5. As you are leaving your home to begin your travels take a photo of your luggage your luggage tags

Cruising is quickly becoming one of the most popular modes of vacation travel. With itineraries that take you to wonderful and fascinating places all over the world, multiple activities (you can be as busy as you want or NOT!), dining options to please all types of tastes, and amenities that suit any passenger from spa-lovers to adventure seekers there simply is no better value for your money than a cruise vacation.
As with all things in life every time you travel to a different place you learn something new. How many times have you said to yourself the next time we come here I m going to . My husband and I have been blessed to have had many varied opportunities to travel all over the world with our cruise vacations. We LOVE cruises there is something so very special about traveling in a beautiful floating hotel, unpacking only one time, and waking up every day to an exotic, historic, or fascinating place in many cases places that we thought we would otherwise not ever find ourselves visiting. In this feature I m sharing with you some of the things that we have learned along the way (sometimes we learned them the hard way but you wont have to!) I ve divided these tips into 4 sections~
1. Invest in some quality gortex rain gear- pants, jacket, hat. Go ahead and spend some bucks this may cost you between $100-$150 but it is a one time investment that is well worth the expense. Take it with you on every cruise- travel books no matter the destination. Trust me It can totally save your vacation. You will most likely not need to ever make this purchase again. It s an investment that you can keep forever.
On one of our trips to Bermuda travel books it rained the whole 4 days we were there- travel books I would never consider going anywhere in the Caribbean without my gortex jacket and hat. If you find yourself traveling to cooler destinations the jacket and pants will serve as windbreakers travel books and you will thank yourself over and over for making this investment.
2. Take pants, shorts, skirts,- whatever you plan to wear with Velcro pockets. You need to keep track of your cruise card for your ship re- entry. If you lose it it s a lot of hassle to have it replaced. It is not wise to carry it in your purse or billfold. The safest place is on your person and Velcro pockets are perfect for this.
3. You will most likely not be taking your passport off of the ship- but if you should encounter any difficulties while in port- even medical emergencies or if you miss the ship (and I want to say that no one ever plans to miss the ship!)- you will need your passport. So to be safe- make several color copies of your passport- travel books have them laminated- and keep them with you. I would suggest 2 copies- in separate locations- like your purse- and maybe your pockets.
You will need them from the beginning- baggage handlers- cab rides and also many venders won t give change- so you need the bills. In some countries- Europe and the Caribbean- you need to pay to use a public restroom. Trust me- you need the $1 bills!
5. Keep a running list There has rarely been a cruise trip where I have not said- I wish I had brought?? You think you will remember from one trip to the next- but you won t. I keep a running list on my notepad on my phone. travel books When I think of something- travel books I add it to the list. When I begin packing for my trips- I print that list out and use it as a guide. I constantly update and make changes to my list it has become totally invaluable to me when it comes to packing for travels.
travel books 6. When you pack be sure to include your valuables your favorite dress that you would just die if it was lost (!!) - your camera- jewelry- what ever you positively value and do not want to lose because honestly everything that goes into your checked luggage is at risk for being LOST. My knitting and yarn always go in my carry on luggage!!
travel books 1. Get a charge card specifically for your travels don t use it for anything else   Travel fraud is real and it happens. Get a card that does not charge foreign transaction fees. There are several possibilities such as Capitol One and Discover. We use our Capitol one card exclusively for out of the country travels. Call the charge card company travel books prior to your travels and provide detailed info regarding the countries you will be visiting- this helps them to monitor your card for fraudulent charges. Foreign transaction fees can be as high as 30% of the cost of the item so having a card that does not charge these fees is a definite advantage. When you make a purchase is a foreign country have the cashier to make the charge in the currency for that country. DO NOT let them do the conversion and charge you in US dollars the best conversion travel books rate will be the one the charge card company uses so let them do the conversion.
2. Do your homework and find out if the countries you are visiting will accept US currency. If they won t make plans to change a small amount of money on board the ship for the needed local currency. Honestly- the best exchange rate is going to be on the ship so don t waste time trying to find a local bank to get your cash just get it from the ship the morning you are in port   it s also the safest place to make the exchange.
4. Keep a running list of activities, places to go, favorite shops, restaurants, places where there is free wifi! Cruises are a great way to travel- you unpack once and wake up in a different wonderful place every day. The downside to that is that you only get to visit for a day- and in some cases- maybe 2 days. If you cruise often- chances are that you will have the opportunity to revisit some of the ports again. this is especially true if you frequently take Caribbean itineraries.
travel books I  keep a notepad on my phone in which I include info from every port I ve ever visited. For example where the free wifi is located, the location of a favorite shop that I stumbled upon, a favorite restaurant, a scenic view that I want to photograph, etc. And things that I want to do the NEXT time I visit that port. (let s face it there is never enough time to do all the things you want to do when you are only in port for a few hours!) Every time you travel even if it is to the same places over and over again- you learn something new. Write it down so that you will remember that you want to climb the stairs to the top of the hill for a special viewpoint or that you saw a great shop as you were headed back to the ship but didn t have time to stop! When you talk to fellow cruise passengers- ask them what they did in port. Write their recommendations down on your list as well. This is how you learn new things and continue to make the most of your travel experiences.
5. As you are leaving your home to begin your travels take a photo of your luggage your luggage tags- AND your passport. Take the photos with your cell phone if possible. Keep those photos on your phone until after the trip. If you lose your luggage in transit- this could be very helpful for the airline in its recovery of your lost luggage. If you lose your passport this could be the most important photo you ve ever taken! On one of our trips abroad we made it to the London airport but my husband s suitcase DID NOT!! His luggage went on a different trip for the next 24 hours. If we had not had a photo of his luggage, it is highly travel books unlikely that it would have been found in time for our cruise.
1.  If you are someone who likes to take photos like me! over the course of a week long cruise you can find yourself taking hundreds of pictures. On a recent European cruise- I tool almost 1000 pictures- just in Venice. You think that you will remember where your photos were taken but you won t. Every day we are in port- I take a photo of the ships newsletter that has the name of the port and the date. I use that photo to separate my photos into the various ports of call. It s the perfect way to keep your photos from all running together!!
2. If you are traveling with a Smartphone- put it in airplane mode before your ship leaves the pier and leave it there for the duration of your trip. If you are a person who wants to stay connected by email- travel books and most of us do you will need to either purchase the ships wifi (which can be costly) travel books or make use of free wifi in the various ports you visit.
If you are using the ship wifi compose all of your emails off line - and log on just long enough to send them. Doing this will stretch your minutes and save you a lot of money. Try to make use of free wifi spots when you are in port. If you find a good free spot- write it down for future reference in your running list! I ve found free wifi when sitting on beaches before you never know- always check. Of course US territories are the exception- St Thomas, St John, and Puerto Rico are just like being in the States. You can use your phone in these ports of call just as you would your own hometown. This is one of the reasons that we love Puerto Rico SO much!
If you are traveling in the Caribbean- this is so easy. Just get off the ship and tell the taxi drivers where you want to go and what you want to do. The taxi drivers are very knowledgeable tour guides on their islands and eager to please travel books you.
They can give you an island tour- take you to the best beaches- take you to the tourist destinations- anything you want and in most cases for half the cost. Would you rather take an island tour on a bus with 40 people or in a taxi with just your family? See something scenic and want to stop for a photo- no problem. That can t happen on a bus with 40 people. Want to be taken to a local grocery store to buy some bottled water for the rest of your trip? Try asking the bus driver to do that for you! Want to go shopping someplace where only the local people go? The bus excursions wont be taking you there! Want a quick island tour, then be dropped off at a great beach to snorkel for 3 hours and then be picked up and taken to someplace to shop for an hour before going back to the ship? That is positively NOT going to happen with the ships excursion.
Tr