Category: Adventure

Adventure Posts. travel on the wild side.

Jan 04

Is Cancellation Insurance worth the cost?

Is Cancellation Insurance worth the cost?

phpThumb_generated_thumbnailBefore today, I would have questioned on how to answer this question. Being in Canada, the inexpensive  flyer to the islands is Sunwing. I have had great and not so great, vacations in the past,  but the price being so far below the commercial carriers, it is hard to complain too much.

This time around, I was booking a trip to Cuba. Now I wanted the great prices of Sunwing, but I also wanted the 24 equal interest free payments  from Sears Travel offered there.  This meant I has to book through Signature Travel, owned by Sunwing, Through Sears Travel. Isn’t booking fun here in Canada.

To make matters worse, Cancellation Insurance from Sears was over $200, but I was able to get the same from Sunwing for $50.00. Go figure that one out. I decided to take it at that price and also ordered the Privilege upgrade for extra leg room and pre-boarding etc. on the flight. Not giving this part a second thought.

I went ahead with the booking at my hotel, a new one in that was just opening and I thought that it would make for a nice series  of articles to be at a resort that very few had been at.  This might have been great except, two months after the grand opening, the bad reviews started coming in. To make matters worse, others, that stayed earlier, started writing in stating that they also had a bad trip but did not want to write about it since it was so soon after the opening.

iberostar-ensenachos[1]They hoped that things would get better as staff training progressed, however, people reporting later showed things were getting worse and not better. This led them to the more reviews of what they experienced.

Now I wanted to have an experience where I could write about it, but I did want it to be positive so for the first time I decided to change hotels. Here is where I was surprised by Sunwing.  Because I bought the privilege upgrade package, it turns out there was an undisclosed benefit where they would allow me to change my plans once and only pay the difference between my current hotel’s rate and the hotel of my choice’s posted rated.  This did not affect my cancellation insurance so it was a great deal for me and saved my vacation.

For those following my posts, I am now booked into the Iberostar Ensenachos. Still flying into Santa Maria on the same flight but,  at a resort that has almost 1,400 5 out of 5 star reviews. Not to shabby.

More on this resort soon….

 

Permanent link to this article: https://stevestravelblog.com/?p=479

Dec 02

Green Island, Taiwan

    Nestled in the channel of the Japanese current off of the Southeastern shores of Taiwan is the hidden gem of Green Island. Less than 21 miles from the main island of Taiwan, this small island in the Pacific, is a paradise for both snorkelers…

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://stevestravelblog.com/?p=467

Nov 15

Coming of Age — Florida Style

That Old Town Florida: Part 1

Old Town Clock

Old Town Clock

Traveling to Florida several times a year can mean that you start to see redundancy in some of the things people like to do and like me to write about. We have to remember that Florida is so much more than what my wife likes to call the “Plastic City” area. You know what I mean. That part of Florida where the rocks all play music and the fire in the torches never runs out.

Now, you know from past posts that I do like the parks. I love the roller coasters. I was never happier than the first time my wife agreed to go on one. I remember that I was working hard to get this decision but she had strong reservations about this particular form of entrainment. We were having a great day in the Magic Kingdom and ended up in Tomorrow Land. I really was not expecting anything but as we stopped for a bite to eat, I noticed that she was looking at the people coming from the Space Mountain ride.

Disney's Space Mountain

Disney’s Space Mountain

We were having the usual type of casual conversation when she paused and looking over at a woman in her sixty’s and a boy not more than nine walk off of the roller coaster ride, she said, “You know, if a Grand Mother and a little boy can get on Space Mountain, well then, so can I”.  I was shocked.

I think that might have been one of the few times in my life that my jaw literally dropped.  Just a bit. Never one to let an opportunity pass by, I agreed and suggested that we try, just this one. I don’t know if you have ever been on this particular ride, most likely you have, but for those that have not, this is a bit of a unique layout in that the design of the ride has one person sitting in front of the other.  Because I am tall, I sat behind her so that she would get the full visual effect of the planets and stars zooming past us as we spiral down to that explosive finish to the ride.

What this meant is that with all the sound effects and noise from an indoor ride I really could not tell what was happening. Was she going to  enjoy this or was I heading for divorce for not stopping her from making this insane decision? I heard a few oh’s with another word or two afterwards, but I still could not tell if she fell in love or hated this one time experience.

I am happy to report that we are still together and very much in love. The experience brought us closer together and now I think there is only two coasters in the greater Orlando area that we have yet to experience.  This was a happening that lead to years of fun travel together in the parks of Florida.

But, this story is not about “Plastic City” but rather the area around it. The area of Kissimmee that many visitors never get to experience, or really enjoy.  I will talk more about Old Town and the surrounding area in my next post or two.

Talk soon.

Permanent link to this article: https://stevestravelblog.com/?p=443

May 19

Easy Listening at 35,000 feet

Easy Listening at 35,000 feet.

Easy Listening at 35,000 feet.

I’m not sure which came first, either more people choosing to listen to their own devices while flying or the now growing trend from airlines like Air Canada Rouge to only offer video and audio through passengers devices. Either way, this is now very much the reality, and it presents a new problem for us, the traveler.

I have tested multiple devices with the standard ear-buds that come with them and with the back ground noise and popping ears at cruising altitude, the quality of the sound just disappears. If you are going to travel and want to relax with a movie or you favorite music for three and a half hours while in flight, you need to invest in some good quality noise cancelling/damping headphones. So the question is, which will be best for you?

It’s easy to read the reviews and compare the different qualities that are out there, but that does not mean they will be good for in flight use. So, we looked at multiple brands and after testing on the ground, we narrowed it down to two units that we thought were very good quality and still at a reasonable price. We wanted to also make sure to test the best in-ear and the best over-ear products while in-flight.

Bower & Wilkins C5 In-Ear Headphones.

Bower & Wilkins C5 In-Ear Headphones.

For the in-ear, we choose the “Bower & Wilkins C5 In-Ear Headphones” as our number one product pick. It has several very nice features that will be appealing to many different people. It uses passive technology get rid of that background noise and enhance the sound coming to your ears. We really liked the secure loop that expands to let you loosely wear these is a normal environment or they can be snugly inserted for the noisier environments.

 

able planet Linx Fusion

able planet Linx Fusion

For the over-ear product, we went with the “able planet Linx Fusion” as the number one pick for this category. This unit has a rechargeable battery built in and offers you a truly great listening experience in any environment. It not only blocks out the background noise, but, at the same time, it is enhancing the quality of the to-ear sound through their 4-D technology.

Both of these products are worthwhile purchases and we feel you will be pleased with either choice. But, which one is better for air travel?

For traveling, the compactness of the C5 was great. However, If you are carrying your laptop, tablet and other things in your carry on, then size is not really a factor and we had no problem with the larger Linx Fusion.

Carrying sizes

Carrying sizes

But, the point has to go to the C5 since many travelers would only have their tablet and headphones for on the plane.

During the flight both products worked well. The C5 needed to be firmly in the ear as the environment was noisy. The Linx Fusion has a firm tension and snuggly covered your ear, offering you a very nice sound experience. However, while this was fine for music, when it came to videos and if you wear glasses, the added pressure on the rim area did cause some discomfort over time. This is going to be the case for all over-ear products.

When it came to meal time, it was the Linx Fusion that won the point. The C5 being firmly in the ear, caused that very loud internal sound while eating and drinking. Try eating a potato chip while you have your fingers covering your ear and you will understand. We had to loosen them and then the sound quality went away.

Overall, while there were some things that are noted, both products are the best in their class. If you are a convince person that likes to travel light and pauses the entertainment while you eat, then the “Bower & Wilkins C5 In-Ear Headphones” is a clear choice. If you want the best overall sound quality and power assisted noise cancellation then the “able planet Linx Fusion” would be an excellent choice for you.

Either way, they both pass the In-Flight test and both provide “Easy listening at 35,000 feet”

Permanent link to this article: https://stevestravelblog.com/?p=249

Feb 03

What to take or not take (Part 2)

Best Bavaro Runner Guide ever! Luis R "Mimi"

Best Bavaro Runner Guide ever! Luis R “Mimi”

In my last letter, I covered some of the basics on light travel packing. Now I want to share a few interesting things I discovered over the years.

Once you go to an area for five or more times, you will most likely buy less and less to bring back with you, In fact you may find yourself leaving more there then you bring back.  Many times now we have packed in many different formats with thinking about what can we bring to benefit the locals to how we can save money on travel bags with those nasty airline fees.

So here are some helpful tips for different types of travelers.  I hope you read my earlier article and think about how you can get your packing down to smaller amounts of bags. It might be from 4 to 2 or as my wife and I travel from two large to one small suitcase.

  1. For the traveler that loves to shop and will be buying something for all the Grand Kids, Friends and neighbors, let me suggest a few things. First try to get your own packing down to on average suite case.  Then with a matched set of luggage, the real packed bag can fit inside of the larger one. If you can’t quite do that, you will find lots of room around the outside of the smaller bag to free form pack things like T-shirts, or other things that can be rolled.

    With our set, we can even put a soft sided medium duffel bag on wheels. So if you are travelling somewhere new that you want to buy “stuff”, you will only pay the airlines for one bag on the way down and you will have the choice of one or more bags to hold the goodies and only pay for that portion on the extra bags.

  2. Now for people traveling to returning locations, you most likely can get away with the one bag and save in both directions, but I want to suggest that  the more you know about a people group, the traits of a country, the more you can have an extra highlight by bringing things that people will really like.

    Now, this is directed at the traveler that is going to one location, usually today this means an all-inclusive vacation that you will be staying at for a full week. In this case you will travel with two pages and do the double bag trick and return with one bag.  Let me share with you some of the things that you might want to do.  The first time we went to Cuba, we knew the basics that we could take for people.  Ten years later we returned to Cuba and this time we did it a little differently.

    Now before I get into this, you have to realize that we get a real kick on seeing faces light up and knowing that we gave them a few things that are sometimes hard to get there.  It is not that they cannot afford to buy them, the resort staff are very highly paid in tips (and sometimes supporting large extended families), but they just cannot buy things that are extras.

    Travel Bag in a bag

    Different shot showing all the extra space between the smaller bag and the larger one.

    So knowing that the staff in the rooms will change sometimes day to day once they know you have gifts and you will also meet a bunch of great staff in the restaurants, and on the resort in different area. So my wife spent all of a few extra dollars and went to the dollar store for gift bags and tissue paper to make up nice looking presents. The staff, were all so pleased with this and it really did make our trip better seeing the smiles.

    I remember on the day we left, we asked if the people who were so friendly to us could meet with us for a little something. To our surprise, they were ALL there and lined up in a line to say good bye.  It was very touching and it was so nice to have the gift bag concept ready to go so we could personalize each one.

  3. Finally, I want to switch gears to the Dominican Republic. How can we apply the same thing here?  On one hand we have a country that still has a very low income level, but we are dealing with resort staff that really do make a good living compared to other countries. 

    One of the things that you will find here is the need to help the school systems. There are other writers that are trying to make a mark and tell you not to bring school supplies as the delivery of the supplies causes interruptions and actually hurts the system.  All I can say is we have never experienced this and there is a right and a wrong way to do any of these outreach things.

    In this case, I have to really tip my hat to a local company that supports one school each year. The school agrees to be interrupted in order to get the much needed supplies. Seems like a good trade off and everyone is on board with it. The company is Bavaro Runners.  When you take their safari trip, and you let

    Bag in a Bag minus our cat.

    Great trick to save on paying for 2 bags when you will only need 2 in one direction. — No the cat is not being packed.

    them know you have school supplies,  they will stop at one of more remote schools, away from the resorts that are really, truly in need of paper (heavy and costly to import), pencils, rulers, etc.

    If you want to read more on this check out their “Giving Back Page” 

    I want to also recommend a good friend and one of the best guides they have. If you want to go this route and you are in the Punta Cana area, please ask for “MiMi” and tell him Steve from Canada sent you.


Permanent link to this article: https://stevestravelblog.com/?p=197

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