Final Hours in Fort Lauderdale

Posted on March 10, 2013March 10, 2013 by Dusty Roads

My Mexico cruise/ Fort Lauderdale adventure is winding down. I have one last thing to squeeze in and that is a visit to family.

I met my cousin at Lester’s Diner in Fort Lauderdale where we enjoyed a real good old-fashioned breakfast of pancakes and bacon. The diner is like a blast from the past, an authentic 50′s style restaurant and home to the infamous 14oz coffee cup. This signature landmark has been a family owned and operated business in South Florida for over 43 years.

My cousin told me she used to work there and met her husband there. Another old-fashioned touch. She was a waitress, he was a trucker. Sounds like the basis for a romantic movie. 🙂

My cousin is the outgoing one and she seemed to know everyone as we made out way to our booth.

After breakfast we headed to my aunt’s home which turned out to be literally around the corner from the Diner and after a short visit there we went on to the airport also just “around the corner.”

That should have been the end of the story. Drop off rental car, get on plane , arrive home but it turned out it wasn’t quite that easy. I dropped off the rental and grabbed the shuttle to the terminal. I checked my bags curbside and headed into the security line. It was huge. As I stood there looking around I realized I didn’t have my coat! It was still in the rental car. I tried calling the lost and found but kept getting lost in the IVR prompts so back to the shuttle to reverse my previous trip.

At the Hertz counter they directed me to lost & found and there was my coat. Yay! Now back on the shuttle again to the terminal and back on the line. It hadn’t moved much. I was in the same place as when I left. Slowly , very slowly the line began to creep forward.

In the Fort Lauderdale airport the security is on a slightly lower level from the check in counters. As the line crept forward I eventually reach a point where there was a ramp that led down to the TSA agent and security scanners. I wish the TSA had allowed pictures because at that point I could look out over all the travelers and it was a wall to wall sea of people all jostling and pushing for position! It was an amazing sight and I had lots of time to watch as I waited for my line to move forward again.

Once at the scanners the routine was the same…shoes off, lap top out of the luggage, walk through scanner, retrieve, put shoes back on and find the gate. Whew! from the time I got back on line the 2nd time until I made it to my gate it was over 1 hour! So glad I went early. My cousin had suggested I chat a little longer saying I’d be through security in 10 minutes. Maybe if I was on an early flight but apparently not if you are flying mid-day!

The rest of my flights were uneventful. I offered to be “bumped” in exchange for a $400 voucher but I would have to fly out the next day, not just a later flight on the same day so I passed it up.

My flight finally landed around 8:30 pm amid snow and sleet. The parking valet had my car warmed up and cleaned off when I got off the shuttle. The drive home was not too bad in spite of the weather and there they were. 2 little furry faces meeting me at the door.

I love travel but I love coming home too.

I can’t believe it’s April!

Posted on April 9, 2012April 9, 2012 by Dusty Roads

I can’t believe its April 9 already. April Fool’s Day is behind us. Passover was Friday and Sunday was Easter and it’s still cold! After that mild winter I thought we’d be in a heat wave by now. At least it’s been sunny most days.

Still the problem with that is that now we’re having brush fires. The fire danger alerts are all at critical…in the red! And it’s only April! Some of the area is considered to be in a drought because there was no snow melt and, in stark contrast to the spring of 2010 when it rained so much we had flooding everywhere, each day now dawns nice and sunny. A few passing clouds may drop a few sprinkles but nothing near to what’s needed to wet down the soil and brushland. This is New England! Not Texas or Arizona which have been struggling with drought for the last few years. What is going on with the weather?

I feel like I’ve been neglecting this blog a bit since I came back from Florida. Trying to launch my little side business has been time-consuming. I have to laugh because I set up that little store at dustyroadsphotos.etsy.com and I am getting visitors to the site but so far no orders. What I’m finding is it’s all local folks that are checking it out to choose the cards they want and then they just tell me. That’s ok by me but I hope the word starts to spread beyond my “inner circle”.

I’m going to be adding custom decorator pillows and some prints to the line. I’m waiting to get my sewing machines back from the shop. I hadn’t done much sewing in the past few years so I wanted to have the machines cleaned and checked before I tried using them again. I am really excited about this idea so am quite anxious to get started.

When I was in Florida I was given a 4 day cruise for 2 from my time share. There were two hitches. 1) I have to pay the port fees (around $185.00 per person) and 2) The cruise has to be used within 18 months. I’ve been toying around with my schedule and vacation time and so on and I’m going to try to secure a date for next January. My friend Joe aka JR will be by cruise companion. We’ll be leaving from the Port of Miami and going to Cozumel. Once this is actually booked I’ll share more info on the itinerary.

I just got approved for some time off in July so I’m going to take a mini vacation in Maine. Just have to book the hotel. I’m looking at Portland as my “Base camp” for the 4 day get-away.

Late September is also in the works. I have approved vacation then to go to upstate New York to visit family and friends. There’s a hot air balloon festival in Glens Falls the weekend I’m going and my sister mentioned the Scenic Railroad trip through the Adirondacks. It’s still early in the planning stages.

And the Big Alaska Cruise is back in the works. Goal for that is now May/early June of 2013. We want to see baby animals so spring is the time for that.

So as you can see, there is some travel in the planning stages. My local jaunts have been curtailed a little by car issues and the demands of the new business but that was to be expected. Still I love my aroundustyroads.com blog and don’t want to neglect you either.

Thanks for hanging in with me during this slow posting period.

Last Thoughts for now on Cruising Alaska

Posted on September 26, 2011September 26, 2011 by Dusty Roads

Ok so I went a bit overboard on the stateroom stuff. I sounded like a paid advertisement for Holland America. OOPS! Plus now I know cruise ship cabins are boring! 🙂 But there are just a couple of last points I want to add to this series on the Alaska cruising.

One is the tradition od “dressing for dinner”. Historically dinner in the dining rooms on cruises were a formal affair. There were assigned times for each meal seating such as early or late, maybe 5:30 and again around 7:30. You were assigned to a table that often put strangers together. You sat with the same people throughout your cruise so hopefully you all got along.

The most formal dinner was the Captain’s Dinner when Jacket and Tie if not Black tie was strongly encouraged. Many of the cruise lines are getting away from this. The dining atmosphere is becoming more relaxed and casual. They are using a term “freestyle dining” or cruising which means that you can choose your own seating and the restaurant you want to eat in.

Beware of one thing…not all restaurants are included in the meal plan. Be sure if you chose not to eat in the dining room that the alternate restaurant is one of the inclusive options. If not you will surely have a wonderful meal but there will be a hefty price tag at the end of the meal. This can catch some new cruisers off guard.

On the Alaska Cruises through Holland America two of the dinner seating are formal. However if you don’t want to “dress the part” you can eat in the Lido Cafe which is casual. The same menu is offered as is in the dining room and it is an “inclusive” restaurant so no pricy surprise.

One other thing I made a point to ask about was the plane reservations to get us to the departure port. I had heard all kinds of things about the best way to handle the flights and of course no one agreed on anything so I tossed it out for the agents to answer.

What it boils down to is this: If the flight is booked for you by the cruise line they assume the responsibility to get you to the boat on time. They will assist you if your plane is delayed or your connections missed. If you book your own flight and have a mishap, you are on your own.

If the cruise line can’t get you to the departure port in time due to airline issues then they will be responsible for getting you to the next port of call. If you book the flight yourself, you are on your own.

Now if dollar for dollar the flight was the same cost either way it would be easy to decide . Just let the cruise line handle all the details. The problem is that unlike the “olden times” when cruise lines reserved a block of flights and offered discounted fares, you can now get a better price by booking your flight on your own. Just remember you will be on your own to handle any snafus.

One suggestion is to book your own flight and arrive a day early in your departure city. Use the time to relax, adjust your body clock or sightsee.

According to the “pros” from AAA and Holland America, this will be one of the most expensive vacations most people will take in their life so this is one time they strongly urge that you insure your vacation with trip insurance.

Although I don’t usually buy trip insurance, I expect that I will for this trip because as has been pointed out numerous times in this series of posts..it’s a lot of money!

The Staterooms…Ocean View or Inside???

Posted on September 24, 2011September 24, 2011 by Dusty Roads

As I mentioned in yesterday’s post I’m going to share with you what the Holland America Rep told us about the cabins on-board the ship. I did a short cruise to Nassau, Bahama’s at one time and shared an itty-bitty cabin on the inside of the ship. It was ok. We were only in the cabin to sleep at night. During the day if we weren’t ashore we were on the promenade deck or by the pool but Alaska is going to be a bit on the cool side for swimming I would think. They talked more about mittens and scarves than swim suits and tans.

Holland America says they have over 50 years experience cruising Alaska waters which is more than any other cruise line. I admit, if money were no object I would definitely go for a National Geographic Cruise but since that is really “in my dreams” I don’t have any real idea which is the next best line. That said I am now writing about Holland America because they have been the most forthcoming so far. RC (Royal Caribbean) was nice but they just threw so much at me in one phone call that as I said yesterday, I was left feeling very uncomfortable.

So back to the Holland America and the cabin options.

Obviously the most luxurious are the suites with balconies but if we/I am traveling on a budget is this really where we want to spend our money? In the session it sounded like you will be on a deck or in an observation area or on a tour most of the time. Once again cabins are places more for changing clothes and sleeping. The RC counselor was really pushing the ocean view and balconies. Holland America was far more flexible even pointing out that an ocean view can be a disadvantage if you are trying to sleep and the sun is as bright at midnight as it is at noon!

Apparently HA is known for its spacious and luxurious cabins.

The Penthouse Verandah Suite Category PS is the top of the line. At approximately 1160 square ft it’s bigger than my whole 1 bedroom condo which comes in at right around 1000 sq. ft. including my deck! Amenities include: Bedroom with 1 king-size bed, oversize whirlpool bath and shower and additional shower stall, living room, dining room, dressing room, verandah, pantry,1 sofa bed sleeping 2 persons, DVD player, mini-bar, refrigerator, guest toilet, floor-to-ceiling windows. Although this is nice, I would rather put the extra money toward a shore excursion. This is just a bit too big for my taste on a budget.

Option 2: Deluxe Verandah Suite Category S. Approximately 556 square feet including the verandah.
Amenities include: 2 lower beds convertible to 1 king-size bed, whirlpool bath and shower and additional shower stall, large sitting area, dressing room, private verandah, 1 sofa bed sleeping 2 persons, DVD player, mini-bar, refrigerator, floor-to-ceiling windows. At about 1/2 the size of the premier accommodations I wouldn’t mind this especially, with 2 people. The question is, how much would this one set us back???

Option 3: Superior Verandah Suite Category SS:
Approximately 389 square feet including the verandah
Amenities include: 2 lower beds convertible to 1 queen-size bed, sofa bed sleeping 1 person, bathroom with dual sink vanity, full-size whirlpool bath and shower and additional shower stall, private verandah, DVD player, floor-to-ceiling windows, personalized cruise stationery, elegant bathrobes for use on your cruise, fresh flowers and fruit assortment, luxurious beds featuring Sealy Premium Euro-Top mattresses and finely woven cotton linens. Nice but getting smaller and still includes a verandah.

Option 4: Still with Verandah but getting smaller still: Verandah Suite Categories – A, B, BB, BC
Approximately 292 square feet including the verandah
Amenities include: 2 lower beds convertible to 1 queen-size bed, whirlpool bath and shower, sitting area, private verandah, DVD player, mini-bar, refrigerator, floor-to-ceiling windows, personalized cruise stationery, elegant bathrobes for use on your cruise, fresh flowers and fruit assortment, luxurious beds featuring Sealy Premium Euro-Top mattresses and finely woven cotton linens.

I just want to be sure I have a separate bed!

Option 5: Deluxe Verandah Outside Cabin Categories – VA, VB, VC, VD, VE and VF. Approximately 249 square feet including verandah
Amenities include: 2 lower beds convertible to 1 queen-size bed, bath and shower, sitting area, private verandah, floor-to-ceiling windows

Option 6….I feel like it’s the incredible shrinking room ! Losing the Verandah now:

Large Outside Cabin Categories – C, D, DD, E, F, G, H and HH
Approximately 197 square feet
Amenities include: 2 lower beds convertible to 1 queen-size bed, bathtub and shower, window (Category G, H and HH may have obstructed views on certain ships)

Option 7: Oh Oh..no verandah and no outside ocean view. I wonder what kind of savings we would get with one of these.

Large Inside Cabin Categories – I, J, K, L, M and MM
Approximately 182 square feet
Amenities include: 2 lower beds convertible to 1 queen-size bed, shower

Finally the last category. This is what I think I was in when I went to the Bahamas.

Option 8: Standard Inside Cabin Categories – N and NN
Approximately 155 square feet
Amenities include: 2 lower beds convertible to 1 queen-size bed, shower

Have any of you cruised? Anyone with any experience with the cabins?

I checked out the Holland American website a little bit. Most of the information is right there with lots of pictures and virtual tours. The shore excursions are also listed based on the cruise itinerary you will be on. They also list general information about deposits, down payments and so on. Important to know as you line up your financial ducks.

Well, that about covers the rooms/ cabins. Next post I’ll wrap up with some of the finer details such as dress code for dinner and making connections. See you Monday! 🙂

Alaska Cruise Planning up-date

Posted on September 23, 2011September 23, 2011 by Dusty Roads

I’m not sure if AAA has a Horizon’s publication throughout the country but here in New England they put out a monthly newsletter called Horizons AAA Southern New England. I really enjoy this newsletter and try to read it as soon as it comes in. Sometimes I’m not too successful but I managed to get right to the September issue this time.

In this issue I found out that one of the new AAA discounts is at Friendly’s Ice Cream. You can get a AAA breakfast for just $3.00 or a AAA Triple Scoop Sundae for $3.00. All you have to do is show your membership card.

Also in this issue way down at the bottom (below the fold as they say) was a tiny paragraph that was titled “TRAVEL NIGHTS FOR MEMBERS”.

The one paragraph said only “You’re invited! Learn about Alaska Cruise Tours at AAA’s Somerset office at 6pm 9/22. To RSVP call…(800) etc.

It just so happened that I had a few hours of “flex time” at work that had to be used before Oct 1 so I requested and was granted, the evening of the 22nd off.

About a dozen people were in attendance. About half of whom had actually been on a cruise before and 2 had been to Alaska so we were a “ripe” group. Most everyone looked to be nearing senior status, a lot of white hair and life lines on faces. I fit right in. There were more women than men. In fact I think there were only 2 men in the whole group.

There were about 5 AAA travel counselors and a representative from Holland America Cruise Lines.

Holland America was the line my sister had originally suggested. Then because we listened to a lot of people we kind of shied away from them and switched to Royal Caribbean. Sis took the itinerary from RC and showed it to her AAA travel rep and they said it was a good one but it was very expensive. I was feeling extremely uncomfortable because I just wasn’t really sure what we were getting for our money if we booked that. I really wanted some Face-to-face with someone.

When I arrived and they introduced the Holland America Rep I thought we were in for a hard sell event but nothing could have been farther from that. The first thing the rep did was put on a 15 minute DVD with a sample cruise tour. This broke down the many, many offerings into 4 basic packages. This began to de-mystify the process right there.

When the DVD was finished the rep took the stage. Her first words were ” Booking a Cruise to Alaska is a very complicated process and you need to do your homework. Most people love Alaska and say they will go back but few ever get the chance to go a 2nd time. There is no doubt about it, it is an expensive, once in a lifetime trip.”

WOW that didn’t sound like hard sell to me. It sounded more like a caution. The next thing she said was ” If you are going on a budget in 2012 and think you will be in a better place financially in 2013, wait. It’s better to go with a more flexible budget.”

That out-of-the-way she made another strong recommendation. Before you book your cruise make a list of what the trip means to you and what you want to see/ do/ experience while you are there. Cruising the Inside Passage is beautiful but what you will see is water and glaciers for 7-14 days. That is only 10% of what Alaska is all about. If all you do is cruise the shoreline you will miss 90% of what this great land has to offer. The way to make a memorable vacation is the add the shore excursions of which Denali is the top draw.

Moving on to how the packages are built she explained:

Package 1: 7 day southbound cruise
Package 2: 7 day northbound cruise
Package 3: 14 day round trip cruise
Package 4: Expedition Cruises

She said a number of years ago the word began to spread that going “southbound” was the best way to see Alaska but in fact it didn’t matter. She said traveling northbound can save as much as $400-$500/ per person. So for the budget conscious this should be given serious consideration. She offered a map to show that all of the cruises pretty much covered the same routes;

Packages 1 and 2 allow you to add-on the 2 day Denali land tour. The transportation to and from Denali is by bus and train. Both have dome windows. Inside the park you are escorted on school buses. They recommend 2 days in the park because mother nature is in charge. There’s no guarantee what animals will be out and about or how clear the mountain will be.

The 14 day cruise did not have an expedition to Denali and she did not go into the Expedition cruises. They could be discussed one on one as they were quite a bit pricier.

What time of year should you go? well, she said May and early June are the “Shoulder months” and less expensive. It is also the time of year you will see the most animals. Since the wildflowers and grasses are just beginning to bloom the animals come right down to the roadside. Sun set at this time of year is around 10:30 pm.

June and July are the “High Season” It is the most expensive and the time when you experience the “Land of the Midnight Sun” as this is when the sun is up just about all night and day.

August and September is the time the season is winding down. You will probably have snow and it will definitely be cold. It’s the time of year you may see the Northern Lights. There aren’t as many animals as in the spring but you should still see many.

As for clothing..LL Bean was mentioned as were mittens and scarves and comfortable shoes and sneakers.