her we wanted to go somewhere warm, and we told her our budget.  She picked our first cruise itinerary without any input from us.  Our first cruise was the Carnival Sensation, sailing 7 nights from Tampa to the western Caribbean ports of Cozumel, Grand Cayman, and Nassau.  Here’s one of formal portraits from that first cruise to just give those of you who know us an idea of how long ago that was and how much we’ve changed.  more…

All about Pre-Existing

Volcano causing flight delays and cancellations?  My girlfriend just started chemo?  By the time, you’re asking these questions, these are all pre-existing “known” situations.  All travel protection plans cover pre-existing situations, but lots of specific dates and details attached to that coverage affect whether each situation is actually covered. 

The travel protection I offer waives pre-existing situations for anyone purchasing the policy prior to final payment.  Other policies may require purchase within 14-, 21-, or another number days from the date you made your initial deposit on the trip.  You must cover all the days you will be traveling, and you must include all your non-refundable costs in the trip for pre-existing situations to be covered.  That’s the basic rules, and there may be even more, so read your policy. 

Most folks decide early on to buy the travel protection at final payment, because that’s when cancellation penalties begin, and there’s a real risk of losing some money.  The  problem is, by that point, one of those “known” situations I described earlier may have popped up.  Here’s how this works: 

• Anyone who purchased travel protection for a trip to Europe before the volcano erupted will be covered for any expense incurred due to flight delays or cancellations due to the volcano.  If you planned to purchase travel protection at final payment after the volcano has erupted, the travel protection will exclude that “known” situation. 
• My girlfriend booked a cruise with us in 2009, traveling in 2010.  She paid her deposit, and, a couple of months later, she paid her cruise in full, including her travel protection.  A month or so later, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and started chemotherapy.  She’s still planning to cruise, and her doctors are encouraging her to do so.  I love my friend, and I’m especially happy that she had purchased her travel protection before the diagnosis and treatment, because now she can continue with her treatments, knowing her situation is covered by the travel protection if she has to cancel. 

Most travel protection provides coverage for serious medical conditions for yourself, those traveling with you, and your immediate family, whether they’re traveling with you or not.  But, all these people must be medically stable at the time you purchase the travel protection in order for their situation to be covered by the policy.  Medically stable means the person hasn’t already taken a turn for the worse, and it can’t be foreseen, known, or expected that the person could take a turn for the worse. 

• Do not purchase travel protection while you’re currently being treated, but can’t travel right now, even if your doctor says you can travel by the travel date.  Travel protection will not cover this situation.
• Do not purchase travel protection once someone close to you is seriously ill, because it won’t cover that situation. 

We never know when one of these situations will affect our travel, so the safest time to purchase travel protection is when you first book your trip.  As you purchase other non-refundable components, like airfare and hotels for your trip, amend your travel protection to include those components.  Doing so, your travel protection policy will cover you for any sad surprises that pop up in the future.