Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer.
I want to share a link that has the vast majority of travel related companies policies regarding the Virus. This is a link to a page on our website that is constantly updates with the latest information.
https://www.dhkvacations.com/pages/coronavirus-travel-information-28156
Thanks
There are things we might not think about or know about until too late. You can make plans ahead and hopefully avoid unpleasant surprises.
For example, you never know when you might have to gate check your carry on bag due to overhead bins being full, etc. Don’t leave your most indispensable possessions in that bag. Pack jewelry, IPad, camera, house and car keys, medications, etc. in a pouch or small bag inside your carry on. If you have to gate check the bag, you can easily remove the items and carry them with you.
When you book a hotel or cruise for a special occasion, let your travel advisor or the hotel know the reason you are booking. Often you can get a free upgrade or they might provide something extra to make the celebration memorable.
Always check the U.S. State Department Travel Alert (https://travel.state.gov/) before you go overseas but don’t rely solely on those alerts. Also check with the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. The alerts aren’t written for tourists but also diplomatic officers and others who end up in places and situations everyday tourists do not.
If you have your heart set on visiting a particular port on your cruise, plan your cruise to start or stop there. If it is scheduled for mid-cruise, the unforeseeable may occur and the ship may not stop there.
If you see something you like, buy it as soon as you see it. You may not remember exactly where the shop is and it probably isn’t going to be less expensive at another store. You may regret it if you don’t get it.
Check your phone plan before you travel abroad. Make sure you understand the terminology and exactly how much the charges are. DON’T use “Cellular at Sea”. It is very expensive.
If you need to use different currency, the better option is to ask your bank ahead of time to get the currency for you. Otherwise, changing money at the airport is about the same as getting it in town. Sure, you will save a little changing it in town, but is it worth the hassle to not have the correct currency on the trip into town?
Buy the travel insurance! You aren’t just buying it in case you don’t get to go on the trip. The primary reason is that you can’t afford to pay for medical care outside of the US and you sure can’t afford to pay for a flight home if needed. US insurance rarely, very rarely, pay for medical care outside of the US and certainly not the flight home.
Print out your reservation details and put it with your documents. You may have it on your phone, but you might not have instant access to phone service to check that information right away.
Notify your bank and major credit cards of the dates you will be gone and which countries you are visiting. You don’t want them to not honor a purchase you make due to “unusual activity”.
Your memories are one of the most valuable things you get from your trips so back up your pictures on a regular basis. You can back them up on a USB stick, internet site, etc.
Double-check your documents and reservations for everything from hotels, flights, trains, buses, etc. Always corroborate the time and location, and make sure they are scheduled correctly. Also, check that your name is correctly spelled especially on your flight reservation.
Have a hard copy of your documents (passport, IDs, travel insurance policy, credit cards) with you. In case you lose your original documents, copies facilitate your identity verification and quicken the renewal process.
Don’t try to do too much in one trip. Give yourself time to enjoy where you are and not just check things off your bucket list.
Consider the different time zones between home and places you are visiting. Consider the possible effects of jet-lag during your first days.
Use a guidebook but don’t rely totally on it. Just use one or two suggestions per day. Do your research!
If you see a lot of locals at a street food vendor, chances are it is safe to eat there. Don’t be afraid to try local food.
Don’t stay solely in the “touristy areas”. Wander some but keep an eye on your surroundings. You may find a fabulous local restaurant, shop, or meet interesting locals.
We sailed on the Carnival Breeze September, 2019. The ship leaves out of Port Canaveral. It holds 3,690 passengers and was built in 2012 with her recent refurbishment in 2017.
The first thing we did on the ship was eat at Guy’s Burger Joint. What an awesome burger with amazing toppings and fantastic french fries! A great way to start our cruise.
We found several great places on the ship to just sit, people watch, read and be on the ocean. On both sides of Deck 5, outside of Ocean Plaza, are chairs and tables with umbrellas which are very comfortable. The pool deck aft of the Lido Marketplace Buffet Restaurant is also nice and has some covered chairs and lounge chairs to sit in. The Serenity Deck on this ship is the aft part of the ship, deck 15. Adults only with lots of lounge chairs but not shade.
We were scheduled to go to Bermuda where we had reserved a tandem electric car to explore the island. But, Hurricane Humberto went there a day or so before we left port and Hurricane Jerry was on the way there. So, they diverted us to San Juan, Puerto Rico and Amber Cove, Dominican Republic. Guess that is what you get when you schedule a Caribbean cruise during hurricane season. But, although we didn’t go where we expected, it was still a fun cruise and the ports were great!
What are the odds!?!? We were still on the way to San Juan when Hurricane Karen popped up and was headed directly for Puerto Rico, to arrive about the same time we did. And, the early morning we were to get there, there was a 6.1 earthquake 5 miles offshore of San Juan. Were we being told something? Fortunately, the hurricane was downgraded to a tropical depression and slowed so it didn’t get there until after we left. The people who were awake felt the earthquake but it didn’t cause any damage and no tsunami.
We had fun there walking around San Juan. We heard about a coffee shop in Old San Juan, very close to the dock, called Cuatro Sombras. Wonderful coffee and pastries! We highly recommend it!
Next stop – Amber Cove, Dominican Republic. No beach access but the pool was nice with a swim up bar and a water park. Lots of shops, but we thought they were overpriced.
Grand Turk is pretty with the colorful buildings you expect in the Caribbean. There is a Margaritaville there, nice pools and beach access with lots of lounge chairs. The sand is very soft and white. There are also many water activities, paddle board, lots of boat rides, etc.
One day we went to our normal spot on Deck 5. There was a young couple there with their one year old son who was just learning to take his first steps. The kid was cute as a button. There were several of us grandparent types sitting in the chairs. We were encouraging him and clapping for him. He would grin, clap back to us, then try even harder to perfect his walking. Have to say it was the best show on the ship.
Another interesting thing we got to do on the ship – the head chef took us on a tour of the largest galley on the ship. It was a real learning experience. Seemed like miles of stainless steel cabinets, neat as a pin, and busy. There were separate areas for prepping all the food – salads, entrees, desserts, sides, etc. And even separate dishwashing areas for china, glasses, utensils, etc. You should have seen the size of the chocolate bar they use for the Carnival Warm Chocolate Melting Cake! They make 22,000 meals every week, not counting the pub meals, barbecue and pizza. There are 190 chefs onboard. That’s a LOT of cooking!!
We had both entrees the night we had shrimp and filet; also the night we had lobster and prime rib. Plus we had the Melting Chocolate Cake and Creme Brûlée each time it was offered. They are both awesome!
The Italian Restaurant on the ship, Cecina del Capitano, is fantastic! And if you can get in, on the days they have a pasta bar, it is also wonderful. You get a choice of pasta, sauces and added items such as mushrooms, peppers, onions, grilled chicken, shrimp, etc. Then you pick your bread. It was ready in 5 minutes and was very good. Then you could go to the buffet for dessert.
Speaking of the buffet for dessert, the last day they had the Chocolate Extravaganza – lots of different chocolate cakes, desserts and there was a chocolate fountain that fruit, marshmallows, etc. could be dipped in. If you like chocolate, this was not to be missed!
In addition to the Guy Fieri’s burgers, the BlueIguana Cantina had a great taco bar, burritos and a few several breakfast choices. Guy’s Pig & Anchor Smokehouse had great barbecue, chicken, mac and cheese, slaw, collards and baked beans. The pizza on the ship was good too. You could take what they had or you could ask for specific toppings and they would fix it for you. The Carnival Deli also fixed wonderful sandwiches.
We really had a good time and enjoyed the cruise immensely. We will certainly have no issues putting our clients aboard the Carnival Breeze.
I have posted a bit about our home theatre set up in a couple of posts about new equipment, but this is about the overall system. This is not a surround sound movie watching system. It is a very well developed two channel stereo music system, that happens to have a video monitor.
The speakers are two pairs of Dahlquist DQ-10’s that have been mirror imaged and stacked into frames I built about 35 years ago. The speakers have every available mod done to them, along with driver rebuilds over the years. Of all the components in the system, these are the constant, I have listened to a great many systems over the years, and have yet to come across speakers that have the extended frequency range, low distortion, ability to image and ungodly dynamics of these. There are other reproducers that may excel in a small degree, but none do it all like the DQ-10’s. Large scale orchestral, choir, chamber music, vocal, jazz, even rock are all reproduced as recorded. There is also an SVS subwoofer that handles the low bass from about 80hz down to 18hz. This does relieve the main panels from having to do a lot of low bass work, thereby lowering distortion.
The primary electronics are all Emotiva. The power amps are XPA-1’s which produce a kilowatt into the 4 ohm load of the stacked DQ’s. The speakers are famous for requiring a lot of power and high current. Having that much available power means that there is never an issue with reproducing what ever dynamics are called for, yet the first watt is about the cleanest I have ever heard with the exception of some dedicated low power class A tube amps.
The preamp is a two channel XSP-1, and the DAC is a XDA-2. One of the primary points for me was that all analog signal paths in the equipment are fully balanced. Even the power amps are balanced all the way to the speakers. This results in a noise floor that is inaudible at any level.
The two other posts detail the other equipment in the system, so I won’t go over it again. The display is the last of the Panasonic Plasma TV’s. Six years ago when I acquired it, it put any LCD set to shame. Deep blacks and shadow detail, along with beautiful and subtle color. Of course since then the OLED displays have overtaken this set in so many ways, yet until it breaks completely it will stay in the system.
It has been a work in process for over four decades, but it has now come to the point that I am very satisfied, and see no further upgrades unless something dies irreparably . About all that I will do now is acoustic tweaks to the room and listening environment.
In our business, we get to try lots of ships and preview many more. We do our best not to sail on any given ship more than once or twice. It’s important that we have a broad base of knowledge about the offerings from all the cruise lines. In this way we can speak from personal experience about the ship, crew, dining, and entertainment.
During the first week of December this year, Deedee and I had the privilege of being invited to an inaugural sailing of the new Sky Princess and to attend the naming ceremony after the cruise. This was a short three day cruise for the travel advisor and trade press community, so they were obviously putting their best foot forward. Having said that, this is an awesome ship.
In many ways it is a new look for Princess. Much cooler colors tending towards blues and muted tans instead of the dark woods and browns of the older ships. A very pleasing new color scheme without moving away from the understated elegance that Princess has always eschewed.
Our cabin on this cruise was a balcony on deck 17 mid ship on the port side. A category BD for those of you that follow such things. Again a much cooler color scheme than before. First thing is the bed. Not sure what they have done, but it was the best sleep we have had in a long time. Not to stiff, not too soft, just right. The duvet has a sheet under it which made Deedee very happy. The bathroom was not huge, but the shower was a reasonable size, although still with that damn shower curtain. The closet and drawers were redesigned, with much better ability to organize stuff. This is one of the better additions to the cabin. A decent sized desk with lots of outlets and USB ports plus some beside the bed. Yeah!! No couch in the balcony cabins, you have to go to a mini-suite or above for that. Decent sized balcony fo two people. Overall, very pleased with the cabin.
A unique feature with Princess is the Ocean Medallion. This little disc comes to you a couple of weeks before you board and is your ticket to everything that is available on the ship. Boarding is so much simpler, because you just walk up to the desk, the system reads your medallion and its done. From there, you show it at the ship and you’re in. The medallion opens your cabin door when you get very close. The little screen welcomes you and as you approach the door the door handle has a red ring. When recognition is complete that ring turns green and the door is unlocked. The medallion is your onboard purchases device, and works with the ocean medallion app. We were at the adult pool and wanted a drink. We called up the app, ordered the drinks and the waiter brought them right to us a few minutes later. This works because the system knows where you are. Meeting up with friends is also a snap, as the app can tell you where other folks in your party are on the ship. Very cool tech, and it works as advertised the majority of the time.
I also have to comment on the ship’s wifi. Best I have ever had on a ship. Now compared to land based broadband, thats not saying much, but it is reliable, and Princess doesn’t charge by the hour or gigabyte. It’s open and running 24/7. Wifi calling on the phone worked perfectly, and email and most online websites did as well. It is still satellite based, so there is a good deal of latency. When lots of people are on it, it can get SLOW, but that’s just how the technology works.
All of the mainline large cruise ship providers now spend a lot of time and funds on the entertainment piece. Princess is certainly no exception. The broadway shows we saw were outstanding. Full of energy and great dancing. Singers were first rate. There was a show based on video games that I wasn’t certain I would like, but in fact was dazzling with the sets and visuals, and very entertaining. Comedy shows were excellent with several very good comics highlighted.
On a three day cruise, there wasn’t nearly enough time to try all the dining venues, plus we had some times we had to eat with our Cruise Planners group. We did try the buffet on the Lido deck, and it was very good. Pretty much like every other buffet on a ship. Two pizza places. One in the atrium, and the other on Lido. Of course an ice cream spot. The specialty restaurant we did get to try was Sabatini’s. We are both suckers for great Italian food. Our previous encounter on the Crown Princess left a bit to be desired. Princess has revamped the menu, and it was excellent. The dishes leaned a bit towards the Tuscan region with a smattering of Southern Italy and Sicilian available. Well prepared with great presentation, along with a wonderful wine selection. Excellent, attentive staff. Hopefully the Crown Grill measures up.
The main dining rooms were very stylish with the new color schemes and decor. Excellent service for dinner and breakfast. The menu’s were very good with delightful pairings of dishes and wines. No issues at all.
A common problem on most ships is the lack of deck chairs around the pools and decks. On the Sky, we never felt like we were squeezed out of finding a couple of places to sit, even on sea days. The adult pool on deck 17 was by far our favorite. There were not a lot of kids on board, but we never saw one at the adult pool. In fact, this is not really a ship to entertain children. No water slides, or laser tag. There is a kids area, but its all interior space. Lots of eateries and bars all over the outside areas, and of course you can get just about anything brought to you with your medallion.
OK, I admit to being a classical music fan, and somewhat of a scotch snob, so having an amazing string quartet, and a wee dram in the atrium every evening before dinner was an absolute joy. The ladies were from the Eastern Europe countries, and were conservatory trained. It showed. The ensemble playing was superb, and the selections from Mozart to Bussoni, plus some more popular tunes were performed with emotion and precision. Did I mention that the Macallan 15 was very good as well.
Not being a gambler, the casino was not a big deal for us, however it was fairly large and looked like it had a great variety of table games and machines.
Bottom line. This is likely the best ship in the Princess fleet at the moment. Next year, the Enchanted Princess launches in Europe and is the sister ship to the Sky. As with any ship and crew, there were a few hiccups, but the overall experience was absolutely top notch. This is a ship that, as travel advisors, we will have no problem recommending to our clients.
Its not often that I absolutely love a product, but this is one of those cases. I will say that unless you have the specific need for a USB to SP/DIF digital audio converter, then don’t bother to read on. This product solves a very specific problem.
I had been using a Mac Mini for many years as the hub of our home theatre. The optical output of the Mac went straight into the DAC, and the sound was very good to excellent with that setup. The Mac died, and i decided to build a new HTPC from scratch. This computer is running Linux, so there can be some issues with interface. In this case the DAC was old enough that the USB audio out from the computer wouldn’t talk to the DAC. I didn’t want to go spend a lot of money on a new one, so I went looking for a new solution.
I had heard about Schiit Audio for some time, as a company that builds outstanding audio products that fill specific niches in the market. As it turns out they built this little box that did just one thing. It takes the USB audio feed and converts it to a coaxial SP/DIF signal to feed to a DAC. My assumption was that it would do just that. I was not expecting the WOW improvement to the sound of the system.
After putting it in the system and configuring some settings in the Ubuntu audio system, I started listening. From the very first recording I knew this was special. Everything sounded cleaner with more definition and coherence. The image tightened up to the point that every instrument or voice was in the right place and the right spacial size. Now understand, the system imaged well before, but now it was just flat amazing. I had been mostly listing to high def FLAC files because they seemed to sound so much better than CD rebook issues. With this gadget, even standard 44.1/16 FLAC files sound wonderful (if its a well recorded.).
So whats going on inside? Just connect your USB source to Eitr’s USB input, and connect Eitr’s coaxial SPDIF output to any DAC that accepts coaxial input. Now, you have complete isolation from source to DAC, together with a superb, low-jitter coaxial SPDIF interface for bit depths and sample rates up to 24/192. The Eitr features the same unique Gen 5 USB input technology as in our upgradable DACs. It’s simply the highest-performance USB input available today, with complete electrostatic and electromagnetic isolation (via transformers), self-power of all critical low-noise and reclocking sections, and separate, precision clock sources for both 44.1 and 48kHz multiples. (And if you don’t understand the technobabble, here’s the point: it works great and sounds great, too.)
If you need this, buy it cause its the best, and a bargain at 99 bucks. I would suggest you do it soon, as the product is on there list to be discontinued. Thank you Schiit Audio for a superb product.
Civil War Sites
History buffs have a lot of historic sites to visit in South Carolina. From Fort Sumter to Parris Island, South Carolina is absolutely brimming with Civil War and American history.
We have the site of the first shot of the Civil War in Charleston at Fort Sumter National Monument. The National Monument also includes the Visitor Center on Patriots Point and Fort Moultrie on Sullivan’s Island. The Fort Sumter National Memorial is a fascinating look into the beginning of that war. There are preserved elements at Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie with still standing artillery and other historic items. A visit to the Charleston Museum will give you a better understanding of the importance of these sites. It has an exhibit called “City Under Siege” which gives interesting details about what lead to the secession and the battle at Fort Sumter. While you are in Charleston, the Secessionville Historic District on James Island is a collection of sites and structures relevant to the Civil War.
No Civil War history would be complete without a visit to River Bridge State Historic Site. It is on a 400 acre site about seven miles from Ehrhardt. You can do a walking tour which lets you view the mostly intact Civil War fortifications and the cemetery.
Even our State House in Columbia has Civil War significance. It narrowly avoided complete destruction during Sherman’s march in 1865. The building has six bronze stars marking where artillery batteries hit the building.
The SC State Museum in Columbia features a Confederate Relic room, a Military Museum, as well as an impressive Civil War collection. There is a replica of the H.L. Hundley submarine (you can see the original in Charleston), several copies of the original Ordnance of Secession as well as plenty of authentic artifacts.
At the Parris Island Museum at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot near Beaufort, you can get an in-depth look into several Civil War conflicts taking place around the Port Royal Sound area. There are several Confederate Museums in SC. The Confederate Museum in Charleston houses a collection of Civil War goods and items. Greenville is home to the South Carolina Confederate Museum. Myrtle Beach is home to the South Carolina Civil War Museum which features authentic firearms, uniforms, and other artifacts.
There is lots of history in our state offering in depth looks into the era and you can have fun learning.
Alaska is an amazing state. You can cruise between May and September, perfect for school vacations! Alaska has breathtaking scenery, amazing wildlife, and spectacular glaciers. You can see whales, go dog sledding, visit frontier towns, go on amazing helicopter tours, and see glaciers calving. It is a fabulous experience! You can cruise on the major cruise lines or some of the smaller lines for more adventurous cruising.
Hawaii is an exotic place with several islands to explore. The good part of traveling to Hawaii is you don’t need a passport. After all, it is part of the United States. You can whale watch from November to early May and visit sea turtle sanctuaries. There are extinct and active volcanos to visit; beautiful beaches from pink sand to black sand; stunning cleaved, green-clad volcanic cliffs dripping down to the sea, cascading waterfalls and many more awesome sights to see. And where else can you go to an authentic traditional luau?
How about the Fjords of Norway, Sweden, or Iceland? Fjords are beautiful, long, narrow inlets with steep sides or cliffs, created by glacial erosion and offer beautiful vistas. Speaking of Iceland, you can go for the Northern Lights, several national and state parks, rainbow colored mountains, the Blue Lagoon where you can swim in the healing waters, black sand beaches, geothermal pools, and urban cities as well as stunning scenery.
Imagine, visiting Antarctica and seeing penguin colonies, soaring glacier cliffs, calving icebergs, whale seals, albatross. There are icebreaker ships and expedition ships which have experts and naturalists for learning about wildlife, geology, oceanography, glaciology and history. Visit the Galapagos Island and see giant tortoise, sea lions, birds, iguanas beautiful white sand beaches, hiking, diving and snorkeling.
Australia offers the iconic landmarks in Sydney, beautiful beaches with lots of surfing, and of course, The Great Barrier Reef. You can visit a number of World Heritage Sites including the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, the Blue Mountains and the Rainforestation National Park, ride a camel along the shore, or learn the secrets to pearl farming, New Zealand has black sand beaches and the world’s yacht racing capital, Auckland. Inside Auckland’s Waitomo Grotto, you will see the glittering glowworms, or enjoy an exclusive kiij at Maori and Polynesian exhibits. Along Akaroa’s Southern Alps you can see the white-flippered blue penguins and fur seals. New Zealand is home to Maori legends and steaming volcanic lakes.
Mediterranean cruise vacations are packed with history and culture. You can have sun and sand or just enjoy the natural beauty of the area and become immersed in the number of diverse cultures in the countries on the Mediterranean. Some of the countries include Italy, Spain, the Greek Islands, Malta, Croatia, Turkey, Portugal and Egypt. Or you can cruise the Italian or French Riviera. The Baltic Sea cruises visit Scandinavian cities such as Copenhagen, Helsinki, Stockholm, plus St. Petersburg in Russia.
Or try a non-sea cruise. River cruising is on small ships typically less than 200 passengers. Rivers don’t have high waves either for those of you who are prone to seasickness. River cruising is more intimate and you usually dock right in the city center so sights are often walkable. River cruising is as varied as ocean cruising. You can cruise on the Amazon, Danube, Nile, Rhine, Dnieper, Douro Portugal, Elbel Germany, Main, or Seine. Cruise the Volga or Svir in Russia, Dnieper Ukraine, or Dutch Waterways. In the US you can cruise the Upper or Lower Mississippi, the Ohio or Tennessee, or the Columbia or Snake Rivers. In the Far East you can cruise the Yangtze in China, Mekong in Cambodia and Vietnam, or the Irrawaddy in Myanmar. There are also Barge Cruises on European canals. Barges typically hold 8 passengers and the cruise is easily customizable so you can see whe you want to see.
Each all-inclusive brand offers different amenities. Some have swim-up rooms where you can swim from your room terrace to the main pool. Some have butler service or concierge service. Most have 24 hour room service. Some have in-suite plunge pools, Jacuzzi, and in-suite rain showers or outdoor private showers. You can have a destination wedding of your dreams or a fantastic honeymoon. You can go snorkeling, windsurfing, surfing, diving, fishing, play basketball, beach volleyball, or bocce ball, take language lessons, cooking classes have a cookout on the beach, go whale watching, watch turtles hatch and go into the ocean, participate in special parties like dance parties, watch a movie under the stars on the beach, go to eco-parks, have a private dinner on the beach, etc.
If it isn’t an all adult resort, there are family rooms and clubs for children which offer many activities and family time. There are activities just for children from camping on the beach, video games, and sports to learning a new language or learning to cook.
It can be confusing to compare all the different all inclusive brands and all inclusive individual hotels. The choice is enormous and each island, city, or country usually only have a few of the brands. You can do the research yourselves, or call your travel advisor for help. If you find the right all-inclusive you can have a vacation with a lifetime of wonderful memories!