I’ll be taking my first trip to Africa shortly including a stint in Ghana.

Hopefully my experience will be much better than soccer fan Cruz, who is really upset, bro.

Gogo is offering 25% off a 24 hour pass.

It does not mention an expiration date on the landing page.

Thanks to Sice for the tip.

UPDATE: It is good through Labor Day. Confirmed by DL

UPDATE 2: The offer does not apply to purchases in flight – buy before you fly!

I saw a bit on the news about this last night. There is a company that is offering a jacket with gigantic pockets so that you don’t have to check your luggage. It’s called the “Rufus Roo“.

They brag that you can put up to 22 lbs of items (including a laptop) in the oversized pockets, put the jacket on and avoid those pesky bag checking fees.

To me it looks pretty unappealing – as unappealing as putting a passport / ticket holder around your neck. So what do you think – would you wear this visually unappealing jacket to save a couple of bucks?

I’m in the midst of a quick jaunt to Sweden, Germany, and Cyprus. Some quick thoughts:

1. Overheard a husband and wife arguing about who should get the upgrade at the Charles De Gaulle Airport in Paris. I wrote about my own debate here.

The guy was digging in his heels and bringing out all the stops. First he talked about how he was 6’2″ and economy seats just weren’t comfortable. When that didn’t sway her – he went to the “ambien won’t work on my body because I’m so big” card. I finally walked away knowing that he just had bought himself months and months of hell.

2. Why is it that people insist on talking on their cell phones in the bathroom stalls? Is that call really that important? It just seems a bit unsavory to me so I made sure and get in an extra couple of flushes so the person on the other end of the call would realize what was going on.

3. In Cyprus, I’ll be making my first stay ever at a Four Seasons hotel. I’ve heard of their world class customer service and am interested to witness it first hand.

Sorry for the delay in the Maldives write up!

Miami Marriott Biscanye Bay
My cruise on the Liberty of the Seas part 1
My cruise on the Liberty of the Seas part 2

Having stayed at the Marriott Biscayne Bay for a couple of days, it was time to go to our Royal Caribbean cruise. I’ve never been on a real cruise – I’ve only been on the three day one that leaves from California.

Approaching the dock, I was stunned at just how humongous the Liberty of the Seas boat was. It was simply massive. We had filled out our information online ahead of time and had received our baggage tags in advance which really helped to speed up the check in process.

We were on the 9th deck of the boat in a Deluxe Ocean View Stateroom. When we walked in, I was surprised at actually how large the room was.

The bed was very comfortable and I loved having a balcony that you could walk out on. If you traveling with friends, your balcony can open up to the room next to yours.

Meals
Part of the lure for many people on the cruise is the food and frankly the abundance of it.

We always ate breakfast in the buffet style restaurant Windjammer.. There was also an option to eat at the sit down dining hall, but we were always ready to either do activities or go to the ports of call.

There was plenty of variety including international fare such as Asian style, fresh fruits, baked goods, waffle station, scrambled eggs, and the normal American breakfast. One of the downsides was that it generally was very crowded and sometimes finding a seat was problematic. We did enjoy the flexibility of walking in when we wanted to and the food was pretty decent.

Lunch was buffet style as well and they even had a buffet set up by the pool. The lunch had hamburgers, wok stir fry, and about fifteen other varieties of entrees. There was always plenty of fresh fruit and an entire dessert bar.

There were two dinner seatings each night, one at 6 PM and one at 8:30 PM. We were assigned to the 6 PM slot which worked out well for us. Dinner was ordered off a menu and they did a good job of rotating the entrees each day. You could order as many appetizers, entrees, and desserts of the menu as you liked which I never actually did.

There is an option (at an extra cost) to order steak from the steakhouse. My wife ordered Filet Mignon one night for a change and really enjoyed it.

There is also another option for dining that costs $4.90 per person at Johnny Rocket’s, a 50s style diner. After several consecutive nights at the dining hall, we welcomed a break for some old fashioned diner food. The entire menu was included in the $4.90 cover charge and you could order as much as you wanted. I had the old fashioned hamburger, a Nathan’s chili dog, french fries / onion rings and a milkshake. The milkshake and any drinks were extra. They had a full dessert menu as well including apple pie and sundae’s.

There was also an option to eat down on the Promenade which has a few shops and a couple of them open 24 hours. They have a Ben & Jerry’s shop for a nominal charge and a cupcake shop as well.

Ports of Call
There were three ports of call on our cruise: Nassau, Bahamas; Ocho Rios, Jamaca; and Labadee, Haiti.

Nassau, Bahamas
Having been in Nassau this past October, we knew that we wanted to go to the Atlantis Resort and skip downtown Bahamas.

You can buy a day pass to Atlantis Resort and after having read on a few cruise boards, they recommended that you purchase your tickets ahead of time through Majestic Tours. The cost was $120 per ticket. The cruise will offer day passes including transportation for $160.

Majestic Tours will leave your tickets at a will call at the Atlantis Resort. We stepped off the cruise ship and grabbed a taxi – the cost was only $7 per person each way so we saved $26 each.

What can you say about the Atlantis Resort except that it is one of the funnest water parks I have been too. From the “lazy” river with serious rapids to the water rides – there was plenty to do and our time ran out quickly.

Ocho Rios, Jamaica
In Jamaica we decided that we wanted to climb Dunn River Falls. We brought water shoes with us – which is required and you can either rent them their for $7 or purchase a pair for $14. Save your money and bring your own with you.

The cruise once again offered all kinds of package deals for Dunn River Falls – we opted once again to just get off the ship and take a taxi there that cost $10 a person. Entry into Dunn River Falls was $15. They have lockers there that you can rent for $3 to store your stuff. You can also (at a cost) hire your own river guide to help you up the river. You may wonder why in the world you would need a guide to go up a river but there are parts where it is seriously treacherous. We just followed another river guide up the river when we got into tough spots. Going from the bottom of the river to the very top took about an hour and we throughly enjoyed the experience.

We took a taxi back to the area where you board the cruise ship and decided to find some good jerk chicken. There were plenty of shops right near the cruise but we decided to just venture out. Within walking distance we found the Jerk Centre and I’m glad that we decided to walk around because it was some of the best jerk chicken and pork I’ve ever had.

There was plenty of seating and a great atmosphere – I would recommend going here.

Labadee, Haiti
While technically a part of Haiti – it is for all intents and purposes a deserted island that has been built into a small city by Royal Caribbean.

There are miles and miles of beach – we found the best beach spot was by the zip line on the mountain, by the volleyball courts also near where the cruise serves a free lunch.

You can rent a beach chair with umbrella for a couple of bucks – it made for a very relaxing stay.

We passed on all the excursions at Labadee – just seemed to be too expensive for my blood.

I will write more about the actual cruise ship in my next post.

I was going through some old files and found some pictures from one of the most interesting hotels I’ve ever stayed in. Two years ago I took my only trip to Venezuela. Venezuela is in the midst of a complete takeover by Hugo Chavez and it definitely made for an interesting experience. The hotel was booked for us by our local contacts.

It was old that you had an actual key in order to get in the room that you had to leave with the front desk for housekeeping on your way out the hotel.

Here you have a picture of the old 1970s style bed.

And who needs box springs when you can just use a slab of concrete instead?

Lastly, the sweet 13 inch TV perched up high with the curtains just waiting to be engulfed in flames by even the slightest spark

I’ve never felt unsafe traveling anywhere – but in Caracas I felt uneasy the whole time. I will never return again!

What are some of the worst hotels you’ve stayed in?

I know some of you have been in some pretty swanky airport lounges, but have you ever seen anything as tempting as this bin of chicken curry at the Male airport lounge?

I have the feeling it’s been here for quite some time.

Now it’s time to start our two day journey home!

I’ve never been so happy to see our bags show up – I honestly thought they were gone for the duration on the trip – I can finally resume jumping jacks and roundhouse kicks without fear of ripping!

When it comes to my travel, I like to plan a lot ahead. I like to pick the best seats, the best hotels, the best flights, the best restaurants, and the best places to see while traveling.

I’m also a hoarder of miles and points and to some extent pretty selfish about it. I always make sure that all the promotions, deals, and credit card bonuses are credited to my account. It wasn’t until just recently that I started to do the same for the rest of my family (thank you AwardWallet.com for making this task VERY easy).

This past fall, I applied for the Platinum American Express card and credited the 25000 MQMs and 50000 Skymiles to my account.
For this trip, I used my wife’s Skymiles to book her ticket and paid for my ticket so that I could get the miles and MQMs. As I said – I’m pretty selfish in that regard.

As I logged in to my Skymiles account yesterday, I saw that my first class upgrade had cleared on both legs. My wife wasn’t eligible for upgrades because she was traveling on an award ticket. Uh-oh. A moral dilemma – should I as the person who earned the upgrade sit up front or allow my wife to?

My wife is so supportive of my travel. As I’m dining at fantastic restaurants and sleeping at fantastic hotels in exotic places, she’s having Spongebob Macaroni and Cheese and Dino Nuggets with our kids. In fact, during one trip, I was upgraded to business class coming back from Hungary and slept the whole way and arrived pretty well rested. She was scheduled to arrive six hours earlier from California but due to some mechanical issues her 1 1/2 hour flight turned into a 7 hour marathon with two crying kids. As I approached her at the baggage pickup, I was confused as to why everyone looked so disheveled. I felt completely refreshed – she looked like she wanted to run away.

I’m also a pretty tall guy so I NEED the extra leg room. Our economy reservation was for two exit row seats side by side but foolishly I booked her in the middle and myself on the aisle. So we’re left with a first class seat and a middle exit row seat.

As we approached the gate in Miami, I wasn’t sure what to do. What is the protocol for traveling with your spouse? Who should benefit from the upgrade? I decided to go ahead and let her take the shorter leg up in first class to Cincinnati. I thought that I was a pretty unselfish guy for giving up MY first class upgrade to her.

As we were boarding the four hour flight to Cincinnati, I looked at her again. I could see in her eyes that she knew it was MY upgrade and she wasn’t going to say anything but she desperately wanted to sit up in first again if but for a moment to forget about all the months of watching our children, the late nights, the dirty diapers, and everything that she has done for us while I traveled.

As we boarded the plane, I handed her my first class ticket, kissed her on the forehead, and headed back to the dreaded middle seat. I keep looking up towards first class thinking that she’ll turn around and acknowledge me back here. But there hasn’t been a single glance. She must be swept up in having a comfortable seat, plenty of leg room, and actual meal, and reading her book without someone asking her for anything.

So – to my wife sitting up in seat 3C right now – thank you for all that you have done on my behalf to help my career. Thank you for all the times you have sacrificed and not complained about it. Thank you for allowing me to take advantage of all of the bonus offers to get me higher status. Enjoy the upgrades – you deserve it. Now I’ve got to get back to fighting for armrest room with my two seat mates in economy.

We’re half way done with our cruise. The staff has been extremely nice, the accommodations have been top notch, but I’m realizing that cruising isn’t our style.

I’ll have a full write up after we’re done of the pluses and minuses plus some money saving tips for those of you taking this particular line.

Our Maldives trip is coming quickly and I can not wait.