Eight secret tips for cruise travel.

June 18, 2009 · Filed Under Travel and Leisure · Comments Off 

There are some things you be aware of when undertaking your next cruise holidays travel vacation.

Pack a bag with you onboard.

When going on a cruise holidays you need to pack a bag with your bare essentials. It may take sometime before your luggage gets to you. It is not like air travel where you bag is waiting for you at the other end. Sometimes it will be after dinner before your luggage gets to your cabin.

Look around your surroundings.

Entering your cruise ship is like entering a new home. Only here, it is huge with many different rooms for various activities. In order to really get to enjoy your stay and holiday, you have to explore your new surroundings.

Avoid the Elevators.

During meal times and some other busy times, you need to keep away from the elevators. There will a mass of people waiting to use the elevators at these times. This could be an annoying time for you. So in order not to spoil your mood, avoid the elevators at these times.

Be understanding of the needs of others at night.

Always remember that you are not alone. There are other people also enjoying the cruise like you. So be considerate of other people feelings especially at night. Don’t go having a loud party, shouting or slamming doors. Generally, don’t be noisy.

Don’t display your jewelry.

In a cruise ship where there are hundreds of other people, there is the need to be careful. So wearing of expensive jewelry should be avoided. You can always wear your expensive jewelry at home whenever you want. You might become a target on the ship by wearing expensive jewelry.

Be charitable.

Always be generous to the people who look after you while on your cruise. You are a long way from home and they are there to help you enjoy your cruise. Being generous won’t hurt you and it is likely to get you even better service. Most staff onboard cruise ships are low paid and tips make their lives better. Always look after those who look after you.

Shopping on board the cruise ship.

One can benefit while cruising by taking advantage of duty free shopping. Means you can buy some items for less than they would normally cost in your country. However, try to be aware of what is allowed into the country and what is restricted. Things like foods are always on restricted lists because of the spread of diseases from one country to another.

Plan Ahead.

Before you book your cruise make sure you research the ship and the company’s reputation, and plan what you want to do on board and your excursions ashore.

Cheap airline tickets for your holidays.

May 13, 2009 · Filed Under Travel and Leisure · Comments Off 

If you are considering traveling during your next holiday then get online and do your research to find cheap airline tickets.

Go on the web and search for cheap airline tickets. There are many travel websites that specialize in providing information on cheap airline tickets. Cheap out your local newspapers for ads on low cost travel. Be on the lookout for the occasional price wars among airline carriers.

If you are used to traveling always for one thing or the other, you could be eligible for free tickets with the frequent flier miles program of the airline you use. But you must have gathered enough points. Ask the airline for their program to find out if you are qualified.

Remember, if you are a senior citizen or a student most airline will offer you a discount. When checking online or calling the travel agent or airline booking agent check their prices for seniors and students.

There is one way you also get cheap airline tickets. Travel when passenger traffic for the airline industry is low. From experience this has been seen to be on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays. Sundays and Fridays are days when people are returning to work or going off for the weekend respectively. So there is a lot of passenger traffic on these days. Faced with the prospect of empty seats on the days when there is little traffic airlines are like to offer discounts.

There are several websites on the internet that specialize in highlighting discount prices on airline tickets for different airlines. So there is the need to explore these websites and compare cheap ticket prices before booking your flight.

One other place to search out cheap travel tickets is with consolidators. They usually make volume purchases of airline tickets at discount prices and sell again at wholesale prices. This arrangement helps the airlines to dispose of tickets to fill empty seats on the flights.

The time of the day you decide to travel could earn you a cheap airline ticket. Traveling early in the morning and at night could get you discounts. These are off peak periods for the airlines.

The airline agent can point you to discounts you may not be aware of. So ask them for discounts before booking. There are always very good discounts offered by airlines and if you don’t ask you may not get them/.

Remember, planning ahead will save you time, money and make traveling a pleasure rather than a stressful experience. If you make plane reservations 30 days before traveling you are more likely to get a better discount than if you book only 7 days ahead. And, if you want to use your frequent flier miles then trying to use them during the peak holiday time may be disappointing as they may be valid during the off peak season only.

Something else to consider is – stay loyal to the one airline throughout the trip. Many airlines offer discounts based on your travel plans and connecting and return flights.