Internet and Phone Use Connecting at Sea
Staying in touch with fellow passengers at sea and friends and family on land is easier than ever. Most ships now have branded apps that allow cruisers to chat with each other onboard and super fast high-bandwidth Wi-Fi that makes communicating at sea much easier than it used to be. Internet speeds can vary significantly by line and ship, depending on location, available bandwidth and other factors. Most cruise lines don't offer speeds that can support streaming services like Netflix or Spotify. However, a few cruise lines are changing the at-sea connectivity game with relatively affordable high-speed services that support video and music streaming.
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You might expect loud noises, close quarters and crazy maneuvers in the dance club onboard your cruise ship -- but not in your cabin. Even if you don't plan to spend much time there, it should be a restful and private place so you can maintain that much-needed vacation stamina. To help you do so, we've compiled a list of cabins you'll want to avoid booking if closet-like dimensions or scraping chair sounds overhead aren't appealing to you. Heed our advice, and you might be feeling a bit less claustrophobic and a tad more refreshed come disembarkation.
Free. Money. Are there two more beautiful words in the English language? While money doesn't grow on trees, increasingly it can be found somewhere else -- on the high seas. Call it an incentive, call it a bonus; whatever you want to call it, onboard credit lets you spend more freely with less guilt. You've paid your cruise fare, and now you can splurge on those enticing extras -- Swedish massage, specialty restaurant, an excursion to snorkel among shipwrecks -- without busting your budget.
Not many need convincing as to why onboard credit -- money automatically deposited into your onboard account-- rocks, but finding out exactly how to get it and where you can spend it is a bit trickier. We found eight ways to hit the OBC jackpot and offer even more suggestions on how to burn through it, although you probably have your own ideas already. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched a probe last year into six of the biggest online hotel booking sites, Expedia, Booking.com, Agoda, Hotels.com, ebookers and trivago over concerns that the websites were giving false impressions to customers.
The CMA's investigation discovered this to be true! It's one of the most common cruising questions: When is the best time to cruise Alaska, Australia, the Caribbean, Canada/New England, Hawaii, Europe or the South Pacific?
The answer depends on many variables. For example, fall foliage enthusiasts will find September and October the best time to cruise Canada/New England, whereas families prefer to sail in summer when temperatures are warmer for swimming. The best time to cruise to Alaska will vary depending on your preferences for viewing wildlife, fishing, bargain-shopping, sunshine, warm weather and catching the northern lights.
Some Countries Require You to Have Travel Insurance, Others Aren’t Far Behind.
Sometimes travel isn’t as simple as booking a ticket and off you go. In fact, when you travel internationally, you often have to think about things like getting a visa and the expiration date on your passport. And in some cases, you also need to think if the country you are heading to requires you to have travel insurance.
The Dominican Republic has made headlines recently, and not in a good way. The Caribbean country — which draws in over 2 million visitors from the U.S. each year, making it one of the biggest tourist markets in the region — has experienced an alarming trend in the past year: 10 Americans have died while on vacation here in the past year. The circumstances of each case is still undetermined, and the incidents have understandably left many travelers concerned about booking a trip to the country.
10 Things to Remember to Pack On Your Next Cruise
We all know that sinking feeling when you realize you've left something important behind, whether it's your phone in the car or your wallet at the restaurant you just left. That feeling is much worse when you're on a cruise and discover that you've forgotten something at home. While not every "oops" will upend your cruise, some will, while others can prove to be enough of headache to put a dent in an otherwise great vacation. From A to Z, we list a few critical things not to forget the next time you cruise. The ongoing coverage in consumer media promoting the use of a travel advisor to book vacations continued this week with a story on Outside Online, the web version of the iconic magazine that covers outdoor and adventure life.
In an article titled, “Breaking Down the Pros and Cons of Using a Travel Agent,” Shannah Compton Game wrote: “Confession: I’m a big fan of travel agents (whoops, sorry, travel advisers), even though I could technically book all my trips through websites and apps. Travel advisors received a major pat on the back this week, when CNN reported on how travel professionals are in high demand for the “incomparable benefit” they generate for consumers planning vacations.
In a May 20 story entitled, “The Perks of Booking Your Next Trip Through a Travel Advisor,” writer Shivani Vora challenged the concept that “travel agents are obsolete.” |
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