A teenager on board a cruise recently from Northern Germany heading to a Northern European Country on the ship with his parents.  When the family arrived home, his parents soon discovered a Whopping $14,000 outstanding charge from their German cell phone company.  Apparently the child was viewing videos (movies) while on board and was using the ship's wifi that was normally used for the crew only.  Little did they know that they were being charged ridiculous fees to do so.  While the German cell phone company has agreed to reduce their bill to a mere $6,000....I'd say a hard lesson was learned!  When you're on holiday with children (or perhaps even yourself) make sure you know AHEAD OF TIME, how much the wifi costs on board, and if it's worth using it.

​Consider Free Wifi spots offered at different ports (such as internet café hotspots, restaurants, coffee shops, bars, etc).  The locals can direct you to the closest one to the port you're in, and you can get online there, if need be, at no additional cost.

​My thoughts....leave the phone at home or place your cell phone on "Airport Mode" while on vacation.  After all....You're on Vacation! Right?

​What do you think? Comment Below!

How Travel Makes You a Better Person
By Guest Blog Post Writer- Wendy Dessler of www.blogfrog.com
 


Traveling-
is about more than taking the best photos or visiting the top sights. Even if
you start a journey without expecting to change much, you’re sure to come back
a better person. Travel makes you more open to new experiences, people, and
cultures. You might be surprised just how much you learn about yourself when
you’re no longer a part of your daily life back home! Are you ready to dive
deep into how travel makes you a better person? Let’s start exploring the many
ways!
 
Try New Things-
Travel makes you want to try new things. By opening your horizons to new sights, sounds, and ideas, you’ll discover the things you might have been afraid of in the past aren’t that scary. Maybe you’ve always been afraid of trying spicy food or you were afraid of heights. When you’re in a new location, you’re so busy pushing your boundaries all the time that you don’t realize how little fear you have of those things from back home! Suddenly, you discover spicy food is actually your new favorite or you conquer your fear of heights! Whether you’re trying bulk Lindt Lindor truffles or Thai street food, there’s something to be said for trying new things.
 
The thrill of trying new things doesn’t end when the journey is over. You’ll find yourself longing to do more, more, more even after you return home. Like said before, suddenly those things that scared you aren’t a big deal. Maybe you’ll finally ask for that raise you’ve been hoping for in your job or you book another trip somewhere new! After traveling, new things become a welcome way of life!
 
Meet New People-
Meeting new people is a reality of traveling abroad. You’ll learn that people are generally nice, and that the world might not be such a bad place after all. When you’re at home, it’s easy to feel safe in your current bubble of friends. Traveling forces you outside that bubble. You’re left wondering about new people and new cultures.
 
You might find life-long friends, traveling companions, or even romance! You might find that special someone along the way, and there’s no telling what such a passion might lead to! You might hear wedding bells and need an Azazie wedding dress by the time you get back! There’s no telling who you might meet when you let your walls down and truly free yourself to meet new people of all different backgrounds. Plus, who doesn’t love a destination wedding?
 
Confidence-
When you travel, you can’t plan for everything. The best part about travel is learning to overcome these obstacles. You’re going to get lost. You’re going to be frustrated. You’ll learn that this is okay. It’s okay to wander off the beaten path and explore an unexpected area of a new city. You’ll learn that the confidence you were looking for was right there inside you all along! When you get home, this confidence will stay with you. It’ll be there when you go to a new job interview or when you get stranded by your broken car on the side of the road. You’ll know you’re ready for anything!
 
After the Trip-
Any traveler knows that the journey doesn’t end when you get home. You probably won’t even notice the changes immediately. You’ll be so happy to be back with your familiar friends, family, and even your bed. You’ll soon notice a longing to keep exploring more and seeing more. You’ll want to keep trying new things. That’s how travel makes you a better person! It will keep making you a better person because real travelers know the journey never ends, it’s always waiting for the next big thing!

Alright, so what happens if the price of your cruise drops after you booked it and you’ve already placed your deposit down on your vacation?  Typically the cruise lines allow you to get the lower price as long as you haven’t made your final payment yet. However, those special “one day sales” are normally only for new bookings only.

So, what’s a person to do once they’ve booked?  Here’s our 5 quick tips to help you get the best priced cruise!

1. Crack the Code- With some fare codes, you can even get onboard credit, 72 hours before your actual, cruise if the price drops. One way to do so, is to know which code you booked it under. There’s always stipulations and rules/restrictions to be aware of.
   
   
2. Use CruiseFish.net – CruiseFish.net has a neat, automated tool that searches price drops for you, which will save you time from doing it yourself.  If you were to book a cruise 6 months in advance and check every day (just for a few minutes each day) to see if the price went down, you'd spend approximately four hours over those four months until your final payment was due.  Who has time to do all this research? Well, for only 99 cents, CruiseFish will do this for you and send an email to you if there has been a price reduction. Saving four hours of time for less than a buck?  Score!
   
   
3. Use the App Ship Mate – The world’s #1 cruise app now offers a quick, new price drop feature that will monitor and alert you anytime the price of your cruise cabin drops more than 1%.  It’s super easy  to do so and the entire process takes less than 60 seconds.
   
   
4. Check Yourself – Go ahead and spend a little bit of time to check each day to see if the price dropped. You go to the cruise line’s website and pretend to book another cruise.  You can see if your cabin category is selling cheaper. If it is, you can then contact the cruise line or your travel consultant (whoever you booked through) to get that lower price.  Make sure your cookies are deleted each day, to avoid your searches being captured.
   ​
5. Use a Travel Agent – A really good travel agent (such as us) will check for price drops for you and automatically get you the lower price, at no extra charge.  But beware- not all travel agents will do this. Make sure you ask your potential travel consultant if this is included in their services.
   
   

There ya have it, 5 quick tips to help you save money on your next cruise!  Want help booking that next vacation on board a cruise ship, send us your specifics here and we promise to get right to work on saving you money.

BON VOYAGE!