This is the main article. I use traveling to Rome where the cruise line
starts as an illustration. It should apply to other travel planning. Most are
just common sense. It may be repeated in Personal Impression.
Where to go
My cruise started in Rome, so I did not have a choice to choose cities. However, I would avoid the following countries or cities due to:
·
Political unrest or at war (most countries
involved in the Middle East conflicts today for example).
·
Sanitary problems (such as India).
·
Pollution (such as Beijing but a short period is
fine).
·
Safety (many South American countries).
·
Some countries require visas and valid passports
if you do not have time to apply/renew one.
When and what to avoid
· Summer in West Europe (as most are taking vacation and it is flocked with tourists).
·
Golden tourist weeks and Chinese New Year in
China and the national holidays.
·
School holidays/vacations if you have a choice.
·
Winter in many colder countries such as the
Baltic.
·
Hurricane season in Caribbean countries and
tornado season in the tornado alley in the US.
·
Typhoon season (usually during summer) in
Asia.
·
Snow storm.
·
During conventions, they will charge you as much
as the market can bear in airlines, hotels and restaurants. Check them out for
the cities you want to travel to by googling “city name, month and year,
convention”.
·
Avoid helicopter and hot balloon rides unless
they’re run by reputable companies.
·
Avoid unsafe countries and countries with high
tendency of terrorists’ attacks.
·
You should go before you are too old to travel.
·
Bring enough prescription drugs plus extra just
in case. Do not skip them. Avoid excessive exercises. Avoid food that would
deteriorate your health problems. Fancy foods are usually not healthy.
·
Eat a lot of vegetables and fruits.
Make compromises
We cannot eliminate so many places and times to travel. Besides wars and natural disasters, we can reduce most problems by the following:
·
Talk to your doctor to have all the shots that
help you in case of eating contaminated food.
·
Avoid street foods especially in emerging
countries. Eat more fruits and food with disposal skins such as bananas. One
old lady in Thailand selling street food uses the same bucket of water for the
entire day.
·
Eat hot food (or cold food) supposed to be hot
(or cold).
·
Do not drink tap water unless you know they are
safe. For some cities, avoid water even for brushing teeth.
·
Check whether your planned trip is in season for
any possible storm.
·
Avoid snowy regions unless there are good
reasons such as skiing. Same for connecting flights.
·
Picking pockets is quite popular in Europe
including St. Petersburg. When you carry a bag carelessly and/or a camera,
you’re the target. Sometimes they work as a group. Do not talk to strangers
especially beautiful girls. Gypsies are very skillful in picking pockets.
·
My friend told me some money was stolen from the
hotel safe in South America.
·
Ransom for kidnapping is quite popular in South
America.
·
They have devices to read your credit cards. I
put an aluminum foil around my credit card and I use Euro instead of the card
wherever possible.
·
Many live on $2 per day in India. Stealing or
cheating you $10 could be the entire expenditure for the whole week.
·
Be especially careful in non-tourist areas
especially in high crime areas.
·
Do not be too friendly unless you trust your
strangers.
·
More relaxed and less expensive during off
seasons.
·
The legal-brand products are protected and
enforced in Europe. Leave the imitators home and do not buy them in the street.
·
We used the tours in China. They are low priced
due to promotions. They make the money from the commissions they make by taking
you to shops and factories. Avoid buying these over-priced merchandises as much
as possible.
·
Check the merchandise you are buying. They could
replace them with defective items or expired medicines.
·
Enjoy the over-priced shows they take you as
they cannot make money on the tours alone.
·
In China, typically breakfasts are great
especially in big cities. The more remote the place is, the worse is the food.
However, the scenery is far better in remote locations. If I want to see
concrete forest, I would visit New York City. If you want to eat the food you
want, stay home.
·
If you plan the tour yourself, try to have a
local tour for some attractions that individuals cannot take full advantage of.
·
Thailand has a lot to offer. Japan is very
expensive to stay. Hong Kong has lost its shopping paradise due to its high
rents.
·
Vancouver and Toronto have the best Chinese food
in term of quality, safety and price.
·
Do not over eat in cruises. The delicious foods
are usually not healthy. Have a full breakfast if you have an excursion later.
Cut down in greasy food. For example, have one scramble egg instead of two and
one beacon strip instead of multiple stripes. Eat a lot of fruits and
vegetables.
·
I missed many delicious (but not too healthy)
meals many times. Try local offers. Make
reservations early on specialized restaurants on days at sea. Even at extra
cost, most are usually great deals.
·
Tipping in the cruises is pretty compulsory.
·
In Europe, tips may be included in the bill.
Beer and wine could be cheaper than mineral water.
Save money
· Again, travel in off season and it would save you a lot of money.
·
The tour provider (cruise or land tour for
example) usually does not want to undercut the prices by their travel agency
except for special promotions. Hence, travel agencies usually provide us with
better prices.
·
The prices of air tickets fluctuate. Google to
check what currently is the best day(s) of the week to order tickets. Check
what the cruise line offers. If the port starts in one city and ends in
another, most likely the cruise line has better deals.
·
Book the air tickets as soon as possible. I
prefer 6 months earlier. When the airlines find out their tickets are selling,
they will raise prices and vice versa when they’re not selling. If you wait for
4 months before departure, you’re risking the rising prices. If you book too
early in advance, I recommend you to buy protection insurance.
·
If the ticket price is rising and/or the choice
is getting more limited, it means most likely it will rise again. More than one
time, the final prices were far higher than the advertised prices.
·
I do not know whether the following is a trick
or not. I searched for several sites and settled for a round trip to Munich for
about $630. One site popped up with the old price and a new price for $920 and
asked me better to buy now before the price was up again. I was worried as the
prices had been rising slowly. On the next few days, the price went back to
$630 level.
·
Many airlines today charge luggage. If possible,
use carry-ons that you do not have to pay fees. Check the fees from the airline
you fly.
·
Do not forget to bring small travel items such
as earphones, chargers and selfie stick.
·
Compare total prices between different offers
from different web sites minus any future discounts. I found a 10% difference
for the same room in the same hotel from different popular sites.
·
The prices of cruises fluctuate. Basically if they
can sell a lot, they will raise prices, and vice versa. When they have unsold
cabins, you can ask for free upgrades and other goodies. However, if you wait
too late, you may have to pay higher airline tickets.
·
Usually you want to arrive one day earlier
before the cruise. The hotel in some seaports such as South Hampton jack up the
prices when there is demand. Book early. The other option is stay in London for
more attractions but you want to make sure you have enough time to go to the
port.
·
The train service in Rome is excellent. It is
very simple to use the machine to buy tickets. Some ladies assisted us. Avoid
them as they’re trying to get as much tips from you as possible. There is no
free lunch.
·
Use the internet to find the cost and the train
schedule. Most trains to the same
location have both an express train and a slower train. Depending on when will
the express train arrive, a slower train could be faster.
·
We use the train to go to the seaport where we
board our cruise ship. It is about an hour ride if my memory serves me right.
·
We took a cab from our hotel to the train
station. We could walk over there easily even with luggage.
·
From the internet, we booked a shuttle from the
airport to our hotel. It is cheap and there are many other options. They
stopped every hotel during our ride. We’re not in a hurry so the free city tour
was worth it.
·
There are trips from the South Hampton (the
cruise port for London) to the airport or London visiting one or more
attractions. Windsor
Castle is worth the visit for sure. Ensure your flight is late to have
enough time for the visits.
·
If you book your cruise via the agency, they may
charge you booking fees ($25 to me one time). However, some sites may give you
extra benefits.
·
Cruise lines always have promotions such as free
on board credits. Ensure there are no restrictions such as excursions. From my
experience, some excursions cost less in the site than on board. Some popular
excursions may be sold out, so purchase them early.
·
Check out the cost of taxi ride from the cruise
port to the airport. It could be cheaper for three passengers when there is no
traffic. For more passengers, look at the private shuttle services offered from
the internet.
·
I could have drag my luggage from the train
depot in Hong Kong to the hotel that is three blocks away. Know the locations.
·
Timing is everything. Some cruises could be sold
out and some offer last-minute deals.
·
I prefer early dining for health reason. I have
to take buffets if I return late from the excursions.
·
In Rome, order the entrance tickets to Vatican
Museum on-line to avoid the long line especially during tourist season.
·
If you have not, try to avoid the crowd by going
in the afternoon.
·
AAA offers foreign currency exchange. Check out
their fees and exchange rates.
·
Most attractions in Rome are within walking
distance. Get a good map and plan your walking trip. Take the bus if you’re
tired especially in the hot summer days. Two days and three nights is fine for most.
One extra day would be more relaxing. Try TripAdvisor.com.
·
Avoid eating right in the attraction or places
you see a lot of your fellow tourists. Just around the corner or you could find
a lot of local folks and they could be the best eating places.
·
If you really want good food at good prices, use
the internet for research.
·
Most hotels in Rome have breakfasts included. If
not, include the breakfast cost for comparison.
·
Try to find a hotel close to the train station
or subway station.
·
Hotels usually provide free maps. Ask them for
assistance in planning your trip.
·
The online travel agency gave us a big discount
for ordering excursions. We took the package of three ports. It turned out they
were very decent and good value.
·
We also had onboard credit. You cannot use the
credit to book excursions before the cruise (that is why it is called
‘onboard’).
·
Using the onboard credit, we booked another
excursion. The excursions seem to be more expensive if booked on board and some
popular excursions were sold out.
·
The difference between Caribbean cruises and
European cruises is you need to take the excursions in Europe as they have so
much to see. Do not save the money by touring yourself.
·
The cruise lines make their money in excursions
and drinks.
·
There is always a main show in every cruise.
Some folks may see it two times. Try to arrive early for this show.
·
You should plan at least one day (3 days for us
in Rome) before the cruise.
·
Rome, Barcelona and Copenhagen that I have
visited have a lot to offer. Actually I have been to Rome three times. The
ruins are still ruins, but I found something new every time. A special pass for
transportation and museums was offered in Copenhagen and it was worth every
penny.
·
AAA also provides travel checks and exchange of
currencies for its members with some restrictions.
·
Banks could be cheaper in exchange currencies.
Specialized shops could be the most expensive but they are convenient. Your
tour guide’s rate could be in between.
·
We paid Euro in Europe and exchanged some local
currency in Copenhagen. I prefer to use credit card as seldom as possible.
Remember the password for your credit card. The best rate is exchanging local
currency in a local bank if you have time.
·
Notify your credit card companies on what
countries you will travel before you leave home.
·
Some credit card does not charge fees for
conversion of foreign currency. It could save you some money for small
transactions.
·
The best way to make money is via tourists and
they will not come back for defective merchandise. Check out the receipt. I was
tricked more than once. Examine the merchandise right away. The merchant may
switch defective items or products that have been expired.
·
Use cash (local currency if available) to buy if
possible.
·
Do not buy on impulse.
·
You can bargain in many stores especially the
smaller ones.
·
Check mail stop if you’re away for longer time.
·
We stopped in Munich for a few hours. We took
the escort service for sightseeing. You just tip them (not compulsory) at the
end of the service. Use the internet to book this service that is available in
many cities. Our ladies were knowledgeable and friendly.
·
On our way back, we stayed in Dublin for three
days. It has a lot to offer too. If we have time, we should visit outside
Dublin. Book the air to include stop over. Later add-on would cost you a
fortune.
·
Some may want to understand the places before
they go. Internet is your best friend. I try to avoid doing the same for the
cruise as it would take out some surprises. The social director uses the same
jokes for all cruises. Just me.
·
Pack as lightly as possible. Do not really
require a suite for the formal nights in cruises. Just a tie, long pants and a
jacket will do for men.
·
Do not save money of not tasting local cuisines.
·
Do not save money of not attending local
cultural events such as Flamingo dance in Spain and Irish dances/songs.
·
Do not save money by not taking excursions. The
tours from the cruise ships are more expensive but they guarantee not missing
the ship.
·
Learn more on the attraction before the actual
visit. Youtube and TripAdvisor should be good sources.
·
Compare visa requirements. The high price of
visa for Vietnam from my travel agent was so high that I cancelled the planning
to visit there. They had a cheap way to order a visa on-line that I skipped.
·
Your photos are your best souvenir. Tourists are
the best customers as they do not have time to compare and they cannot return
defective merchandises. Too many costly lessons!
Observe local
cultures, laws and regulations
· Observe local laws/regulations. Shoplifting in China could cause you 5 years in prison and execution for having sex with a minor. That’s why China is relatively safe. Crossing streets is a different story.
·
Avoid politics and sensitive topics – you’re a
tourist, not an activist.
·
Chicken/Fish heads displayed on finished dishes
are quite common in Chinese.
·
We are used to fish without bone and skin.
Chinese like them with skin. Most fishes in the river have small bones, so be
very careful.
·
Not flushing the toilet after use is punishable
in Singapore.
·
In China particularly in less developed areas,
the holes are used instead of toilet seats so you can stretch out LOL. Bring
your own toilet paper and do not throw the toilet paper into the hole. Eating in subway cars is a no-no in Hong Kong.
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The above is from one of my travel books.
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