CMDTA on Vacation – Final Thoughts

After taking some time to think over my experiences on my NCL vacation what made the grade and what didn’t?

Rotan – I’d go back. The port of call itself was nice and worth visiting again. I felt safe the whole time and the people were nice.

Belize – I’ve been here twice and I go back again. Both times were fun.

Costa Maya – If there were a lot of other stops on the cruise I wouldn’t mind stopping here again. It was a nice laid back day.

Great Stirrup Cay – Well considering I’d have to cruise NCL again to stop here my answer is simple. I will never, ever, go back here.

Jet Blue – Despite the incident with the ants and the fact their people arrived at the airport later than other airlines, I’d use them again.

NCL – I was trying to think of a good simple way to explain how much of a disappointment NCL is. I think the best way to put it is this: If the cruise was free, the airfare was free, and we had onboard credit, I would not cruise NCL again. It would not be worth taking the time off of work. I can use that time for something better, like staying home. That isn’t to say I’d never try them again. If they dropped the “Freestyle” thing, abandoned the premium dining locations, greatly improved their food, stopped allowing smoking in their staterooms, reviewed and adjusted how they tender people, made their ships more attractive on the inside, and repainted their ships to get rid of the awful artwork on the outside, I’d consider using them again.

CMDTA on Vacation – Jet Blue

I know Jet Blue has gotten some bad press over the years for some really bad decisions made on their part but they do some things right. You get free entertainment. You get free snacks and drinks, and you don’t have to pay for your first checked bag!

On our flight things did not go well right off the bat. The airlines tell you to arrive between 1.5 and 2 hours before your flight to make sure you are safe. Our flight was at 6:10am. We arrived at the air port around 4:20am. The reps for Jet Blue arrived at 5:00am. By then we were annoyed but happy we got their early because the line was insane by the time the Jet Blue people showed up!

Besides the start of our day flight from Boston to Ft. Lauderdale was bad. It was bad because the airplane was infested. There were ants everywhere. Nothing says clean like ants crawling all over the place. I was just happy I didn’t get ants in my pants (sorry, couldn’t help it).

I emailed Jet Blue after my trip. I got a response back that was a total cookie cutter response that resolved none of my issues and said someone would look into it. They didn’t even offer some True Blue points or anything like that.

As you already know our flight back was seriously delayed. Other than that it was decent. No ants in the pants or anything like that.

How to Plan a Disney Trip

Planning a Disney trip is a pain in the butt. Sure it’s exciting to plan a vacation but it doesn’t change the fact that it’s a lot of work. Disney is harder than any other vacation. There are so many things that need to be considered.

Here is a handy check list to aide in the process:

1 – Pick your dates: Disney has peaks and valleys when it comes to crowds. Weather also changes greatly depending on the time of year. You need to decide what kind of weather you want to deal with and what kind of crowds you are willing to put up with. The weather is the easy part. You can use historical data to determine it. Weather.com and other weather sites offer that kind of info. The crowds are a little different. The only place I know that offers that kind of info is Touringplans.com. You can get a couple of months worth of the calendar for free. If you want more than that you need to buy a subscription which will cost you about nine bones.

2 – Plan your ADRs: This is number two because of Disney allowing people to book ADRs up to 120 days in advance. If you do not book ADRs you will be eating at quick service locations or the less popular table service dining locations. That’s just a fact regardless of what time of year you are going. To book your ADRs you need to know where to eat. If you’ve never been, how do you figure that out? Simple, you go to www.allears.net. They have almost every menu for every restaurant in Disney World. They break it down by location for you. You can also use the dining app for the iPhone. It’s a great app if you are on the go.

3 – Pick your hotel: You need to decide if you are staying on or off property. If you stay off, keep in mind you will not be able to use Disney transportation and you will have to pay for parking which is $14 a day (unless you are an annual pass holder). You also will not be able to do any Extra Magic Hours. On the flip side you will pay at least half price in most cases. If you are staying on property you need to decide between value, moderate, or deluxe. Once you pick one of those you need to decide what theme you want.

4 – Call the travel agent: There is no reason not to use a travel agent. There are many fee free travel agents out there. Make sure the agent you pick is “Ear Marked.” That means they are Disney certified. They can get away with not charging you because they get paid by Disney. They will make your life much easier.

5 – Airfare: If you are not driving you’ll need airfare. If you pick South West you will not pay for bags but you’ll have to suffer through the awful boarding they do. You can also fly Jet Blue. They do not charge for your first bag. Keep in mind, if you pick another airline make sure you check the fees. Your total fare could go up by up to 50% after the fees.

6 – Non-Airfare Travel: How will you get to the parks? You can get a rental. If you do make sure you check for online coupons or offers. You can go to www.mousesavers.com and look there for some codes. You can take a town car. If there are four people in your group this is a great option. You can do more than five but you’ll need a bigger car. The cost is normally about $115 round trip (it’s worth it. Check my posts on this subject). The final option is the Magical Express. This is the cheapest option. You get what you pay for. See “Magical Depress” for more details.