Hi! as you well know I have been reading some holiday testimonials and reviews in regards to cruises and hotel experiences. I have found interesting information about what people think in regards to their travelling experience. Some people might have a reason to complain but other people, I am not so sure about. When we make our cruise/hotel reservations do we ask enough questions to the service representatives in order to feel secure that the holiday which we have in mind will be enjoyed at the hote/cruisel we are thinking of going? Are there questions we are missing asking and then get disappointed upon arrival at the cruise/hotel booked? If we read a testimonial where things dont sound too good why dont we go back to the reservation reps. for clarification? We must remember that there are many cruises and hotels and that they all cater to different people, that is the eason why there is a vast choice of the same. If we are not having a good experience at the cruise or hotel we arrived to why dont we look for the customer service department in order for them to assist us?  Going back home with a bitter taste in our mouths becuase our holiday was not “nice” is really pointless, we need to talk at the time things are happening. It seems to me a bit unfair to go back home without voicing our concerns and just simply say ” I will never go back to that place” I also believe that when reading reviews and testimonials one needs to be objective and try to separate emotion from the facts. What do you think?

I have been reading some cruise reviews and I must tell you that good reviews might also cause an issue. We are talking about Royal Caribbean, their Cruise Monarch of the Seas. I need to share with you this review in order to help you make your mind up whether reading reviews is a good thing or not. The review goes as follows:

Hi everyone! Here we are again, as happy as Larry as our trip is around the corner. Dominican Republic is waiting for us! My wife is so excited, it is awesome to see her that way. Our friends are ready and also very happy to be able to join us in this great celebration; my wifes 50th birthday. Oh well, I have traveled for many years now and to be honest I was never the kind of person who would look for travelling reviews, while looking into cruises I came across a review section which I found very interesting and started reading it. I also realized that Royal Holiday has a testimonial section in their web page where you can read about peoples experiences in the different hotels they have traveled to. I need to make clear that I was not looking for any reviews, just came across them and decided to read them. I am not sure what to think about them overall but the difference between one review and another is like black and white, sorry I meant to tell you that I was reading cruise reviews. There are some ´cruise reviews that mention a certain issue constantly, maybe that could be a true issue but there are others where you find appraisals and then right below a terrible complaint. I was wondering if people make their review out of their own experience, I certainly think so. So, is there such thing as bad luck? Probably but how a person enjoy an experience so much and then another person can end up having the same experience turned into a disaster? This is really interesting. I wonder how many people make their minds up by reading holiday reviews?

Are you adventurous or are you the type who likes to know what to “expect” from a chosen place when you are to go on holiday? How much does your decision changes after you read those testimonials? Do you get back to the hotel inquiring about those testimonials and make sure you wont go through an awful experience? If the testimonial you read expresses that people had a hard time sleeping at the hotel/cruise would you call the hotel/cruise line to make sure you get a quiet stateroom/room? I have asked many of my travelling friends for their opinion about this issue and it turns out to be that 5 of 10 friends of mine dont read any reviews or testimonials. The other 5 used to read them and it became a nightmare to them. They got really paranoid to the point that they stopped travelling. or they would only travel if the hotel/cruise was very well recommended by people they trusted. What a headache! So, they were not able to make their minds up anymore but wait for someone to tell them where they could travel?? Not a nice feeling eh? There is a testimonial I just read in regards to the Carnival Cruise Line which I find interesting; the ship in question is the Carnival Elation in the Pros section it states: “All was good” and in the Cons section it reads the following: “we had a noise problem throughout the night due to partying neighbors. The age group was not suitable for us. This would be a consideration for us in future cruises”. I find it interesting becuase it is a testimonial which shows that these people probably chose the wrong cruise as there are many youngsters on board. They didnt say: “we wont ever cruise again” or “Carnival is terrible” What would you have thought if you had read that testimonial?

Hi everyone! Here I am again with more exciting news. It is really exciting to know that the cruise lines are really working at being on the top of the best cruise list. As I shared with you before, the Oasis of the Seas will have many amenities on board that you will hardly believe what you are about to enjoy. Now, Disney Cruise Line is launching a new cruise to start operations on January 26th 2011. The name of this ship will be The Disney Dream and it will have a capacity of 4,000 people. From those 4,000 I guess it will be mainly children right? I am glad they are launching a bigger ship tat way we will all have more pissibilities to enjoy a sail as I have heard that this cruises are fully booked well in advance. This ship will have virtual portholes with a live view of the ocean for windowless staterooms. This virtual portholes hang over beds in inside staterooms and stream live footage from video cameras mounted around the ship, with 24 hrs views of the water and sky punctuated occasionally by the appearance of a Disney character on the screen, passengers will have the option to turn the video off. This is a really cool feature for people who can only afford an inside stateroom, and maybe it will attract others too. I would love to enjoy an inside stateroom on board of the Disney Dream. Another innovative feature will be a water coaster called Aquaduck which will send a 2 person raft on a flume ride around the perimeter of the ships top deck propelled up and down by water blasters. Can you imagine this? It sounds so much fun! Another feature will be the animated pictures down on hallways which come to life as people walk by. Incredible!!! Restaurants environments will change from day to night and kids will be able to have conversations with Disney characters on a large plasma screen. I am sure this will be a great success.

We are all very excited as our trip is around the corner. As you know, I love doing research and have been at it again. Doing research makes me feel closer to the place in question and also my head gets full of ideas on things we will be able to enjoy and therefore I get more excited. It is my wifes 50th birthday and this trip means a lot to her. She cant stop talking about it and I think her suitecase has been ready since we planned the trip which is a month ago! I love to see her happy and excited, I am sure this trip will be memorable. Our friends are joining us too, we met this couple in our trip to Cabos, we went back home afterwards and they went to Acapulco Mexico for the rest of their holidays. They had the greatest time, they enjoyed the sun, the hotel and the parties. They are a joyfull couple, they like good food, jokes, dancing, chatting, they are quite adventurous so I am sure we will enjoy their company very much. I need to buy a swimming suit and some nice pants, I also need a nice pair of shoes for going out, the Dominican Republic has an incredible climate, nice and warm so I need to be adoc. I am so glad that our reservations worked out well, Royal Holiday is an awesome vacation club that has helped us a lot when it comes to travelling. We are very happy with that investment! We will be departing on Friday and the countdown has started.

Here we are, woke up early this morning and we are getting ready for the big Halloween night. My wife has done an awesome job in decorating the front porch. It really looks spooky. She bought this black lights and decorated our garage like a horror house. It is really neat, she loves Halloween and the whole house has decorations. She is also getting the candy ready for when the kids come by. My sons are getting ready as they have a Halloween party so they are putting all their make up and I am getting ready to drive them to their friends house. I am wearing a Frankenstein costume, my wife is dressed up as a witch. She also has this CD player with horror music, it is really fantastic and she will be playing that in the horror house. In that horror house a couple of her friends will be standing up with masks on welcoming all the kids and giving them candy. I hope no one gets really scared. All the houses in the neighborhood have Halloween decorations, it is really cool I must say. I think lots of countries celebrate Halloween but I dont know if it is called that way too. My in laws are coming down for the weekend and they will also be wearing masks. It is really great fun, the bars will be full of people and lots of contests will take place. We used to go bar hopping in the past but now that the kids are here we try to keep it as a family celebration. Ok, I need to keep going, have a great Halloween, a happy one!

After days of enjoybale research I have come to the conclusion that Carnival Cruise Line is the one we will be booking for our New Years party celebration. We will be sailing in Carnivals newest ship called Carnival Dream. We are to enjoy the itinerary called 7 Night Exotic Western Caribbean departing from Port Carnaveral, heading to Cozumel Mexico, Roatan Island, Bay Islands Honduras, Belize City, Costa Maya Mexico and returning to Port Carnaveral Florida. I think it is a very good itinerary for starting our cruise experience. This ship set sail in September 2009 so it is pretty new. This cruise has a capacity of 3,646 passengers and we will be able to enjoy, bars, restaurants, a casino, a 2 floor Spa, sport and fitness facilities, waves pool, sunset pool, childrens splash park, 6 different water slides, mini golf, a jogging track, fun shops, an art gallery, a seaside theater, broadway musicals, comedians, dance shows, dance classes, karaoke, live bands, bingo, trivia games, movies, laser light shows, a dance club and much more. It is so exciting that I wish time could fly away. I must be patient as there are many things we are to enjoy before New Year arrives. I havent told my family about this cruise, They know I am looking into it but I havent told them that I made my mind up and that I am making reservations already. Royal Holiday is being really helpful and I feel more secure. When reserving a cruise for the first time you might need help, I certainly do and RH has gone out of their way to assist me. I have a great feeling about this holiday, I cant wait to see my familys face when I show them the pictures and the tickets. I am sure they will love it. I might surprise them during Christmas Eve but I dont know if I will be able to keep the secret that long. Ok, I am done with my cruise research and I hope you found it interesting too.

We have made our minds up and will be heading for Breckenridge for the Christmas Holidays. We are terribly excited and look forward to this trip very much. My wife is making reservations at the moment I write and my father in law is looking for air tickets and me? paying for it all! The kids are already making plans and are very happy. My mother in law is excited and will go to the doctor in order to see if she will be bale to join us skiing. I can relax now and just concentrate on organizing the New Years cruise. I still want to look at another cruise line but I doubt that I will find something better than Carnival, at least this time. I need activities for all the family and a relaxed atmosphere for the kids so it seems that Carnival has it all. Later on in life I would love to try all the other cruise lines, perhaps when the boy go off to college, in the mean time I want to enjoy them as much as possible. I know that as they grow older they wont want to spend the holiday time with us but as I keep repeating to them once you are off to college then it will be your mothers and my time, no more mom and dad hehehe The excitment starts, Halloween is just day away and that is also a big celebration here in the US. The kids are getting their customes ready and so am I.

Ok, I was astonished at cruising as a holiday option but I just read an article about taking a holiday in space. I am about to faint, that means that my children will be able to go to space a nd take a 3 night holiday all the way up there. I wonder if Royal Holiday will be able to get us a room up there! I bet they will! OMG, I have heard it all now. I cant even imagine going on holiday to space. What will the amenities and activities be? Maybe you just stare at space for 3 days thinking, am I really here or am I watching a movie? They say that lots of people have already made reservations and that the first trip could take place in the year 2012. The amount you have to pay to go to space is out of this world but hey, people already made reservations so as anything else, prices will go down once there is competition and hopefull my children will be able to enjoy space. I cant say I will be courageous enough to go, I cnat even think about it, to me it is kind of scary. This article says that during your stay you will be able to see the sun rise 15 times a day and travel around the world every 80 minutes. Passengers will wear a Velcro suit so they can crawl around their pod rooms by sticking themselves to the walls like Spiderman. The atronomic price will include an 8 week training course on a tropical island. What can I say, this is like too much for me, I am not sure I will join the space holidaymakers, I am sure it might be an awesome experience but I will leave it to my children to experience, I can enjoy the pictures taken though!