​For several years hubby and I have sailed on a cruise ship for our New Year’s Eve celebration. The feeling of celebrating with so many people at one time is really fun! To spend the evening celebrating by dressing to the nines or in shorts and flip flops on a pool deck is a lot of fun. Why should you sail on a cruise for New Year’s Eve and why we love it. 

There is no doubt that cruising is the best value for a family vacation, romantic getaway or girls trip which is why cruising statistics are on the rise for 2019! However, protecting your trip and yourself is important when it comes to vacations. The best way to have the peace of mind is travel insurance, or we like to call it travel protection. There is a lot of different travel insurance out there so making sure you know what you are purchasing; what is covered and what is not. And remember all travel insurance is not created equal so do your research or use a trusted travel advisor like us to help navigate you through the process, but no matter what type of travel protection you choose make sure you do cover yourself before you go. We have a repost of a great blog post by Alliance Travel Insurance we just felt we must share. 

​One of the most traveled to Caribbean destinations from Florida is the Bahamas. With the warm tropical breezes and brightly painted buildings it is a sun lovers paradise and almost a hop, skip and a jump from Florida by air or by sea. Plus, if you want perfect weather nearly every day January and February are definitely the times to visit to this tropical Island. A pressing question is do I need a passport when traveling to the Bahamas?

​Cruising is a great way to see the world and is the best value for your money because the fares include nearly everything you will need for your vacation: food, accommodations, entertainment plus transportation between travel destinations or ports are all included in the price of your cruise. 
 
If you have cruised before you have learned tips and tricks along the way to help make your cruise go smoothly, however, if you are new to cruising, we have a few travel hacks to help you on your cruise vacation. 

​So, you have booked your cruise and now you need to know if you should stay in a hotel the night before your cruise. Well that really depends. As a rule of thumb, we suggest if you have to fly into your cruise port or you are driving more than 2-3 hours to board the ship, we highly suggest you stay in a hotel near the port. Why? Well life happens! Emergencies can come up with your car (we had a client have a blow out on a tire and had to wait 3 hours for help!), traffic can stop you from arriving on time, or your flight may get delayed; and guess what…..the boat does not wait! So, if you are more than 2-3 hours away from the cruise port or you are flying to your port, we suggest you stay the night in a local hotel near the cruise port before you set sail. You might even want to stay a few days before or stay a few days after your cruise if you have never visited the area your port is in and have 2 vacations in one! We did this in New York when we cruised from NYC to Canada aboard the Disney Magic. It allowed us to see New York for a few days before we set sail being, we had never traveled to NYC before. Whether you stay a few days, or one night before your cruise begins, we have just the place for you to spend the night. As avid cruisers we know where to have you stay and we work closely with you when you allow us to help plan your fabulous vacation, however, today we want to give you some hotels to rest up in before sailing away out of the cruise capital of the world; PortMiami in Miami, Florida. 

Carnival Cruise Line released a statement of changes coming across the fleet. According to this statement from Carnival  these changes are being done in order to implement best practices and new technologies to reduce their environmental footprint. Carnival says they have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in new technology, equipment and training to propel their environmental stewardship forward. 

​Have you sailed on a Disney Cruise? One of our favorite things about sailing aboard a Disney ship is you and your family get to experience all the magic of a Disney park - but without the crowds or lines! Also a little fun fact about Disney Cruise line is it has up to four captains aboard their vessels; the ship’s captain, Captain Mickey, Captain Hook and Captain Jack Sparrow. But move over boys and make room for a new captain – Captain Minnie Mouse!

Cruise vacations are so much fun and they are the best value for your vacation dollars for sure. People take cruises to mark milestones in their lives like birthdays and anniversaries. Some people even get married aboard a cruise ship! But did you know you can send a birthday, anniversary or even a Bon Voyage gift to someone who is sailing on a cruise ship. Cruise lines make it really simple to purchase gift cards, onboard credit, spa certificates, wine, food and even decorating inside their cabin for you! All of this is done before they sail and when they arrive in their room they will have the gift and a nice card wishing them well and letting them know who has sent the thoughtful gift. It is simple to purchase a Bon Voyage gift for someone sailing on a cruise. Make sure and order at least a week before they are to set sail by visiting  the cruise line website and purchase the gift you want, fill out the card as you want it to read and send it to the cruise line to have it waiting for the cruisers when they board! 

Do you believe in Magic....Disney Magic that is? Well, we do and we also love the Disney Magic Cruise Ship too. We set sail on the Disney Magic last fall for Canada and had a blast; funny thing was we had no children and no grandchildren on this cruise with us - just hubby and I. Know matter who you sail with Disney know hows to make it special so let’s sail on Disney’s Magic Cruise Ship....Well at least virtually today.

Going on a vacation with your family is a wonderful and exciting adventure, but first you have to pack. Packing for a family vacation is something that is usually dreaded, mostly because you have to pack for so many people and this means more mess while packing, more squeezing items in and more luggage. But it doesn't have to be. We are going to give you some family vacation packing tips so you can ensure a hassle-free vacation with your loved ones. ​