Today, American Airlines relaunched its longtime nonstop service to San Juan from Washington Dulles.  Flight 1765 departs Dulles at 7:50AM and arrives San Juan at 12:35PM.  The return flight, 1766, departs San Juan at 1:35PM and arrives Dulles at 4:30PM.  The times are perfect to catch a cruise or return home from one.  And if you aren’t cruising, just about any time is perfect to travel to Puerto Rico!  American’s flights are being operated by its newest 737-800′s with newly designed seats in both cabins.  It’s great to see these flights back in American’s schedule.

Did you miss me?  I know you enjoyed the guest posts and best of content, but it’s time to get back to business.  Just got home after great flights on United.  I’ve already started my review of Mariner of the Seas, and will have hotel and airline reviews of my trip too!  More to come soon.

I’m enjoying a fabulous cruise vacation aboard Royal Caribbean’s beautiful Mariner of the Seas this week.  While I’m away I hope you’ll enjoy reading some of your favorite content based on visits to the blog.  Today, in honor of the joy of travel, I write about the benefits of the American Express Platinum Card, and why I truly don’t leave home without it.

In my third installment on the most popular search terms that bring readers to this blog, I’d like to discuss the American Express Platinum Card. Particularly, I’d like to write about why this card can still be a good deal for the frequent traveler, even though American Express recently dropped the domestic 2 for 1 companion travel benefit.

First things first, the Amex Platinum Card is going to cost you $450 dollars per year. Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s talk about why this card is worth the money. For me, the number one benefit of this card is airline lounge access on the day of travel. This benefit offers the cardholder and up to two guests access to the lounges of American Airlines, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines when you present your Platinum card, a government issued I.D. and a boarding pass for travel on the airline’s lounge you are trying to enter. In other words, if you want to enter an American Admirals Club, you need an American Airlines boarding pass for travel that day. If you’ve read the blog before, you know that I highly recommend that frequent travelers join the lounge program of the airline they fly most. For me, that’s American and Delta. If I were to join the lounge of both airlines, I would be out over $700 dollars in annual fees. With the Amex Platinum card, I have access to both lounges for the price of the card’s annual fee. That’s a good deal for me.

Another benefit of the card is the Fine Hotels and Resorts (FHR) program. FHR offers exclusive benefits including room upgrades, free breakfasts, and individual amenities that are unique to each hotel. To receive FHR benefits, you must book your hotel through Platinum Travel Service (PTS), a full-service travel agency available to Amex Platinum cardholders. I have used this benefit a few times with decent results. PTS can provide the full range of services you would expect from a travel agent, however I admittedly use my own local agent when I am booking a trip that I feel requires the use of agent services. Therefore, I cannot comment on the usefulness of PTS as your regular travel agent.

While Amex has discontinued the domestic 2 for 1 travel program, the international program remains in place. When booking a qualifying first or business class ticket, you are eligible for a complimentary ticket in the same class of service for a companion. There are no limits on the number of times you can utilize this benefit as there were in the now discontinued domestic 2 for 1 program. Other benefits I’ve found useful are elite level privileges in several car rental company programs including Hertz and Avis. Additionally, Amex Platinum cardholders are eligible for Gold membership in the Starwood Preferred Guest program.

There are a number of other benefits, including those that are fairly standard across most American Express Cards. I’ve only scratched the surface with this post. You can review full details about the Platinum Card by clicking here.

I have had nothing but overwhelmingly positive experiences with American Express dating back to my very first card in 1989 while in college. However, I have to write briefly about some of the news items surrounding American Express. There have been widespread reports of American Express reducing the charging ability of customers that appear to be “good customers” based upon charging habits or charging items in areas that American Express has modeled to be higher risk. Just this week, a thread appeared on FlyerTalk indicating that American Express was imposing spending limits on many cardholders with “no pre-set limit” cards like the Platinum Card. I can’t comment beyond what I’ve written as I have not experienced any of these problems, and have my fingers crossed that I won’t. For what it’s worth, I am blessed with employment that is about as stable as one can find in this country and an above average income. Furthermore, I rarely carry balances on my other credit cards, and have a history of on-time payments with a credit score close to 800. That said, it appears from some of the press reports and internet postings that cardholders with similar circumstances have had their charging ability curtailed. You’ll have to do your own research and formulate your own opinions. I’ve found a teriffic source of information on the subject of credit at creditmattersblog.com. Check it out. In the meantime, keep reading. I hope this information is helpful.

I’m enjoying a wonderful cruise on Royal Caribbean’s Mariner of the Seas this week.  While I’m away, I’ve lined up some great guest posters, as well as reposts of my most popular content based on reader demand.  Today, a word on why airline mileage cards can be worth carrying.

This article, on Smartmoney.com, entitled “Why Airline Cards Aren’t Worth It” prompts a few words from me on the topic.  Many readers already know that I use a handful of rewards credit cards to top off my mileage and hotel accounts from time to time, and recommend others do the same on one condition…..that they pay their bills in full and on time every month without exception.  Refresh your memory on my thoughts by reading my April 2009 post on the topic.

The article focuses on airline cards, and cites annual fees and difficulty in redeeming miles among several reasons not to bother with these types of credit cards.  Granted, these cards typically carry an annual fee, but that is a small price to pay for sometimes sizable signup bonuses.  And many, waive the annual fee during the first year.  For example, the Citibank Platinum Select AAdvantage World MasterCard offers 25,000 miles if you spend $750 dollars within 4 months of acquiring the card.  There’s no annual fee during the first year, and an $85 dollar per year fee thereafter.    Not a bad deal if you’re going to spend that $750 dollars anyway.  While I don’t necessarily condone “flipping” these cards, a number of people have done it, with no damage to their credit standing.  Flipping is the practice of opening an account just to get the miles, then canceling the account at some point in the future before applying for the same kind of account again and getting another set of bonus miles.  If you want more information on the topic, pay a visit to flyertalk.com and search for information.

Maybe I’m the luckiest guy on the planet, but I have never had a big problem redeeming miles.  I use them for upgrades on paid domestic flights and have “purchased” a few premium class tickets domestically with miles.  I will soon embark on my first quest for premium class international travel.  That’s not to say that I’ve never had to be flexible with my dates and times, but to make a blanket statement like you must almost always book 330 days out to have a prayer of snagging a seat as this article implies is simply not 100 percent accurate.

That said, I’ve found some programs to have better availability than others.  Sometimes much better.  And that’s why I continue to stick with American Airlines and the AAdvantage program.  I’ve found AAdvantage to offer the best availablity of all the traditional mileage schemes so I continue to focus my mileage accumulation with that program.  Your experience may be different, and that’s great for you.  No matter which program you choose, don’t ignore the additional accumulation opportunities that mileage cards offer.

I’m enjoying a wonderful cruise on Royal Caribbean’s Mariner of the Seas this week.  While I’m away, I’ve lined up some great guest posters, as well as reposts of my most popular content based on reader demand.

Reading today’s Wall Street Journal reminded me that I am not the only one left in the world who still sees value in earning (and burning) frequent flier miles.  Scott McCartney’s weekly column, The Middle Seat (subscription required), broached the subject of maximizing the value of your miles today.  It’s a worthy read if you are a subscriber.  Long story short, forget those 25,000 mile coach awards and sit thyself in the pointy end of the airplane!  That’s a strategy I’ve long followed.

I think that burning miles on domestic coach tickets with few exceptions is a lousy use of miles.  Buy the ticket and sit in First Class instead.  Most airlines charge 15,000 miles for a one-way domestic upgrade from discounted coach.  Some, including my airline of choice, American, also charge a co-pay.  Currently, that’s $50 dollars each way on AA (more if booked less than 3 weeks in advance).  Still a good deal as long as the flight is at least 3 hours in length.  Three hours is my personal minimum flight length before I consider mileage upgrades to be wise.  Yours could be different.  I have used miles to upgrade slightly shorter flights, but that was a special occasion trip to Miami and I did not want to chance clearing the comp upgrade at the 72-hour window for AAdvantage Platinums like me.  Upgrades to a premium cabin on international flights can be an even better value.

There are plenty of very valuable options out there for using your miles.  Upgrades are among the best.  So next time you fly, spend some miles and sit in First Class!

I know you’re still enjoying the “Best of MJ on Travel” while I vacation aboard Mariner of the Seas.  But I know you want current content too.  Fellow Boardingarea.com blogger Steven Frischling of Flying With Fish has graciously agreed to author a guest post while I’m away.  He calls it “How Airport Thieves Operate and How to Avoid Being a Target.”  It’s a fantastic post, and I know you’ll enjoy it.

When Marshall asked me to write a guest post while he was out sitting on
the deck of the Mariner Of The Seas sucking back brightly coloured drinks
and losing his money on Deck 4 at the Casino Royale in the evenings I
began to write an off-the-cuff humourous guest post about airline travel.
My post changed a few days ago in light of a baggage theft ring being
busted at Phoenix Sky Harbor Int’l Airport, where police found 1,000
stolen bags in a couple’s home.

I chose to change my post as I have been researching airport thieves for
quite a few years and have even had the opportunity to directly interest
with those who make their living stealing from passengers in airports.
Surprisingly the airport thieves I interacted with were quite honest about
how they go about their days…

…so with that knowledge in mind, I thought I might share some
information on how to avoid having your baggage stolen by an airport
thief.

Airport thieves who target baggage work quickly and effectively. These
thieves blend in, generally dressing like a business traveller, often
carrying their own backpack or brief case to blend in. Some thieves go so
far as to tuck an old boarding pass or ticket jacket into a pocket that is
just visible enough to law enforcement so they don’t garner a second look
as they search for bags to walk off with.

The most commonly stolen bags by airport thieves are black ballistic nylon
roller bags. Why back ballistic nylon roller bags? Because these types of
bags make up more than 90% of the baggage travellers fly with. Black
ballistic nylon bags blend in; a bag can be snatched and wheeled off into
a crowd without ever being noticed.

While many bags are snatched right off the baggage carousel, surprisingly
many are also stolen after they are taken off the belt. Many passengers
with more than one bag pull the bag from the carousel then place it behind
themselves while waiting for another bag. Experienced airport thieves
often ‘size-up’ their target, often women, based on clothing, glasses,
handbag, etc before making their move on a pre-removed piece of baggage.

Airport thieves are also well aware of certain brands that carry expensive
equipment that are designed to blend in, such as the Lowe Pro Pro-Roller
bags and Think Tank bags used by photographers. These bags look like
other bags, except those who make their living stealing from airports
knows certain brand types and the contents these bags often carry.

So how can you avoid being the target of an airport baggage thief? Here
are a few simple suggestions I have created based on my experience, as
well as having spoken with experienced airport thieves.

1) When possible avoid purchasing and travelling with a black ballistic
nylon bag. If you do purchase a black ballistic nylon bag label your bag
brightly with extremely visible tape or marking. A bag that is brightly
marked is easily identifiable and very hard to walk away with, without
being noticed

2) When choosing how to mark you bags keep in mind that paint-markers are
highly visible on black ballistic nylon and they do not fade Also duct
tape is the most durable. When using tape place the tape in very visible
areas and in multiple areas so the markings are never hidden and difficult
to cover up.

3) If you travel with a task-specific bag, such as a Pelican Case or a
photography shipping case, make sure the bag is both extremely visible and
identifiable and when possible place that bag inside a non-descript bag
(that should also be clearly marked and visible.) Placing a Pelican case
that would draw a thief’s attention inside a duffle bag is an ideal way to
avoid becoming a baggage thief’s target.

4) After deplaning head straight to the baggage carousel and position
yourself as close as possible to the exit of the baggage chute. If the
baggage carousel is crowded, position yourself in an area where you have a
clear view of the bags exiting. If you have clearly marked your bags
you’ll see it coming ouy.

5) If you have checked multiple bags stack them in front of you while
waiting for additional bags. Stacking bags behind yourself leaves you
open to having them stolen, while bags placed in front of you keep them in
your line of sight at all times.

I personally mark nearly all my bags with bright flamingo pink duct tape.
Tape is placed on all the handles, all the zipper-pulls and anywhere else
I can secure it. Some bags have both bright pink tape and my name written
in very large letters in bright yellow paint marker

Below is a photo of my Pelican case inside a Mountainsmith duffle bag and
one of my very clearly labeled black ballistic nylon bags.

Travel safe…and Happy Flying!

-Fish
www.flyingwithfish.com

I’m enjoying a wonderful cruise on Royal Caribbean’s Mariner of the Seas this week.  While I’m away, I’ve lined up some great guest posters, as well as reposts of my most popular content based on reader demand.  Today, I’m reposting my review of Royal Caribbean’s fabulous Liberty of the Seas.  Enjoy!  I’ll have a review of Mariner of the Seas available as soon as possible after vacation.

Let me get this out of the way first.  If you book this beautiful ship, you will NOT be disappointed!  Mrs. MJ on Travel and I tend to favor Royal Caribbean’s smaller Radiance Class ships, and we still do.  However, Liberty of the Seas is simply a fabulous ship, and I cannot wait to cruise on her again!

This review will be structured by booking method, how we got to the ship, where we stayed and then on with details of my experience on the ship.  I will not spend a lot of time on penning many details about each port of call, but will certainly share my experiences.  I would appreciate your comments on the value of that structure, and I will revise it accordingly in future cruise reviews.

Booking the Cruise

Our Liberty cruise was booked aboard another Royal Caribbean ship, Grandeur of the Seas.  RCL offers some token benefits by booking on board.  You receive up to $200 dollars of on board credit (money to spend when on board the ship), and they will immediately transfer the booking to your travel agent of choice if you have one.

This was our second cruise utilizing the services of a travel agent, and we intend to continue doing so in the future.  Yes, I am capable of booking a basic Caribbean cruise on my own, but I am really warming up to the idea of building a travel agent relationship.  I feel having a good agent on your side is especially useful for more complicated trips, one of which we already have on the agenda for next summer.  In any event, our agent of choice is Michelle Bemis with McCabe World Travel in McLean, Virginia.  McCabe is a Virtuoso agency, and I’ve been quite pleased with the services provided.

Getting to the Ship

American Airlines was our airline of choice as they offer several nonstop flights from our home airport, Washington Reagan National (DCA), to Miami International (MIA), and as regular readers already know, I am AAdvantage Platinum and feel that American’s AAdvantage is the best mileage program in the business right now.  Our outbound flight was a bit late leaving due to some bad weather in Miami, but we were able to comfortably pass the time in the American Airlines Admirals Club courtesy of my American Express Platinum Card.  The DCA Admirals Club staff is always fabulous.

Pre-Cruise Hotel

I cannot over-emphasize the importance of arriving in the port city the day before your cruise.  Do NOT fly in the same day of your cruise.  You are only tempting fate and putting your vacation at risk (and inflicting unnecessary stress on yourself) if you depend on an airline to actually operate its published schedule.  Too many things can go wrong, and they eventually will.  To that end, I arranged a one night stay at the Conrad Miami.  The hotel is in downtown Miami, not far from the pier, and is edgy enough to make for a fun way to start your vacation.  I will post a complete review of the Conrad separately, but suffice it to say the hotel did the trick, and is only a $10 to $12 dollar cab ride to the pier.

Embarkation

In keeping with tradition, we arrived at the ship at noon to begin our vacation aboard the May 23, 2009, sailing of Liberty of the Seas.  We handed our pre-tagged bags off to the porter, and proceeded into the terminal.  I caught this shot of the ship before we went inside (no pictures in the terminal).

Liberty of the Seas

I had pre-printed our Set-Sail pass at home which took care of many of the check in formalities in advance.  There was approximately a 5-minute wait for an initial document check, and then it was up the stairs to security.  Once through security we proceeded to the Crown & Anchor Diamond Check-in Desk where we were immediately assisted.  Our passports were scanned and we completed a small amount of paperwork.  Within a few minutes we received our Sea Pass cards (room key and on board charge card) and were on our way for the welcome aboard photo.  Total time from bag drop to walking on board this beautiful ship: less than 20 minutes!

On Board Liberty of the Seas

We entered the ship on deck 4, and immediately took care of our wine package for the week.  If you like wine with dinner, I highly recommend that you consider purchasing the package rather than buying by the bottle.  You’ll need to separate yourself from the reality that even at the package discounted price, you could still purchase the same wines for less at your corner store.  You’re on vacation!

After taking care of the important stuff, we were off to explore the Royal Promenade, home to the Hoof & Claw Pub and Vintages Wine Bar, as well as several other shops and eateries.

The Royal Promenade

My first reaction was “wow, this really is a big ship!”  We have sailed on the slightly smaller Voyager of the Seas before, but there was something obviously different about Liberty’s Promenade, and it was more than just being bigger.  It was better.  Every crew member that we passed made it a point to smile and welcome us aboard.  Within minutes, I knew this was going to be a very good cruise.  My first stop was at the local barber shop, “A Clean Shave.”  Yes, there is a barber shop on board offering not only hair cuts but honest to goodness hot shaves, and other spa services for men.  I immediately booked an appointment!  Royal Caribbean has turned things up a notch with Liberty and her other Freedom Class siblings.  I can only imagine what’s in store for us aboard Oasis and Allure of the Seas!

After exploring the Royal Promenade we were off to book spa appointments and make dining reservations at Chops Grille, Royal Caribbean’s wonderful on board steak house.  Cruising Advisory # 1: get on board the ship as early as you can and take care of your spa and specialty restaurant reservations as soon as possible.  They do book up, and it’s best to book as soon as possible to ensure you get your preferred appointment times.  (Boardingarea.com Blogger Dan Webb reminds me that you can book specialty restaurant reservations online as well.  That’s a great option that I originally failed to mention in the review.  I tried this, but could not get our preferred dining time.  I did get the time we wanted on board.)

Lunch was being served in the Windjammer buffet, so we joined the masses and dove in.  Food was standard buffet fare and of reasonable quality for what it is.  I tried the chef-carved roast beef which was pretty good.  The salad items are always a good bet as well, and did not disappoint.  Some members of our traveling party felt the Windjammer was over-crowded.  Personally, I found it to be the same as every other Royal Caribbean Windjammer buffet….busy but not quite intolerable.  In any event, we only visited one other time during the entire 7-day cruise.  A testament to the many dining options available on board.  Cruising Advisory # 2: skip the buffet and enjoy a sit-down lunch in the ship’s main dining room when it is open for lunch.

After lunch, it was off to the stateroom to drop our carry-on bags.  We booked a Promenade view inside stateroom for this cruise, our first 7-day without a balcony.  The Promenade view rooms are interior staterooms which have a window that looks down on the Royal Promenade.  We thought it would be interesting to try this type of room for a change, and to see if we could tolerate an interior stateroom for more than a 3-night weekender cruise.  The room was compact but very well organized.  We had plenty of room to store our bags, either under the bed or in the closet which was sizable considering our interior accommodations.  Storage was adequate, but we could have used perhaps one or two more drawers somewhere in the room.  Note to Royal Caribbean: I thought the area underneath the promenade window “couch”  which was actually built into the cabin would be an ideal space for additional storage.  The bathroom was standard issue cruise ship, small but functional.

Promenade View Stateroom

Once we dropped off our bags, it was time to hit the pool and enjoy our first cocktail and a little sunshine.  It was warm and a little cloudy, but still pleasant enough outside.  Bar service was quick and the bartenders were almost uniformly excellent.  At 3PM, I met some cruisecritic.com friends for a pre-sailaway cocktail at the Sky Bar.  And then the sky turned black and the heavens opened so we took cover while the rain blew through.  The sailaway party was moved inside due to the rain, but by the time we untied from the pier and departed, the rain had gone away and it was pretty decent outside.  Liberty seemed to sail out a knot or two slower than most ships I’ve cruised on from Miami so there was a lot of time to enjoy the spectacular views of Miami and South Beach as we headed out to sea.  Our cruise was off to a phenomenal start!  Cruising Advisory # 3: Do NOT miss sail away, especially from a city like Miami.

Main Dining Room

We chose second seating dinner for this cruise as we always do.  Second seating is at 8:30PM.  While we do not normally eat that late, it just seems that having to go to dinner at 6PM everyday will result in a rush to get back on the ship from ports of call with no time to do anything but get ready for dinner.  It should be noted that Royal Caribbean now offers “My Time Dining” on all of its ships allowing you to enjoy dinner in the main dining room on your schedule and not their’s.  I think its a terrific option for many, but second seating works just fine for us.

There were six people in our traveling party, and we were seated at our own table.  Our waiter and assistant waiter greeted us as we were seated.  Both were wonderfully pleasant people and served us cheerfully, but  somewhat slowly.  Something about the service just did not click.  Nearby diners were eating dessert while we waited for our main courses to arrive.  I noted some improvement as the week went on, but to be honest, the main dining room service seemed a little off.  Not awful, just off, and I cannot point to any one thing that seemed to be causing the problem.  Maybe we were just spoiled by Peter and Valentin on our Grandeur of the Seas cruise last fall!

Specialty Restaurants

Over the course of the week we dined in both specialty restaurants on board, Chops Grille and Portofino.  Chops Grille was first up, and did not disappoint.  Our server was top-notch, and the food was incredible.  Mrs. MJ on Travel got the jumbo shrimp cocktail while I enjoyed the mushroom soup which should not be missed!  Sides are served “family style” at Chops so the table shared one of several different items including sauteed mushrooms and grilled asparagus.  I dined on the 10 ounce filet mignon cooked medium rare.  My steak was as near perfect as a steak can be, cooked just as I wanted and the flavor was excellent.  We closed out the meal with a fabulous dessert.  I chose the cheese cake which was beyond description.  Others had the Mississippi Mud Pie which speaking from experience is even better than the cheese cake if you love chocolate.  Reservations are recommended and a $25 dollar per person seating fee (which includes gratuity even though I’ve always tipped more) will be charged.

A few nights later, we enjoyed Portofino, Royal Caribbean’s Italian eatery.  Let me say upfront that this was without a doubt, the finest meal I had on the ship.  While all of us dined on different things, the final verdict was always the same, WOW!  The first of many courses began with a salad accompanied by various Italian breads.  After my experience in Chops I decided to try Portofino’s soup of the day which happened to be mushroom as well.  It was excellent but did not measure up to that offered in Chops.  Obviously, not a meal emergency.  I dined on Portofino’s indescribably delicious filet mignon.  Yes, I know…. two steaks in the same week. Sue me, I was on vacation.  Accompanied by mashed potatoes and mixed vegetables, I can only say that I have not had a finer meal in any land-based restaurant anywhere.  Our servers were the finest, and even though they were very busy with a large party, they did not miss a beat in taking care of us.  Portofino’s $20 dollar seating fee is the best value on the ship!  Cruising Advisory # 4: Do not  miss either of these wonderful dining experiences if they are offered on your ship.

Other Venues

The ship has a number of dining opportunities outside of the main dining room and specialty restaurants.  Sorentos offers deli sandwiches and pizza along with other Italian oriented deli food (no charge), while Cafe Promenade offers specialty coffees for a surcharge and pastries for free.  There’s also a Ben & Jerry’s that serves….you guessed it, Ben & Jerry’s.  Up on deck 12, you’ll find the seagoing version of your local Johnny Rockets.  For a $4.95 seating fee, you can eat all the burgers, fries and onion rings you can stand.  Of course, there is the Windjammer Buffet that you’ll find on all Royal Caribbean ships.

Diamond and Diamond Plus members of Royal Caribbean’s loyalty program, the Crown & Anchor Society, enjoy access to the Diamond Lounge located on deck 14 in the Viking Crown.  We visited every night because we loved socializing with our fellow frequent cruisers.  Light hors d’oeuvres and complimentary cocktails were served by the wonderful Diamond Concierge, Mario and his assistants.  Continental Breakfast is also served during the morning hours.  This is not to be missed if you are a Diamond or Diamond Plus cruiser.  We’ve learned a lot about cruising and traveling in general from our fellow cruisers in settings like this and over numerous dinners aboard ship.

Ports of Call

There were three sea days and three ports of call on this itinerary.  The cruise began with two sea days, and they could not have been more needed.  Frankly, we both needed a vacation and just the thought of being on the world’s largest floating hotel with no need to be anywhere was relaxing!  I doubt you care to read about every intricate detail of my time at sea but suffice it to say that Liberty offers plenty of activities to keep you occupied.  My day began with a visit to Liberty’s exceptional fitness facility on deck 11.  A ship so large has plenty of space for a full gym and boxing ring to boot!  The remainder of my two sea days were spent relaxing by the pool, and enjoying the time we had dining, dancing and having a good time.  Take a look at this photo of a street party held on the Royal Promenade.

Promenade Street Party

St. Maarten was our first port of call.  This was at least our third visit to the island, and we went there with a plan.  Shopping in the morning and snorkeling in the afternoon.  Our shopping trip had one purpose, procurement of a wedding band to replace the one I lost in February.  Joe’s Jewelry served us well in November 2007 when we purchased Mrs. MJ on Travel’s wedding band, so we wanted to make that our first stop.  It was our last as we found the ring we wanted within minutes, and at a very fair price.  After such a successful shopping trip we had some time to spare before our excursion, which we spent at the Get Wet Beach Bar.  The Get Wet is a favorite of ours, is very close to the ship, and we make it a point to stop there during every visit to St. Maarten.

Blogger Marshall Jackson at the Get Wet Beach Bar

The afternoon involved a snorkeling excursion booked through Royal Caribbean.  The Tiki Hut Snorkel Park was a short boat ride from the pier.  I don’t snorkel but Mrs. MJ on Travel does.  We usually do these things on a catamaran and she snorkels while I enjoy rum punch and take pictures.  The Tiki Hut Snorkel Park is actually a floating barge nestled in a cove not far from (but out of sight of) the ship.  Mrs. MJ on Travel reports that the snorkeling was fabulous.  One word of warning: if you plan to just sit around and enjoy the bar and the scenery, you have to swim to the bathroom (which is a marine head on a catamaran tied up not far away) or as the guide said, “do as the fish do.”

Our next port was San Juan, one of my favorite cities.  Just my opinion, but the ship spends far too little time there.  We arrived at 8AM and departed at 2PM.  Given the short time, we booked a walking excursion through the ship.  It included a walking tour of Old San Juan and ended near the major shopping area.

A Scene from Old San Juan

I enjoyed the tour very much, but it was a tad warm to be strolling around San Juan.  Once the tour was over, we made a quick shopping trip to the Ralph Lauren outlet store and closed out the day with a few beers at Senor Frogs.  The pier is a short walk from Senor Frogs, and thankfully so.  We arrived there to find an extremely long line waiting to clear security at the pier entrance.  It was moving at least, but the process still took about 25 minutes.  For what its worth, that was the longest wait I experienced the entire cruise.

On to Labadee, Haiti, Royal Caribbean’s private paradise in the Caribbean.  This was our first visit to Labadee since our January 2005 Voyager of the Seas cruise.  We loved Labadee the first time, and we still do.  Be advised that Labadee is a tender port until December.  Royal Caribbean is constructing a pier in advance of the arrival of Oasis of the Seas, which will make for a more efficient embarkation/disembarkation process when complete.  It was obvious that Royal Caribbean has invested more resources in the entire Labadee experience.  There appeared to be more beach areas, certainly a few more dining/drinking areas, and most obviously, a pretty awesome looking zip line.  No, we did not try zip lining this visit, but I did let Mrs. MJ on Travel talk me into parasailing.

Parasailing in Labadee

To say that I didn’t want to parasail is a mild understatement.  A few thousand piloting hours under my belt, and I still have no desire to jump out of a perfectly good airplane.  I was no more thrilled to be pulled around by a boat and strapped to a parachute that I had no opportunity to inspect either.  I am pleased to report that SeaTrek Parasailing was actually quite nice, and most of the complaining to Mrs. MJ on Travel that I did while flying 400 feet above the sea was in jest.  After lunch and few hours on the beach it was time to head back to the ship.  There was a bit of line waiting for the tender, but they run frequently enough to keep things moving.

Liberty of the Seas Tendered in Labadee

The next day was spent at sea.  I always love beginning and ending cruises with days at sea because they offer an opportunity to really relax and unwind, especially to begin your cruise vacation.  Heck, this ship was so full of things to do, I think I could’ve spent 7 days at sea!  The last day was spent relaxing by the pool, enjoying the enormous international buffet served on the Royal Promenade, and sadly, packing to go home as our fabulous vacation was coming to an end.

The Saddest Sight: Our Luggage Waiting to be Picked Up

Cruising Advisory #5: Get packed prior to dinner on the last night of your cruise.  That way you can enjoy dinner and a night out on the ship without worrying about the need to get back to your room and pack.

Disembarkation Day

We met our traveling party for breakfast in the main dining room around 8AM and enjoyed a leisurely breakfast as the ship began clearing.  After breakfast we went down to deck 4 and found a crowd waiting by the forward gangway which is where U.S. citizens were sent.  Some of us waited in line while others had a seat in the Schooner Bar and chatted for a few minutes.  It wasn’t long before the line started moving, and once the end of the line had reached our area, we jumped in.  We were off the ship in minutes, and had cleared Customs and were standing in the taxi line in no more than 15 minutes.  A very smooth process for us.

The Bottom Line

Frankly, I loved Liberty of the Seas!  I had some concerns about crowds and all manner of issues surrounding the large number of people the ship can accommodate, but found everything to be relatively well organized and issue free.  The crew was quite friendly, and bar service was reasonable.  Our only hiccup was service in the dining room that seemed a little off track, but our servers were quite pleasant and seemed well-intentioned.  None of our party complained to our head waiter, and I don’t know if it would have made any difference or not.  This certainly did not negatively impact the overwhelmingly positive experience I found on this fabulous cruise vacation, and I am pleased to share the details with you.  I wouldn’t hesitate to sail on Liberty again, and am looking forward to the opportunity to do so.  If you have any additional questions, don’t hesitate to post a comment or send an email through the “Contact Me” link to the right.

Photos courtesy of Mrs. MJ on Travel

I know you’re loving every word of my “best of” content.  But what I thought you’d really like is some new information.  Fellow Boardingarea.com blogger Dan Webb from Things in the Sky has graciously agreed to provide a guest post while I vacation aboard Mariner of the Seas.  Dan calls this post “Are We At the Bottom….Yet?  Please?”  I think it’s fantastic and I know you will too.

This December, the recession will officially turn two years old, and it’s certainly been a rough ride for the airline industry. The first problem was a huge run-up in crude oil prices, which peaked over $140/barrel in July 2008. In response, airlines began slashing capacity, which ended up being a wise move, since oil prices were replaced with the full effects of the recession and financial crisis. The results haven’t been too pretty. The Air Transport Association reported that in September, passenger revenue was down 19% year-over-year.

The big question is, of course, when will this all end?

When one watches the news, it’s pretty easy to become confused. When the Commerce Department reported that third quarter GDP increased 3.5% compared to the second quarter, there were plenty of news reports proclaiming that the recession was over. But when the October unemployment rate came out at 10.2%, worse than expected, negative news stories ensued.

So, where does the airline industry stand? Well, in my humble opinion, I think we’ve just about found the bottom, but we’re moving sideways. I think IATA head Giovanni Bisignani put it best:

It is far too early to call this a recovery. The worst may be over in terms of the fall in demand, but yields continue to be a disaster and costs are rising. The airline industry remains firmly in the red with a fragile business environment.

But, I’d like to run through a few pieces of data as well.

ATA Yield Data

I find the ATA’s monthly data to be useful simply because it’s updated so often. Individual airlines only give their actual yield numbers on a quarterly basis, so this data is useful to get a “pulse” of the industry. This data has actually been looking pretty good, as year-over-year change has stabilized the past couple of months, and for all regions. Hopefully, we will start seeing some positive numbers soon as comparisons will soon be made to weaker 2009 numbers.

Average International Fares

This is data that I look at from IATA, which often has great data. I’d highly recommend heading over to their economics page (www.iata.org/economics), which is always informative.

Anyway, fares have decreased a great deal, which is of course great for us as travelers, but bad for the airlines. But recent data looks encouraging:

So, fares are down, but they’re down less than before. And, well, I guess we have to take that as good news – and that’s been the case with a lot of economic data as late – things are getting worse, but they’re getting worse more slowly!

If airlines can decrease their, well, decreases, that’s good news in terms of demand, but there’s still much progress to be made.

Oil Prices

Of course, fuel prices have a huge effect on the industry, and last year fuel actually replaced labor as the biggest expense for the airlines when oil was high. But, oil prices quickly collapsed and dropped over a $100/barrel from past highs, but oil is now testing the $80 level again. The rise in oil prices, or general commodity prices, can actually be a good thing for the airlines in the sense that they can be a leading indicator of a recovery. And that might be one reason oil has gone up. But, after converting the price of oil to Euros, the increases look less dramatic, which makes me think that much of this increase is coming from a depreciating dollar.

Anyway, that’s just some of the interesting data I’ve seen of late. Thanks to Marshall for giving me the opportunity to guest post.

I’m honored to have MrsMJonTravel herself author a guest post for the blog.  The only published author in the house, she also does her share of business travel for her day job.  I hope you’ll enjoy her review of a recent stay at the Renaissance Schaumburg.

I recently completed a one-night stay at the Renaissance Schaumburg Hotel.  Despite its suburban location, it’s got quite the chi-chi décor.  The lobby is a large open area that is divided off into more intimate sections by large wood bookcase-type pieces.

Check in was speedy.  They made an imprint of my credit card, and I was on my way up to the 4^th floor.  I was a little concerned by the location.  My door faced out into the large open lobby area, so I was a little concerned about noise echoing up.  However, since I fell asleep shortly after going back to room, it wasn’t the issue I thought it might be.

The hotel features two restaurants that are open for guests arriving after 7 pm.  There’s a Sam and Harry’s Steak House and a more informal bar/restaurant called The Gathering.   I opted for The Gathering.  Service was very good, and the blue cheese steak salad was excellent.  The TVs showed the last game of the World Series, but the noise level in the bar/restaurant didn’t detract from my ability to converse with two colleagues.

The room featured a king size bed, flat screen TV, and a TV in the mirror of the bathroom.  I didn’t discover the TV in the mirror of the bathroom until I was getting ready the following morning.  Maybe I’m technologically inept, but I could only get it to turn on when I had the other TV on.  I put it on the same channel as the other TV so I could watch the news as I dried my hair, but the 10 second delay just created an annoying echo, and I ended up turning it off.  The other big annoyance was the lack of a quality AT&T signal.  I could only get my iPhone to work by leaning next to the window.

I didn’t have a lot of time to check out much of the hotel, but I did walk by the gym, which looked pretty nice and was adjacent to an indoor pool.  I tried to access the business center twice, but each time the door was locked.

I took advantage of the two free hours of WiFi in the lobby to do some work.  I did this from 11 am til noon and enjoyed a very quiet, rather empty lobby.  It was a very pleasant way to work.

Since I was there for a conference, I can say that the conference rooms are pretty nice.  I spoke in the Nirvana room.  I thought that was cool.  Our conference luncheon buffet had Chicago hot dogs and Chicago style pizza.  I thought that was a nice touch.

All in all, not bad for the ‘burbs of C-town.

And all through the hotel lobby, it was not quiet.  And that’s a good thing!  Hello from the Renaissance Long Beach.  Enjoying a cocktail and 2 hours of free internet in the lobby bar.  MrsMJonTravel and I made a full day of it with a trip up to Simi Valley and a tour of the Reagan Library.  A great experience all around, but I think my favorite was walking through one of the 707′s that served President Reagan and many other Presidents of the United States as Air Force One.

Our trip out yesterday could not have gone smoother.  Both flights on United were very nice and remind me that United can be a great airline to fly on.  We were blessed with really good crews on both legs, especially the widebody flight from ORD to LAX.  I will post a full review of our United trip when we return.  I have some observations on United that I feel like sharing, and a cross-country first class trip seems like the ideal time to share.

Avis upgraded us to cherry red Mustang, and boy will it fly!  Kind of helps make up for the 20 minute wait for the shuttle yesterday at LAX.  Seriously, I saw 3 Thrifty buses…  Thrifty!!!  Before Avis finally rolled around.  Not acceptable.  But other than that, a great trip so far.

Renaissance upgraded us to the Club floor as a Marriott Rewards Silver, something I haven’t seen at Hilton in over a year as an HHonors Gold.  Granted, the lounge is closed for the weekend, but the fridge is stocked with water and sodas, and the turndown lady even stopped by last night.

I know this post contained a lot of rambling.  Things will come into focus after vacation, I’m sure.  I’ll post again before I leave, with some details of the guest posts coming this week too!