#VacationPlanning Archives - Life is Better Traveling

Cruise Safety : How to be safe on your next cruise.

Did you know that crime occurs at sea? Here are some tips to help you stay safe.

Tip #1: Don’t leave valuables out in your cabin. There are several people including cleaning service, food service, and concierge going in and out of your room while you are out and about. Things can easily go missing and it will be difficult to figure out who took it.

Tip #2: When you are on the ship act like you are in a foreign country and protest your purse and wallets. Men should place their wallets in their front pockets, and women should place their pursue on the dinner table or casino table. Not enough room on the dinner table then place it between your feet. Try to avoid placing your purse on the back of the chair as it can easily get bumped into and swiped.

Tip #3: Excursions are a great way to see the countries you are traveling. Staying with a group is the best way to see Colombia, Panama, and Costa Rica. These countries are beautiful but there are people there who are looking to take advantage of tourists. Also, Colombia still has travel alerts for tourist so please make sure you are watching your surroundings at all times. Groups are Safe!

Tip #4: Try not to roam the ship by yourself late at night when everyone but the crew has retired to their room. People who commit crimes prefer to have NO witnesses.

Tip #5: Don’t give out information you wouldn’t give to someone over the phone you didn’t know. New friends, not the friends in this group, but the ones you make while on the cruise don’t need to know your medical history, personal information, or even your exact street address. Remember, people who scam people have to go on vacation too. Exchanging email addresses is probably the safest way to commute post cruise beside phone number exchange.

The best way to be safe is to be aware of your surroundings at all times. It is your vacation and your time to relax and enjoy your friends. You have friends with you to make sure you will have the best SAFE vacation.

Fill out the form below to get started planning your next European Vacation. Looking for a motor coach tour, self-drive, or private tour, we can easily put together the perfect European vacation for you and your family’s needs.

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Planning Ahead….

Liz Hough on

It is 2018 but not too early to start planning for your 2019 vacation.

There are several steps you take when planning a vacation and you may not even realize you are going through them. Here are some of the initial travel planning steps…..

Step 1 “The Thought”: Do we want to take a big vacation or do we want to do something low key? This step gets you started thinking about whether or not this year will be the year you take that big overseas trip or do you just want to take a 7 night cruise.

Step 2 “Where do we want to go?”: Now that you have in mind what kind of trip you want to take it is time to decide where you want to take it. This can be one of the most difficult steps in the process. There are so many places you want to go but then there are so many places you have been and would like to go back. How do you decide? You make a list of just 5 places you want to travel to. Why 5? Because you don’t want to make the list too long. Write some reasons why you want to go each place. The place that has the most reasons why you want to travel there should be the place you choose to go!

Step 3 “How do we want to get around?”: By step 3 you are moving full steam ahead in the planning of your trip! Depending on where you are considering going there are several means to get around: cruise, rail, motor coach, or air. Sometimes you don’t have a choice. But if you do, consider trying a means of transportation that you haven’t tried before, i.e. a river cruise or the rail system.

Step 4 “Call your travel agent”: This is the easiest step by far. At this point you have some great ideas that you can’t wait to share with your travel agent. This is where your travel agent is able to get together some information for you regarding pricing, tours, and time frames so you don’t have to spend precious time searching on the internet.

The planning process should be fun and exciting but there are a lot of decisions to be made. Just remember that plans can change but once you have made that final decision there is a sigh of relief that comes with knowing your vacation is just around the corner. Also, don’t forget to invite friends and family so you can start making lasting memories.