St. Augustine was credited with the following quote: "The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page."

​Where do you want to go? If you're like me, it's everywhere!  I'd love to hit every continent on the globe before I die. It's a dream to see all those locations I dreamed of as a child.  I had wanderlust at a very young age, and used to dream about globetrotting all over one day.

​If you choose to travel, we hope you might consider our business to help you get there.  We can help you carve out that special travel path you've chosen.  Or....travel with us. Our next wonderful tour leaves this fall, for 10 glorious days to discover intimate Germany.  We know this will be the trip of a lifetime, so we hope you'll join us.

​You can have opportunities to see the many wonderful places on our great earth.  You can meet new people, great lands, have exciting unique experiences, and learn other cultures and perhaps discover something about yourself along the way.  Life is short....so savor the moments...and choose to get out there to discover all its wonder and beauty!

A woman in a NY airport was upset recently when the weather delayed her flight (along with her two daughters) to Miami, for their Disney Cruise Vacation.

This mother of 2 had a complete and utter meltdown at LaGuardia's airport, in front of hundreds of fellow passengers.  Her plane was scheduled to depart NYC to Miami, but was delayed on it's way in from Miami, because of the super heavy winds at LaGuardia. The plane was rerouted to Philadelphia!  And man was she absolutely livid.

The moral of this story, expect delays can and will happen. And for goodness sake, for a few extra dollars get travel insurance!  Her poor horrified daughters had to witness their mom throw a temper tantrum, perhaps if she had gotten insurance she would have realized that she would have been refunded for the cruise, if she had missed her Disney Cruise ship.

If you can get there early, do so!  Delays can and will happen, don't let it happen to you and ruin your trip.

So, the woman's flight left just shy of 9 a.m. the next morning, and she made it to Miami in plenty of time to make her ship and board for her vacation.  Wow, what a complete blunder, all for nothing!  Sounds like she could have really used a vacation 6 months ago!!

You can check out the video footage below:

10 Mistakes to Avoid when Booking Your Cruise!
 

1. Make sure everyone who’s going is on the same page with where the cruise plans are headed.  Do check with everyone to make sure you all want to go to the same ports and want to cruise on the same cruise line before you plunk down your deposit (which sometimes is non-refundable).
   
   
2. Don’t book your cruise on price alone. Research the locations, the ship, the itinerary, etc. You don’t want to be on a massive ship if you’d prefer something more quaint.
   
   
3. Don’t over research! Nothing like showing up for your cruise being “Mrs. Know-It-All”. Leave some things to explore and be excited about.
   
   
4. Make sure you’ve booked the right cruise line. Each cruise line has their own flair, so you’ll want to find the best one to meet your friends and families unique needs.
   
   
5. Don’t think your cruise or vacation is All-Inclusive. Should you want drinks, excursions, gambling, tips for staff, photos, etc. these can all add up, and quickly. So what IS included: main room dining, buffet food, some room service meals (check with the cruise line), most activities, entertainment, etc.
   
   
6. Keep track of your final deposit date. You don’t want to waste all that money when this date passes you by. Write it on your calendar, or better yet, pay if off early so you won’t forget!
   
   
7. Make sure you’ve picked the right cabin type. If you’re claustrophobic, you won’t want to be in an inside cabin.If your cabin is under a night club, you won’t get much sleep. Remember: Location-Location-Location!
   
   
8. Don’t forget either airfare or time to travel to the departure port. If you need to fly, get your flights and heavens forbid, try to arrive a day early.This goes for traveling too, it’s best to get there early than arrive late and the ship leaves without you. They won’t wait if you’re in a fender-bender or your flight’s delayed.
   
   
9. Know the liquor policy if you like to bring alcohol on board. The cruise lines are super strict now with the amount of liquor allowed on board (after all this is where they make major profits) so make sure you know what’s allowed and not allowed on board.
   
   
10. Check out all the roll calls online. Some of the best are Cruise Critic and Facebook. Great info and advice can be had on these boards.
    
    

I find the anticipation of my next cruise is almost nearly as fun as being there!  Make some early plans, try to book early and consider a travel consultant, who can quickly and easily book your dream cruise vacation for you!  Escape Destinations Travel can do so at no extra cost to you. While our services are free...our knowledge and experience is priceless!

So call us at 910-379-4033

WHAT IS BETTER ABOUT TRAVELING WITH A GROUP?
With our busy lives and careers, it's hard to have meaningful time with anyone we care about. One of the best parts of booking a group trip is for connecting with your family or friends. There are a million reasons to plan a group trip someplace dreamy!

It's more fun. Isn't that why we go on vacation- to enjoy ourselves? Imagine ... The first day of your group trip, we organize a welcome cocktail party where everyone traveling in your group meets in a designated area for an hour or two to connect, relax, have fun and begin planning all of the fun times they will have!

Can you see yourself having wonderful, exciting days, exploring with your family  and friends and then meeting your entire group for dinner each night to share fun conversation and great activities that were enjoyed that day along with a super delicious meal! There’s almost always little bonuses for booking a group, whether it be a free amenities and upgrades only given to a group. Things like welcome baskets of treats, bottles of wine, or even sometimes a complimentary amenity like spa visit, free golf, etc!  The group leader can even get a reduced or FREE Room for all the effort and work they spent coordinating the vacation with one of our travel experts.

Whether it's your family or a fitness group, we will help you get those hard to reach people interested in the vacation as a group! We'll provide you with all the resources you'll need to motivate, educate, and excite people to enjoy their group vacation together. As a group leader or group organizer, you may need support in deciding on all of the little things. That is where our experts come in. They can help you select the right departure date, itinerary length, and activities which lead directly to staying within the budget you require for you and your group! Your group agent will help you to identify the needs of your group and will be sure to clearly understand your expectations.  We handle all the fine details, so you look like the Rock Star and we're working behind the scenes coordinating dates, collecting the money from each travel participant, etc.

Why vacation with a group? It's a great value. It's time well spent with family and friends. It's an adventure. It's safer in numbers! But- the number one reason we think it's better to travel with a group? It's just more fun!

FRIENDS & FAMILY GROUPS-
Class reunion? Family Reunion? Church Group? Wedding? Club or Hobby?  Any reason to bring friends and family together for vacationing is a good one! Let Escape Destinations Travel be your guide to the greatest memories ever!  With 8 cabins or more, our Group Travel Experts will lead the way.

COMMON INTEREST GROUPS-
Love to Run? Have fun Scrapbooking? Want to vacation with an Elvis impersonator? Karaoke?  You can even bring your Fitness Boot Camp with you on vacation! Let us help you pull everyone together. People you know, people you don't know - let's bring them all together! We can support you and your group that share the same passion! We can arrange your dining times, reserve meeting space, and even orchestrate your special events and meeting space.

CORPORATE & INCENTIVE GROUPS-
Would you like to reward your employees for a job well done? Would you like to celebrate a great fiscal year at work? What about your top sales people? Even a corporate retreat or seminar! Vacationing as a group is an incredible way to provide your best employees with an experience second-to-none without a-la-carte pricing. Pay one bill, one time, for your corporate trip and let Escape Destinations Travel take you there! 

Reunion Groups-
Planning a Reunion? You can strengthen your family ties by spending quality time with loved ones, or reconnect with classmates during a vacationing high school or college reunion.

​Call us today for further details! 910.379.4033

Top 10 Reasons to Use a Real Travel Agent!

1.      You asked that great travel agent to give you several price quotes. She spent many hours of research and preparations on your quotes, but then you booked it yourself, not knowing she could have saved you $$$. Once on the ship, you realized the amenities & on board credits she could have offered you, would have been great!

2.      You booked an entire house in Orlando on Airbnb during one of the busiest travel periods! You didn’t realize, though, Airbnb hosts can cancel reservations for any reason & they did- YIKES. It’s too late to get a hotel room in the city so you ended up at a cheap roadside motel 40 miles out of town. Did someone say bed bugs? YUCK!


3.      You arranged your family’s big summer vacation all by yourself. Now your daughter doesn't want to go. So you asked your niece to go instead & assumed she could use your daughter’s airline ticket. NOPE!  You had to call your sister to pick up her daughter from the airport (who broke down in tears) because she can’t go & now you’re out the full cost of her airfare.


4.      The hotel you booked online said that your room was located in the beautiful "villa" section of the resort, so you thought you were getting an actual "villa" to stay in. Turns out yours was one of 16 rooms in stand-alone “villa” accommodations & what you actually got was a regular guestroom. Total Bummer. Who knew it would be so difficult to navigate all this coordinating?


5.      You assumed the remote city you flew to late at night had Uber service (of course). Why wouldn’t it? So you didn’t arrange for a hotel transfer & any shuttles weren’t running that late at night. You ended up sleeping at the airport because you had to wait for cab service to begin again in the morning. UGH! Not a great way to start your vacation!


6.      You decided 5 clicks of your mouse & your “dream vacation” is booked, quickly & easily.  Voila! However you didn’t read the small print to read that your trip was completely nonrefundable, no matter what. You can’t go, due to a mandatory meeting at work & your vacation plans are now completely down the drain!


7.      Your vaca plans went smoothly & you knew you didn’t need an agent, because you could do this on your own! However a blizzard is headed towards NYC. When “cancelled” signs show up on all the outgoing flights, other passengers get on the phone with their travel agents to re-book them asap. But...you didn’t use a travel agent! You sent an email to the “info@” address listed on the website you booked with, and called their 800 number (which was already closed on a Sunday) but didn’t hear back from them until the following Monday, AFTER you’d already rented a car on your own & driven the 2,000 miles to get back home. What a Nightmare!


8.      You were excited about that gorgeous getaway with a group of your sweet besties. All of them booked through a travel agent but you, did it on your own, because you’re smarter than most people. Shocker- you were the only one to get a bill for your first big meal together. Their travel agent had been able to get them a free breakfast, every day! The website you booked on didn’t provide that. A $49 breakfast buffet? This was turning in to the most expensive trip, ever.


9.      On vaca, all your friends got upgraded suites, again, because of their amazing travel agent. They joyfully received the news when you all checked in together. When you got to the front desk, the attendant silently handed you a keycard to a double guestroom overlooking the parking lot. When you tried to get a suite, he told you your reservation was not available for upgrades, but if you wanted to, you could re-book for $450 a night. All your friends still joke about your tiny, tiny room.


10.  A co-workers spouse is a travel agent & even showed you her "official" travel agent license in her wallet. You trusted her to book your family reunion but didn’t realize she was part of a big scheme until she tried to get you to become a travel agent, too. She promised you lots of free airline & hotel benefits if you joined her network & told you it would only cost $100 to get a license, too. She still hasn’t made your vacation reservations & when you checked her Facebook page, you saw she was off vacationing in Mexico. Should have used a travel agent in a recognized business network. Dang! Maybe....next...time...

Stock up for your Cruise Cheaply!
By Jen Campbell of Escape Destinations Travel

1. Ziplock Bags- Store wet clothes on that last night in the pool, or they’re great to squish your clothes into your carry-on bag.
2. Night Light(s)- If you’re in an interior room, it can be pitch black when all the lights are out. Do you need to make a midnight run to your bathroom, a handy-dandy night-light can be your best friend.
3. Travel Sized Bottles- Don’t forget that your liquids need to be around 3 oz or less (for flying) in before and after your cruise. Those small, travel sized bottles are perfect for carrying these on board (in your carry-on), as well as using while on the ship, while taking up minimal space. At the dollar store- you can stock up easily for cheap!  Your favorite brands may even offer their product in a handy travel size, so get them before you head on board.
4. Pill Container- Not just for meds, you can pack your vitamins in here, your jewelry so it doesn’t get tangled.
5. Rain Poncho- Don’t get caught in the rain for a tropical, quick storm. These are cheap and you can even toss on your way off the ship if you don’t want to take it home with you.
6. Net Bag- This is great for allowing clothes to breathe, especially those wet ones from the pool or hot tub.
7. Magnets- Many of the doors and walls are metal, so you can add notes for fellow cabin mates, hang up your daily ship newsletter, etc.
8. Over the Counter Medicines- Hey... you just may need some pain relievers while on your cruise, these can be gotten cheaply at the dollar store.
9. Blow-Up Rafts- You might want this for the local tropical beach, so you don’t have to “rent” one on the beach. You can even leave it for the “locals” once you’ve used it for the day, if you don’t want to lug it back on board.
10. A Jumbo Cup- This is great for filling up on water and juice on the ship, those small glasses they serve this in onboard are super tiny.

 
Do you have any favorite “must-have” items you cannot leave home without for your cruise?  Please leave us a comment below.