Use PDFZilla To Backup Your Documents For Proof Of Payment
The purpose of this post is to recommend tried and true software ( PDFZilla) that has lots and lots of uses including backing up your travel documents. Countless times I’ve had customers board their cruise ship for a great vacation only to discover they have no record of their pre-paid gratuities or perhaps a pre-paid excursion. This scenario is a bump in the road that can easily be smoothed out by having at your fingertips a PDF File (portable document format) showing proof of your payment in advance.
The above is just one example of how good PDF software like PDFZilla can save you while traveling. Before you travel, purchase a copy of PDFZilla and convert every possible document of proof you think you’ll need and keep it on your laptop – or at least email each one to yourself with a Subject Line that will be easy for you to remember.
You need, of course, your Passport but also have a PDF copy as well just in case the original is lost or stolen. Make a PDF copy of you Marriage License, your Birth Certificate, Drivers License and other important documents. This is good advice whether you’re planning travel or staying at home. Make PDF copies of your tickets, receipts, travel plans and anything you think would be pertinent to back up your position if there’s ever any kind of controversy during you travel. Think of it as being just as important as purchasing travel insurance.
PDFZilla is software that I always come back to after trying others that just don’t “cut the mustard” because PDFZilla not only does it all, it simply works every time!
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Would You Like To Cruise To Cuba?
Royal Caribbean Cruises, Norwegian and several others will begin cruising to the Island of Cuba next year. A lot of things need to be ironed out but Cuba will soon be an interesting getaway – especially if they begin improving their treatment of their citizens.
Contact me if you want to be included in the updates to the situation.
Leland
Looking Forward To Our Group Cruise!
I’ve always said that a key element to happiness is to always look forward to something good. Thinking about something that will make you happy in the future can be a positive happiness builder for today!
MSC Divina Review
MSC Cruises – The MSC Divina!
Review Of MSC Cruises: The MSC Divina
We sailed the MSC Divina from the Port of Miami to the Island of Bermuda. Bermuda is absolutely beautiful and a very safe place to visit. This review however, is more about the ship rather than the destination.
Positive Things:
1. – The ship is stunningly beautiful!
2. – The entertainment is breathtaking!
3. – Prices are better than great – especially because children under 12 are free!
4. – The cheesecake desserts are large!
5. – Free rental for any equipment or supplies needed for children!
6. – In addition to alcoholic, they always offer a non-alcoholic drink of the day!
7. – The bedding is very comfortable!
8. – The showers are always hot and have plenty of water pressure!
9. – There are a good selection of activities daily!
10. – The cruise director and staff are an excellent team!
11. – The curtains in the rooms are designed to be able to block out all light!
12. – There are children’s pools integrated into the sides of the main pool!
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Things That Need Improvement:
1. – The flat screen televisions in the rooms are small measuring about 14″ X 20″.
2. – The pool decks are made of a material that heats up and will seriously burn your feet.
3. – All excursions, once purchased, are non-refundable.
4. – The free soft serve ice cream machines are only open 2 hours each day.
5. – Elevators are small and aligned where you can’t easily see them open.
6. – Food is good but entree portions are very small.
7. – Desserts are good but most selections do not change each night.
8. – Some waiters are friendly but not many.
9. – The Head Waiters are always frowning.
10. – Many employees speak very little English.
11. – Bar waiters do not walk around taking orders or serving drinks.
12. – There are no bars of soap or toiletries in the bathrooms – only liquid dispensers.
13. – The televisions in the rooms have no free movies.
14. – The stabilizers do not work very well resulting in above average movement.
15. – The main showroom is only handicap accessible to the last row of the theater.
16. – The main showroom stairs are lighted in a way that causes trips and falls.
17. – Room service is only free before 11:00 PM.
18. – Room service only offers coffee during breakfast hours.
19. – Room service does not provide any hot meals.
20. – The water is not hot in the hot tubs.
This list of needed improvements are for informational purposes only and there is nothing in this list problematic enough to ruin your cruise or require you to choose a different ship.
Individuals With Limited Mobility
A cruise is a wonderful change of scenery and a complete alternative to a person’s “normal” daily activities and surroundings. This wonderful change is amplified if you’re an individual with limited mobility or if you’re living with any type of physical challenge. Any attempt to make such a vacation better and smoother for such an individual is applauded. Because of personal family experience, I’ve witnessed the provisions made for cruise passengers with limited mobility and unfortunately I’ve also witnessed the lack of those provisions on cruise ships. For the most part, they excel in their attempts especially when you consider all that has to be contended with while trying to make a cruise vacation a happy experience for everyone.
Areas where cruise ships excel are in the embarkation and disembarkation process but, for the days that lie in between, there certainly is a need for some improvement. My pet peeve is the problem of getting from one deck of the ship to another. Your immediate thought may be with the question, “Are there no elevators?” Yes, there are elevators but getting on one is like trying to get a ride on a moving bus! Ninety percent of cruise passengers are able bodied but when an elevator door opens, you would think it was the last elevator of the day! No offense but it is what it is. Cruise ships, in their fear of inconveniencing their greater number of able bodied customers, refuse to give the disabled priority passage into the elevators.
Enjoying the ship is great but what about the ports? Ship employees are usually very helpful in getting passengers off at the ports but better coordination between the ship, the port and the excursion operators need improvement. Sometimes after disembarking the ship, there is little regard for a person that has difficulty in getting to and into a tour bus or the shops at the port. Don’t get me wrong, improvements have been made but more needs to be done.
When it’s meal time, the main dining room is great for individuals with limited mobility but if you’re interested in the buffet, good luck! After filling your plate, even if you can reach everything, a person can go around and around in circles trying to find a table that hasn’t been grabbed by someone who can move more quickly and are willing to assert themselves for their own personal convenience. The above problems are no doubt indicative of life in general for a person living with a disability but a cruise is supposed to be a memorable vacation and cruise ship operators could, if they would choose to, improve in these areas.
Something I feel should be mentioned though I have no solution, is the attitude often expressed by able bodied individuals when a person with a disability and their attendant is allowed to walk past them in a line. Some people, regardless of how much they try to hide it, express disdain against anyone allowed to go the the head of the line. That in turn, causes the disabled to have feelings of uneasiness and guilt which can absolutely ruin their vacation experience. I have noticed, however, one thing that seems to suppress that expression of disdain, is when an employee takes an active part in helping with their movement through the long lines.
My two cents worth,
Leland Garner
Cruise Knowledge Travel
Don’t Miss Formal Night!
Photo Is My Beautiful Great Niece
Formal Night has several names. In addition to Formal Night, it’s also referred to as Cruise Elegant Night, Captain’s Welcome Dinner and Captain’s Farewell Dinner. The slang term for all of the above is simply “Dress Up Night”.
When you mention Formal Night some people smile with enthusiasm while others actually cringe. I would encourage everyone to experience Dress Up Night because it will become one of your best cruise memories. Remember when you were a child and each time you dressed up, you were always going some place special. Being dressed up would make you feel special!
If you really would rather not dress up for Formal Night, it doesn’t mean that you have to go hungry. There’s always the buffet, a specialty restaurant and some ships have sandwich shops, pizza shops and even burger joints. Last but not least, you can always order room service.
Will You Get Sick On A Cruise?
Recently it was reported that a study shows most Norovirus illnesses are contracted as a result of contaminated food in restaurants rather than the buffet line on a cruise ship. The apparent problem is the fact that individuals, not wanting to postpone their cruise, bring the virus with them – and there’s currently no way to detect someone in the beginning stages of the illness. I’ve never had Norovirus on a cruise but I know it could ruin an otherwise perfect vacation. The best prevention is a good washing of the hands with soap and water. Alcohol rub sanitizers are not very effective against Norovirus unless they are combined with benzalkonium chloride in a hand sanitizer.
Cheryl McCann has written an excellent article about what you can do to aid in the prevention of this disruptive illness:
How to Avoid the Real and Present Danger
of Norovirus on Cruise Ships
Cruise Group Leader Responsibilities
- Get everyone to fill out a Guest Information form. ( If you don’t have contact info for each person in your group you can’t do your job!) You’ll need their complete name as it appears on their passport and when their passport expires. You’ll also need their contact information, as well as in which country they were born and in which country they are a citizen.
- Arrange for an official Group Photo with the ship’s photo department on one of the formal nights – preferably just before dinner. Contact everyone that day to remind and encourage them to get dressed a little early for the photo shoot. Make these arrangements with the ship’s photographer on the first day of the cruise. (Be aware the photo department may charge a fee for taking the group photo.) If you have amenity points for the group, you may be able to provide group photos free of charge for a great souvenir.
- Make arrangements with the Head Waiter concerning who in your group is celebrating a special occasion and which day is best for the waiters to gather around the table and sing to them. There will be an extra charge if you order a small cake but a decorated dessert is usually free. Make these arrangements on the first or second day after you learn which Head Waiter or Maitre’ De is in charge of your group’s section in the dining room. Be inconspicuous when you do this so it will be a nice surprise. (Always be prepared to give the Head Waiter a nice tip when making this request to insure that he doesn’t forget.)
- If there are any performances on the ship that are capacity controlled (like Royal Caribbean’s Ice Performances, etc.), be sure your group members have access to the shows. Depending on the cruise ship, this may be handled with free tickets that you can distribute or even arranged for electronically. Check to see if this can even be provided in advance. Ask for enough for your whole group and deliver them at dinner or to each person’s cabin if applicable.
- When setting up your group, find out which members of the group would like reservations at the Specialty Restaurant. If possible, collect the payments and make those reservations through the cruise line several months before you sail. To insure the ambiance of the Specialty Restaurant you may have to sit in small groups. Deliver the confirmations for those reservations with each person’s cruise documents.
- If traveling by charter bus to the port, it’s VERY important to get the driver’s cell phone number in advance. If the charter company uses a passenger manifest, get a copy in advance and check for errors. Communicate to the charter company concerning any physically challenged members with wheelchairs or electric scooters. Be sure to stay with the driver until all luggage is loaded and be double sure no luggage is overlooked. Another responsibility is to count and make sure everyone is on the bus, not only after first boarding but also after any stops along the way. Depending on the distance to the port, you may want to choose in advance a restaurant to stop for breakfast. About fifteen minutes before the end of the bus ride, collect tips from everyone in the group and give them all at once to the driver. Let your group know in advance to have dollar bills put back for the tip. Be sure to bring a DVD or VHS tape of a good movie appropriate for your group to watch on the bus ride.
- If arriving at the port separately and not checking in together, choose a time and meeting place on board to make sure everyone arrived and to see if there are any concerns or if anyone needs anything.
- Also if arriving separately contact the guest services desk about an hour before the ship sails. Take with you a list of members and stateroom numbers to verify all members have arrived.
- Find out in advance if the group wants to go on an excursion together. For those that do, find a reputable tour company and make arrangements. Make the smallest possible deposit in advance just in case the ship has to drop that port because of weather, etc. Collect the remainder of the money no later than the morning of the excursion if you want to make sure everybody pays. Otherwise, let each person be individually responsible for paying the tour representative. Never schedule a tour for the afternoon but rather schedule morning tours to allow for the possibility of transportation problems. Encourage everyone to have Travel Insurance.
- Greatly emphasize the importance of everyone completing their online information and make sure you verify that they did and that they printed out their boarding passes.
- If you have access to a template, print out extra generic luggage tags and include them with the documents.
- Find out, well in advance, if anyone has a preference as to who sits with them at their dinner table and even if there’s any individual they do not want to sit with. Find out also which dinner time the majority of the group prefers. With this information, make a list of your preferred dinner seating arrangement and insure the Travel Agent makes the request in a timely manner, usually 45 days before sailing. This will increase the chances that the cruise line will be able to fulfill your dinner seating arrangement. Let everyone know the seating requests are never guaranteed.
- If you intend to bring a laptop computer and pay for a package of minutes for internet access, arrange a schedule for when and where members of your group that do not have internet access can send emails home for free.
- Make a card to be placed under everyone’s cabin telephone with the cabin numbers of everyone in the group. Also add any information on the card the group as a whole needs to have handy during the cruise.
- As soon as you board, ask to rent a cordless DECT phone or portable ship phone and call everyone in the group with the number. Be aware these phones are usually reserved for suite passengers.
- Just for fun, many groups make little door signs for each member to put on their door as a way for them to show pride in their group. This could be a joint project to work on in the weeks leading up to the cruise.
- Design and purchase, or make available for individuals to purchase, T-shirts for the group. Be sure T-shirt sizes were included on the Guest Information Forms.
- Advise everyone concerning the dangers of traveling without travel insurance. Offer to help with purchasing travel insurance for your group members and if needed, help them with the forms.
- Plan a “Pre-Cruise Get Acquainted Party” or “Document Dance Party” two weeks before the cruise. For this you will naturally need a lot of help to make it a success. Usually a simple covered dish would be fine. This would be the proper time to hand out the documents for the cruise as well as T-shirts if they were ordered for the group. You can have travel related door prizes, a free excursion or even on board credit for the winners. Make sure everyone is introduced and answer any questions they have.
- If the group is large enough and you have enough amenities provided by the cruise line, arrange to have a party in one of the meeting rooms on the ship during the cruise. This would be a good time to celebrate any special occasions in addition to the celebrations in the dining room. Most people on a cruise already have a full schedule so only attempt this if a majority of your group is very interested.
- Plan an “After-Cruise Party” for everyone to exchange vacation photos about two or three weeks after the cruise. Show videos of the cruise and hand out information for your next cruise.
- Tell everyone about the availability of community forums such as CruiseMates or at Cruise Critic and their “Meet And Mingle” parties and help with instructions on how to take advantage of them.
- Encourage everyone to sign up for the Member Loyalty Club or similar organization and help them with the form to mail in or sign them up on their behalf so they can take advantage of the available perks and discounts.
- Check to make sure everyone has a Passport and provide forms and assistance for those that don’t.
- If the group prefers, ask the Travel Agent to add gratuities to each person’s cruise line account for advance payment of gratuities. If everyone in the group pre-pays their gratuities, you can make arrangements with the ship dining room allowing “Round Robin Seating”. “Round Robin Seating” is when members of the group are allowed to change and sit at any group table each evening.
- On the first day of the cruise, make an appointment with the ship’s group representative or loyalty ambassador and provide a list of members, their reservation and club membership numbers and cabin numbers. Try to insure every member gets their proper perks.
- As an extra practical perk for your group, provide everyone lanyards for their ID cards. Distribute them on the morning of the cruise.
- If there are many church members in the group, you can arrange for a devotion for them in the chapel or in a meeting room.
- Near the end of your cruise, get debarkation tags of the same color for everyone in your group. This can usually be arranged by the Guest Services Desk for the purpose of arranging for everyone in your group to disembark together.
- Check every week before your cruise is scheduled to sail to see if the cruise company has dropped the prices and if they have, negotiate a lower price for the group.