I’m Outta Here

 
If I could put an out of office on my blog, this would be it. I off to Florida to be inspired for my April blog entries. It’s a long overdue family vacation.

This time around we are trying the Holiday Home approach, and friends with children of the same age will be joining our family. Our hopes are that once the children are asleep we can enjoy the living room and patio as adults. Given what’s on the schedule I might be turning in when the kids do….It makes me wonder if you can call it a vacation when you cram in more half a dozen theme park days, an NHL hockey game and various trips down memory lane.

I have vowed to keep my computer time to a minimum while away but I’ll pack a note pad, and I’ll be blogging again in mid April.

In the meantime, if you have a moment, check out the last minute/ hot deal section of our website and you might be travelling too, with deals like this it’s hard not to think about being spontaneous and doing a last minute sun getaway
http://www.maritimetravel.ca/hotdeals.asp Once on the last minute page you can select a gateway and see the specials from the closest airport.

Happy Travels

Melanie

Travel vicariously; follow the Smar’s World Cruise Journey

Have you ever dreamt of embarking on a world tour? I have often thought about going over-land from London to Cape Town, or buying an around the world air ticket and planning my stops as I go. More recently, I have been inspired by customers from Smith’s Cove, Nova Scotia who have embarked on a 117 day cruise from Ft. Lauderdale to Stockholm with stops throughout the Caribbean, through the Panama Canal and South Pacific; South America and Australia; Asia and India; and the treasures of ancient civilizations in the Southern Mediterranean and Europe. (In fact there are more than 37 port of call on this amazing cruise).

These intrepid travelers are logging their journey with daily updates as they globetrot. Karen and Carson Smar, originally from Alberta have retired to Smith Cove, Nova Scotia and for almost half of 2009 they will call the Tahitian Princess home. Here is a link to the ship http://www.princess.com/learn/ships/ta/index.html

For a sense of this exciting itinerary check out next year’s equivalent “&gt”>http://www.princess.com/pb/itineraryDetails.do?voyageCode=K003&tourCode=&date=0110&noOfPax=2&resType=C&definition_name=”>”&gt

Charlene Walker from our Digby branch helped the Smars put this journey together and has agreed to post their almost daily updates to her own webpage. To follow the Smar’s journey of a lifetime, view Charlene Walkers’ personal webpage http://www.maritimetravel.ca/1168/CharleneWalker the entries are in reverse order.
Until Next Time
Melanie

Long Stays and Trans- Atlantic Cruises

I am a long way from retirement, yet I find myself considering certain vacations for that time in my life. When I see great deals that are more conducive to open schedules I often try and ‘sell’ my folks or other retirees, but these are the kind of trips that everyone with a bit of time should consider. From Transatlantic cruises to house exchanges, long-stays in the Mediterranean or a motor home holiday in New Zealand—some holidays take more vacation time than the average Canadian earns in a year, but are perfect for sabbaticals, teacher’s summer vacations or retirees.

As Canadians, we are one of the Counties with the least amount of vacation. CNN Money did an in-depth (and fascinating) review of the number of vacation days by country. Finland came in high with 44 days (vacation and statutory holidays combined), of the 49 countries evaluated, Canada came third from the bottom with an average of 20 days off per year. For the full report check out http://money.cnn.com/2007/06/12/pf/vacation_days_worldwide/
Do you recall the beer campaign that attempted to lobby for an additional statutory holiday? Until that happens, I’ll keep logging my favorite travel idea in hopes they still appeal when time allows.

So what’s top on my list? France, Portugal and Spain’s long stay program. During the European off season (November to March), this region is extremely affordable for Canadians to escape winter. While Europeans and visitors the world over flock to these Mediterranean shores in high-season, the winter is their off season and the accommodation prices are accordingly low. Often for much less than $100 per day you can rent self-catering apartments that would be perfect for any Canadian snowbird willing to spread their wings a little further and the cultural experience would far outweigh the hassles of the longer flight.

Have you ever cruised before? There certainly is a cruise itinerary for every traveller. Did you know that typically the passengers tend to become more mature as the itineraries become longer? If you have a little longer, there certainly are some great deals and interesting itineraries for the more open schedules. Each spring, many of the ships that ran Caribbean itineraries during the winter reposition themselves to the Mediterranean and then they return again in the fall. As these ships move across the Atlantic the cruise lines offer some amazing deals – quite often 10 days or more under $1000. These itineraries are often referred to as Transatlantics (depicting the routing) or repositioning (as they do reposition themselves throughout the world). It can be challenging to find the airfare to match up the departure and arrival (you’ll be buying two one-way tickets). But with a creative travel agent working on this, it won’t be a problem.

RVing holidays also speak to me (maybe it is the ad campaigns they run every summer… Go RVing). Ok, I’ll admit the exotic RVing holidays with the extended timelines have the most appeal, but I may settle for one closer to home. Called motorhome rentals in New Zealand, I can’t think of a better way to explore this relatively small country, given so many of the must see features are the great outdoors. I had a good friend who did one of these while she was on maternity leave just the three of them, she still raves about the motorhome approach to seeing a country with a young family.

Not unlike the cruise lines that reposition their ships, the RV rental companies located in the Western United States offer amazing deals repositioning their vehicles, one-way rates can be under $50 per night for your vehicle with no drop fee. These vehicles make amazing use of space and the special rates apply to some routes that are a must see. RVing up the American coast to Alaska and throughout Newfoundland (that is two different trips) also really appeal. I hope some of these trips are still a possibility in 20 or 30 years when I do retire, what is on your retirement travel list?

Until Next Time
Melanie

Party of 5 Please

Now and again I get asked if we are planning on having more children. To which I often reply in jest “No with two children we still fit in a sedan and can stay in a standard hotel room.” While my passion for travel is strong, it really was not the driving factor of our family planning, but it certainly does make hotel selection much easier. If you’ve tried planning a vacation for a family of more than 4 you know what I am talking about.

Many Canadian and American hotels will gladly provide a cot and allow more than four guests in a room – but you can’t assume the same flexibility in the Caribbean. We learned this when we planned our Bermuda getaway – having fallen in love with a funky resort that set the occupancy at three people per room. In that case, the grandparents benefitted and came along, only assuming a child on paper to appease hotel management.

While you might say that families are typically getting smaller today, with blended families on the rise, we regularly see families of more than four packing their bags to escape winter. While once international travel was reserved for adults, an alarming number of children today are collecting stamps in their passports.

Hands down, the most versatile accommodation arrangements for larger families are Holiday Homes or renting private villas. Holiday Homes in Florida offer amazing value and convenience for larger groups. For about the same price as a hotel room, you can have an entire house, which gives you all the convenience of home, plus your own private pool. When booking Holiday Homes, use a travel agent to protect your booking. With the instability of the American real estate market the backing of a travel company ensures your accommodation when you arrive in Florida. Watch for my April blog, as I report on our experience in a Florida Holiday Home.

While renting homes in Florida has become very popular, homes, condos, villas and apartments are an option at most of your favorite destinations. There is growing interest in what is called ‘self catering’ options the world over, including private villas in the Caribbean and Mexico as well as throughout Europe.

If it is an all-inclusive that you are after for a family of four or more, there are some options. Beaches, who is known as the Ultimate Family Vacation Resort, has several resorts that allow three children per room including the following in Negril, Jamaica: Beaches Boscobel Resort and Golf Club (link), Beaches Sandy Bay Negril, and Beaches Negril Resort and Spa. In Punta Cana, the Colony Bay (link) also allows 3 kids in a room. In the Cancun area, the Oasis Palm Beach, the Grand Oasis Caribbean Resort and the Crown Paradise Club all accommodate 3 kids in the room. Cuban hotels may have the strictest guidelines on number of people per room. So if your planning on a party of five or more, why not work with one of our counsellors who do this all the time.

Until next time,

Melanie