In Memory of The Beautiful Miss Joi McLean

The Beautiful Miss Joi McLean

On November 15, 2014, Joi Ayanna McLean, an avid traveler, important member of ace.adviceTRAVEL and dear, dear friend passed away unexpectedly. I, like many who knew her, am still grieving this loss.   I was fortunate and blessed to know Joi for the last 3 years. We shared the love of travel, one of the many bonds we had.  We traveled all over to Hawaii, Colorado, Mexico, California and the Bahamas and had many more trips planned.

Here is her autobiographical on www.aceadvicetravel.com

“Traveling to me is not just a vacation, but a journey, my way of life. I have always loved to travel. As a kid, I was always the first one to be in the car when my mother said "let's go." The highway was my stomping ground. We as a family traveled a lot to visit my grandmother, aunt, uncle and cousins in and out of state. I also traveled far and wide with my girl scout troop trying exotic foods.  As I got older, traveling became my weekend getaway. My friends and I would travel to Florida, Georgia, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Indiana, Hawaii, California or various other states. 

To travel is to experience life and new adventures. This past year I vacationed in Hawaii and later took a cruise along the coasts of Mexico and California. It was so beautiful and peaceful. Later this year I plan on cruising the Bahamas. In the near future my travel plans include Japan, India, Greece, and Australia. From my past extensive travel experience, I bring to you a wealth of knowledge, a sort of treasure chest of insight and expertise that I want you to explore as well.

As your travel professional, I want to help design you a travel package that allows you to realize your dreams and fulfill your adventure. My passion is to relieve you of the workload of vacation planning and allow you to experience your dream vacation every time. I get satisfaction knowing that with my help you were able to gain from the experience of being in a unique world with so many differences. My name is Joi Mclean, and I am here to be your travel professional to your next destiny of a lifetime.”

Her contribution to ace.adviceTRAVEL was enormous and her continued influence remains, as she left us her “fingerprints” and influence.  She had a passion for helping travelers find the perfect vacation and exhibited that every day in her work and interaction with her clients. While her physical presence at ace.adviceTRAVEL is dearly missed, her spirit endures in both Kate and I. 

Love,

Brian and the aceadvice team

Choosing a Cabin 101

Before delving into a discussion of important aspects to consider when deciding on which cruise cabin to book, the cruise industry uses special cruise lingo in this area that a cruise traveler needs to be familiar with. A stateroom is another word for a cabin, while a berth another word for a bed.

The sides of a cruise ship are referred to Port and Starboard: Port is left side of ship; starboard is right side. A useful tool for remembering the difference is the word “port” has for letters as does the word “left.” The back of the ship of referred to as the aft and the front of the ship is referred to as the forward.  For remembering these, the aft comes after the forward.

Beds – here is a big FYI

Most have at least 2 berths (beds) that are movable to combine into a queen. Norwegian Breakaway has finally answered the need of the single traveler with studios with one berth.  If more than 2 berths important to check to see if they are lower or upper. Lower are sofa beds or rollaway. Royal Caribbean counts 3 & 4 berths as a queen size sofa pull out.

Considerations Prior to Booking                

·        Obstructed vs. partially obstructed vs. not obstructed (such as a lifeboat or other architectural feature of the ship).  Assume not obstructed unless indicated otherwise.   But obstructions can obliterate view full 100%

·        Check the deck plans above and below cabin you consider; extra noisy under pool deck, near anchor, near teen club and above theatre and nightclub

o   Look for obstructions

o   Look for open air cabin (guests above can see into your balcony)

o   Smoking on balcony policies

o   Weather considerations (balcony especially usefully in warm areas but cold/wet not so much)

·        Level of activity on the ship-what do you prefer?

o   Bask in entertainment and on-board activities

o   Stay and enjoy privacy of own room

General Room Types

Interior Staterooms

          At the lowest level tier is the interior or inside stateroom.  As the name suggests, these rooms are located in the inside corridor of the cruise ship and do not have a window.  They typically are the least expensive on the ship and tend to be the smallest in size.  They still contain at least two beds, a full bathroom, closet space, television (TV has limited programming, repeated info about ship, activities and excursions), and a vanity.  Increasingly, cruise lines have installed either a mirror, curtain, and, in the rare case, a wall mounted monitor with a view of the ocean.

While small they are very efficient and comfortable.  Storage space-often hidden under and behind, you will be surprised how much those rooms can hold as you unpack.  But if for some reason you find the bed is too hard request an egg crate from cabin steward or extra pillows.

Sometimes efficient can be too efficient.  “Efficient” = SMALL but all practical needs are met.  We have found that in some cabins the toilette space is limiting and uncomfortable.  Public restrooms are available at all times and are much larger. Same applies for shower in spa area but not open all the time and time limits apply usually. 

Promenade Staterooms

Relatively recently a new category for staterooms has emerged.  Royal Caribbean in their most recent cruise ships have introduced a stateroom on the interior corridor of the ship but has a window overlooking the promenade shopping area located in the middle of the ship, rather than the ocean.  Even though the stateroom is located on the inside of the ship, this type of stateroom is not accurately categorized as an interior because it has a window.  A couple of important considerations unique to this stateroom category is that the promenade staterooms on the lower decks can become a bit noisy from the activity and hustle on the promenade.  Also, these staterooms offer opportunities for cruise travelers who might otherwise feel claustrophobic to enjoy a room with a window view at a lower price point. 

Oceanview

An oceanview stateroom is a stateroom located on the outside sides  of the cruise ship with some sort of window looking out.  The presence of a window to the outside world can open up the stateroom enormously and adds some benefit to those who wish to spend more leisure time in their stateroom.  Note that the window may be a porthole or two or a larger window.  In any event, the window offered in this stateroom does not open, unfortunately. 

Booking these rooms requires some extra due diligence for determining whether an obstruction exists and comparing prices to a balcony.   An obstruction may eliminate any anticipated benefit of having an ocean view window.  Cruise lines are equipping newer ships with fewer and fewer ocean view staterooms, opting instead for balcony staterooms.  As price for the stateroom is a function of supply and demand, with fewer ocean view staterooms, the price of an ocean view may and can at times approach and even surpass that of a balcony. 

               

Balcony

The most popular and accessible splurge for the cruise traveler is the  balcony stateroom.  The balcony stateroom is categorized with a door opening up to a private patio.  A private balcony offers the cruise traveler seemingly infinite space as the stateroom appears to open up to an infinite degree. Usually these staterooms are significantly more expensive than inside or ocean view staterooms, although good deals abound.  In most circumstances the patio door is a sliding door but be aware that some older ships have a traditional door instead.  The typical balcony has a small table and two standard chairs.  The lower level balconies are able to capture more sounds from the ocean than their higher counterparts. 

When booking for a balcony, examine closely for obstructions as they can be significant and if it matters the cruise lines smoking policy on private balconies as more cruise lines are prohibiting smoking.  Additionally, some ships have open air balconies that are uncovered from the above deck, which means less privacy from those above and being more vulnerable to rainy weather.  Finally, consider anticipate weather forecasts for your itinerary as balconies are more useful in warm, dry climate than in wet and cold climate. 

MiniSuites and Master Suites

Similar to balconies but possess more square footage and more amenities than the standard balcony room.  Every suite is different as well as amenities offered vary from a grand piano, to a full dining room table, private Jacuzzis, private butlers, private bars and so on.   Usually shown as unavailable or waitlisted to avoid them being swept up by non-serious agents.

Key Cards

When you register you are given the key to the city!  You are given your individual key card that will do everything for you from the moment you get on the ship to your final diembarkment.  What does it do? It is your most important form of identification, room access key, and method of payment for all services and items offered by the cruise line.  On some older ships, interestingly enough, the key card activated for payment purposes is different from the room access key card.

In most instances you will receive your key card during the check-in process.  You will present your boarding information and identification, usually a passport or state issued driver’s license with birth certificate.  You will have your picture taken (so smile), which shows on the staffs screen every time you use your card, used to track when you leave and re-enter the ship at port.  And last but not least,  you will be required to register a credit card, debit card or put money on the card for the means of how you will pay for all the lovely things your play purchase or do during your cruising adventure.  

If you are not on a freestyle dining cruise where you can eat when and wherever you want, you will have stricter dining parameters.  When you are on the ship and you change your dining room and/or time assignment for dinner, the Maitre’D will provide you with a supplemental dining card for you to use when dining, while your original key card will be what you use to access your stateroom and make purchases on the cruise ship.

Each card will have the name of the ship and cruise line, date of your cruise, dining room and time assignment, customer identification number assigned from the cruise line, and your emergency assembly assignment. Your stateroom number is not shown on your key card in case it is misplaced or stolen. Typically your key card will also show your frequency cruise program status as either a first time cruiser with the cruise line or falling into any of their tiers if you have cruised before with this particular cruise line. Different cruise lines have different names for it: Carnival-Sail & Sign Card, Disney-Your Key to the World Card, Royal Caribbean-Seapass, and Norwegian-Arc Card.  Whichever its name, make sure you carry your key card everywhere you go while on the cruise, as it acts as essentially your key and wallet while on the ship. On some ships, Disney Cruise line in particular, you may have to use your key card to turn on lights in your stateroom.

If you misplace it, immediately notify your room steward or the guest services desk so a replacement can be reissued to you.  For those who lose their key card, most ships have the capability of issuing you a replacement;  just realize you may have to pay a processing fee.  Also keep it away from contact with your cell phone and any other items that have a tendency to de-magnetize the metallic strip on the back of your card.

When purchasing an item or services on the cruise, you simply provide your card to the cruise line employee

who swipes it as is done when you use a credit or debit card at home.  Each transaction you make is tracked in real time.  All purchases on the cruise ship, including shore excursions offered by the cruise line, are payable by using the key card.  The vast majority of purchases made off the cruise ship, except specially designated facilities located on a private port operated by the cruise line (mostly in the Caribbean), are made with your cash, debit or credit card.  That all said, t is highly recommended that you check the activity and balance on a daily basis.  You can check your activity and balance by using any of the cruise ship kiosks or with the guest services desk.  Checking daily allows you to confirm purchases and keep track of your spending.  A friend of mine found a room service gratuity on the activity statement that she was able to recognize right away, dispute and have it removed.  Also, some cruise travelers are surprised at the end of the cruise how each transaction really adds up, so that checking regularly can help you avoid surprises. 

On the first day of cruising, your cruise statement balance may start at zero or may be positive or negative. You may have received an onboard credit from the cruise line, which is sometimes given based on a cruise line’s awards program or as part of an offering at the time you booked the cruise. Other times, you may have pre-purchased a specialty dining reservation, pre-ordered stateroom gifts or made a spa reservation, all of which will be reflected on your transaction summery.  Additionally, most cruise lines have an automatic gratuities program that each passenger, even children, contribute typically $12.00 per day, which is allocated among cruise ship employees.  This charge can be modified or eliminated upon your request. At any rate, unless you change the amount or cancel automatic gratuities, you will have been charged without ever having used the key card for any transaction on the ship.

At the end of your cruise on the last day, the cruise line usually slips your final cruise statement under your stateroom door.  If you have a positive or negative balance and you have registered your credit or debit card, no further action on your part is required as the cruise line will charge the entire amount at the end of your sailing.  If, however, you are paying with cash and you owe, you must provide payment to the guest services desk or be denied being let off the ship. Literally, you will be stopped at the point when they are scanning your card to allow you to disembark and be told to pay the amount and come back. If you are paying by cash and you have a positive balance, you are advised to visit the guest services desk prior to final disembarkation to receive the money owed to you. Otherwise, the cruise line will issue you a refund check four to six weeks after your cruise or if the amount is less than $5.00, most cruise lines will donate that amount to a charity of its choice unless you retrieve your refund before leaving the ship.

Each key card makes a nice memento that you can keep with you after your cruise.  Cruise lines change the design from time to time as well.  The future of key cards at least for new ships may be in doubt as they may

become replaced by wristbands that serve the same purpose. Royal Caribbean’s Quantum of the Seas class of ships is introducing a wristband that passengers use for stateroom access, purchasing items, and exit and entry onto the ship.  At least for the moment, however, with so many current ships utilizing key cards, the immediate future is relatively safe.

Benefits to Reading Our Blog

After about 6 hours of cruising northward to Alaska, an excited passenger approached a member of the staff and asked, “Wow, how far above sea level do you think we are now?”

Welcome to ace.adviceTRAVEL’s Blog.  Why should you read this if you are a traveler or traveler wannabe?  Our staff has been traveling for years, and we will make sure that YOU are never caught asking a question like that.  There are lots of things to know that are hard to find out, and there are lots of things to know that are very straight forward, but you just need to be reminded of the facts.  Our goal is that all of our clients will feel they got the best deal in the market, are the most prepared to travel, are able to enjoy the unique attractions at each port – because you know a “local”, and you are never surprised at checkout by fees you didn't know about.

Wanting to go on the cruise of a lifetime is the first step.  Let us help you with all the rest including destination, local events, best boats for your purpose, best room for your group, best itinerary for your desire for either adventure or relaxation, best way to get the most bang for your buck.

Follow us weekly as we take you through the process.