Last Minute Travel Plans

At the end of 2011 I was thinking that maybe I should go to Disney World with my annual pass in January or February before I have surgery in March, enjoy the nicer weather and have a quick fun break.

Then last week I got an email from Amex, they were offering a $100 Amex Gift Card if you purchased a round trip ticket with Delta.  So I started looking for flights to Orlando and found flights for a long weekend for $205, and with the $100 Gift Card it would only really cost me $105.  I was sold, and asked my sister if she wanted to come.  She said yes, and she's bringing my two nephews too!

Of course no good plan goes unpunished.  With the 4 of us and the overnight change in the price of the flight we're actually going to fly Jetblue (my preferred airline when flying domestically) and go for 4 days instead of 3.  We'll be staying at the Polynesian, one of the resorts I've wanted to stay at (and will cost me a lot less then if I had to pay for it myself).

So here's to last minute trips!

Oh, and I have a friend going down for the leap day festivities and since I still have that Amex offer who knows what else could happen.

No good plan goes unpunished

I planned to go to Ireland in May, I was going to visit with one of my tourmates from my Egypt tour.  After talking about it, my Mom decided she wanted to come with me too.  Not so bad, except that she now needs a hip replacement and is having it done 2 weeks before I was planning on going.  I think you can see the problem here.

So I was on to plan B, picking a plan B.  Hmmmm, Paris in Spring sounds lovely.  I could go to Disneyland Paris, the D-Day sites.  What could be better???  Somewhere with cheaper airfare.  I know airfare is up these days and I was bordering on the Summer season, but $1500 seems obscene.

So what the heck could Plan C be???  A lot of the other places I've been thinking about are more like 2 full weeks plus types of trips.  Then I had a thought, what is the Norwegian Epic doing?  With those solo cabin rooms it could be perfect.  It might just be perfect.  The week I was looking at the ship is sailing out of Barcelona on a 7 day cruise through Italy and some little island off of Spain.  And the airfare is well under $1000.  I think we have a winner.  But stay tuned, things are changing quickly!

Reality vs Expectations

I appologize for the lack of posts, I've been having log-in issues that I'm trying to sort out with Google, so on with the post...


Whenever you go on a trip you have certain expectations about what to expect and what will be the highlights. Often though things go differently then planned.

Sometimes it's simple things - when I went to Scandinavia and Russia I was excited to see the hermatige, go bobsledding and seeing the midnight sun, among other things. The hermatige was cool, but not a thrill, nearly feel asleep walking around. Bobsledding was fun, equivalent to a tame rollercoaster. The midnight sun was really at 11:45 and it was cold and windy. The biggest highlight? Berlin at world cup hanging out in the fan mile. I'll write about that another day. In Egypt I couldn't wait to see the great pyramid, but it was a bit disappointing, for a great pyramid. The Valley of the Kings were really cool, so was Abu Simbel and the hot air baloon ride at dawn. I'm still disappointed by the Great Pyarmid, but seeing these other things more then made up for it.

You can plan every aspect of your trip, but things will happen and force you to change plans. Getting lost, museums being closed, plane problems, lost luggage - the list goes on and on. But you need to embrace these things and adjust to the challenges they create. Often a good story will come out of it. What fun is it to come home and tell everyone about how your trip was perfect, exactly as planned?

Travel plans

As much as I try to plan stuff it seems that sometimes things just don't go as planned.

I found out last week that I need I'm going to have to start my braces and massive dental work in August, not in the winter as I had anticipated. This means that money will be hard to come by and I lost my pre-braces last trip reason for the fall trip. I'm now considering some options for something smaller and cheaper. One thing is a 5 day cruise from NY to Bermuda with my Mom during my 2 week vacation in September.

My travel plans for the duration of my dental work, which is estimated to take at least two years is to take smaller long weekend types of trips within the US. Places where I can get cheap flights and hopefully cheap hotels. There is talk of a family trip to Vegas for Thanksgiving, and one sister is considering a trip to Disney for the Spring which I may join with Tara.

My other plan is that I was thinking that I would want to take a big dream like trip after all this work - Australia or Africa or whatever else I come up with. But then I wondered if I would actually have money for this, which I probably wont. So I've decided that I will open a separate bank account to save some money for the trip. I received some birthday money which I will use to start it and then I'll occasionally move some money here and there to the account. Hopefully at the end I'll have at least enough to make it possible to do a big trip.

Getting ready for Hawaii

Here are some things I've done in the last 2 days to get ready....

Laundry, even changed my sheets so they'll be clean when I get home. I'm going to iron too so that I have clothes to wear when I get back. Also cleaned my kitchen and my bathroom.

Had my mail held by the post office for the days that I'm away, it's a dead giveaway when you don't pick up your mail.

Confirmed my reservations for the hotel and the rental car.

Caught up on my TV shows so that I don't have shows hanging over my head when I get back, except of course what is actually on while I'm away.

Collected some of the money that my sister owes me.

I've also done some packing. My carry-on is packed except for the things that I still need. My shoes and some of my clothes are packed up too.

I have a lot of work to do still, but things are coming together.

Tomorrow I'll get a pedicure and maybe a manicure and finish my packing.

I can't wait!

My packing list

So here is my packing list. I have abbreviated a few things, I didn't think you cared if I had a blue shirt or a black shirt - stuff like that. This isn't my typical packing list it's just that cruises require much more clothing then my typical trip.

Toiletries
Deodorant
Shampoo
Conditioner
Dove
Facial Soap
Makeup
Toothpaste
Toothbrush
Nail Stuff
Moisturizer
Facial Moisturizer
Brush
Comb
Hair accessories
Razor
Shaving cream
Cotton Balls
Q-Tips
First Aid/Medical
OTC meds: Simply Sleep,Multi Vitamin, Advil
Prescription Meds
Blistex
Band-Aids
Aloe Vera

Clothing
7 dinner outfits
2 Bathing Suits
Cover Up
2 Shorts
3 Caris
10 T-shirts
Windbreaker/water proof thing/Umbrella
Jeans
Fleece
Wrap/sweater
2 PJ’s
Socks
20 Underwear
Sneakers
Dress Shoes
Pool Shoes
Sewing Kit
Hat
Misc.
Static Guard
Alarm Clock
DSLR Camera
Small Camera
Battery Chargers
Video Camera
Charger
Video Camera discs
Ipod
Ipod wires
Headphone splitter
Laptop
Memory Card reader
Movies for plane
Watch
Pen/Paper
Passport
Magazines, Books
Cards
Pen and Paper
Journal
Sunglasses
Beach Bag
Sunblock
Bug Spray Wipes
Jewelry
Hand Sanitizer
Tea bags
Plastic Bags
Febreze
Wrinkle Releaser
Lysol
Little Coach Purse
Slippers

4 Days to go...

So this weekend I have started to really push forward with getting ready for Hawaii. I have half my stuff for the trip on my living room floor. The only thing in my actual suitcase are two pairs of shoes. I have chosen 6 of my 7 dinner outfits, my shorts, capris pants, PJ's, bathing suits, and gotten most of my toiletries together. I still have to narrow down my shirts a bit more and pick which shoes I'm taking.

I've also been getting my camera stuff together, cleaning up the memory cards and making sure all my batteries are charged up. I'm also picking movies to bring, I don't expect we'll watch many, but since I have my laptop it would be nice to have a couple just in case. It looks like Pearl Harbor, Dirty Dancing, and the Princess Bride. Pearl Harbor since we'll be going there, and the other two are cute little movies we've both seen a bunch of times. I'm also bringing He's Just Not That Into You since I bought that the other day.

What's next, I guess actually putting stuff into my suitcase, I'm just trying to figure out what I will and wont need for our night in Honolulu. I obviously don't want to put stuff that I wont need on the top of my suitcase...

T-Minus 9 days

Since I last posted about getting ready for Hawaii I have "completed" my trip information sheet for my parents. This sheet has all my flight info, hotel info and cruise info, including phone numbers. I'll leave this with my parents along with a copy of my passport and credit card and banking info - incase of emegency.

I also discussed with Tara some packing issues, like what needs to be in the carry-on vs checked baggage. Also trying to consolidate some of our stuff, which isn't really working out all that well since we both seem to have gotten a lot of stuff that we needed anyway. I was working on my packing list today, it still needs a bit of work but it's getting there.

This week I need to work on getting an idea of what type of dinner reservations to make while on the cruise and at what time. I also want to go through my toiletries to make sure I have everything I need. Otherwise I'll end up buying stuff I already have and have too much of it again. I think I have 4 rolls of travel toilet paper, which I've used like once and now it just takes up room in my apartment.

The ATM is hungry

While in Egypt I learned about the hazards of ATM machines. I arrived on a weekend and the ATM at my hotel was mostly empty, I managed to get about 70 pounds out of it. I also came home to find a $50 withdrawl from my bank account on the same day when I tried to get more money out but when no money actually came out. My bank did reimburse me for that money. I was thankful that I had brought a fair amount of cash with me as well as some travelers cheques. My roommate Tara (not the one that I'm going to Hawaii with) had much bigger problems...

The day she left she notified her bank that she was going to Egypt so that they wouldn't block her ATM card, they failed to mention to her that they already had a fraud alert on the card and the card was already blocked, opps! She came to Egypt and couldn't get money out of the ATM, at first she thought it was just the 1 or 2 ATM's, but finally in Aswan she checked the internet and realized that she had this block on her account.

 I went with her to get a phone card to call the bank and we tried to figure out how to work the thing, but it wasn't happening. Then we tried Ed's cell phone, that didn't work either. Finally she as able to get through using my international phone - the 20 minute conversation only cost $60. The bank straightened it out and assured her that her ATM card would work, though there would be a lower then usual daily limit. We waited a few hours and went to the ATM machine - it ate her card - it went in but it didn't come out and neither did money.

 Tara took it like a trooper and after figuring out the hours of the bank we went shopping. Back on our ship a little while later we ran into our Tour Manager and one of the ships crew. We were told that "the ATM was hungry," not an uncommon thing at night in Egypt - ouch! The next day we used our little bit of free time before our ship left Aswan to get the ATM card back. We seemed to be interrupting the bank guy who was counting piles of cash, but we kept nagging him and finally got it back - but not before he made us walk across the street twice for photocopies. But Tara got her ATM card back and the next time she used it she actually got money out, she also got reimbursed for the cell phone call to the bank.

The lesson: don't count only on ATM machines.

Getting ready for Hawaii

With Hawaii less then 3 weeks away I thought it was time to start checking on some things.

I went to book the final excursion Tara and I are going to take while in Hawaii, the Helicopter tour of Kauai. I was debating between a 9:30 am and a 10:30 am flight, and decided to go with the 10:30 flight. It will be one of our only "late" mornings of the trip. When I went into the booking system it showed that Tara and I were scheduled for the Wailua River and Fern Grotto on Thursday, I was sure I booked that for Friday. I scrambled through my papers and found that I did book it for Friday. A bit nervous I called Norwegian to check on this, apparently there was a problem with the website and I was booked on that excursion on Friday. The girl then booked Tara and I on the Heli tour and emailed me a confirmation of everything.

I also called Continental to find out if it would be an issue for Tara and I to arrive at the airport at different times. While speaking to the woman from Continental I realized that we would actually be checking in online from home. We just have to make sure that we each end up with the correct boarding passes so we can get through security and check our bags.

Hawaii by cruise

My trip to Hawaii is barely a month away so I thought I would give an update on my plans there. Tara and I will be sailing with NCL America on the Pride of America on May 16.

We're flying out on May 15 to Honolulu and will be spending the night on Waikiki Beach. The following day we will try to spend a little time at Waikiki and then head back over to Honolulu to drop our luggage off at the ship and take a little time to explore downtown Honolulu. If we can we would both like to do a tour of the only palace on US Soil, Iolanai Palace. Then we'll go back and board the ship, hopefully our luggage will have made it to our room by then.

May 17th and May 18th we'll be in Maui where we'll be doing excursions for the Road to Hana and to Haleakala Crater for sunrise. If we're still awake after that then we'll probably go to a beach for a while, or maybe some shopping. You can sleep when you get home, right?

May 19th we'll be in Hilo and are renting a convertible to go see Volcano's National Park.

May 20th is Kona where we plan on taking a glass bottom boat and hitting the beach.

May 21st and 22nd we'll be in Kauai. Here we'll do an excursion to Wailua River and Fern Grotto and also a helicopter tour of the island - Tara refers to that as the day she is going to die. She's very excited she just has trouble expressing herself.

May 23rd they kick us off the ship. Since our flight isn't until 8pm we will go see Pearl Harbor on this day.

Figuring out costs

I've been working on the costs of my different trip options for the fall. I broke down tour costs, flight estimates, food estimates. I have not included the costs of admission to museums and such, as well as buying souvenirs. I fully expect prices to change a bit, as well as the value of the dollar vs the euro and the pound. Also Airfare can certainly change in the meantime. But I wanted to get an idea of the costs. Would it be worth it to go to Edinburgh instead of doing the 2 week tour as a cost saving measure, or would the price end up fairly similar?

The exchange rate I used was 1:32 dollar to the euro, and 1.44 dollar to the pound, the rate when I was doing the actual pricing. The pound is the lowest I've ever seen it, hopefully it doesn't go back up.

The Road to Budapest with Intrepid:
1730 for the tour
528 local payment (400 euros)
868 Airfare non stop round trip from Vienna
100 train from Budapest back to Vienna
521 estimate for meals based on Intrepids recommendation
Total: 3747
I will probably also need to get a hotel for an additional night in either Vienna or Budapest for the last Saturday into Sunday when I would fly home. I may also need a hotel for the night before the tour starts.

Bohemia and Beyond with Intripid:
1925 for the tour
528 local payment (400 euro)
803 for airfare (JFK to Berlin, Venice to JFK)
521 for meals based on Intrepids recommendation
Total: 3777
I may also need a hotel room for the night before or after the tour.

Scotland
My plans are to stay in hostels, more for the social aspect then for the price aspect. Subsequently I would prefer smaller rooms, 4 people instead of 8+.
786 Round trip flight to Edinburgh
235 3 day Haggis Tour without upgraded hostel accommodations
64 meals based on Haggis estimate of food costs
103 3 Nights in a 4 woman dorm at St. Christophers Inn Hostel, Edinburgh
30 1 night in Glasgow Hostel, estimate
15 Round trip train from Edinburgh to Glasgow
200 estimate for 5 days of meals
Total: 1433

If I decided to do a 5 day Haggis tour:
403 5 day Haggis tour, without upgrading the hostel accommodation
108 meals for 5 days on Haggis Tour
Adjusted total: 1546

Obviously Edinburgh would be the cheaper option, even if I decided to upgrade some of my accommodations or decided on some more expensive meals. The two Intrepid Tours will work out to cost me about the same amount. Of note is that Bohemia and Beyond tour is a Basix Tour and the Road to Budapest is an Original Tour which should have some nice accommodations.

Fall Travel Plans

As I recently posted, I am considering doing a 2 week tour in Eastern Europe. Since I posted that idea I found out that I will have to shell out a lot of money for some dental work, enough that I started considering changing my plans.

I still want to go overseas and thought a 1 week trip to 1 City might fit the bill. I wanted the city to be in Western Europe to minimize the length of my flight and hopefully the price since I would only be going for a week. I was seriously considering Edinburgh and also maybe Paris as a second choice. The real question I need to answer is if this scaled back trip was really going to be much cheaper then what I was already planning.

But before I could started working on that I hit a roadblock with my dental stuff. I don't want to bore you with details of my dental work, but since I suspect this topic might come up again I'll say a little bit about it. I was born with a cleft lip and palate and would like to redo some of my old dental work, it will involve a palate expander, braces, a bone graft and dental implants. I may scale back what I do on my teeth or delay it until next year. If I do delay my dental stuff then I may feel a little freer with money to take that trip to Eastern Europe. If you want to read more about my dental issues, I have a blog about that: Creating a beautiful mouth.

Fall Travel Plans

I haven't been overseas since I went to Egypt in 2007, it's been 2 years now and I'm itching to go back. I gave it a bunch of thought and I want to go to Eastern Europe (Turkey was also a consideration, but I decided to put that off for now). I have asked my friend Jen from my Egypt trip if she is interested since we had discussed going to Eastern Europe last year.

I'm looking at 4 different tours, Contiki's Eastern Road which is a 2 week tour. Then there is Gap Adventures tour Best of Eastern Europe, also a 2 week tour. Then finally I am looking at 2 Intrepid Tours, which are currently my first two choices.
The first is the Road to Budapest and the second is Bohemia and Beyond. I like the smaller size of the Intrepid tours, as well as how they try to get you to know the locals. The two tours visit a lot of the same places, but one is a basix tour (the more expensive one), and the other is a comfort tour.

I have a couple things to work out though before deciding, a bunch of expensive dental work, picking my vacation time at work,I'm awaiting a transfer at work which could screw up my vacation picks and how much Hawaii is going to cost. Maybe someone will give me some free money in the meantime???