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Do you Like Pina Colada?

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What Up Tho? Guys I had the chance to get down to San Juan, Puerto Rico and I have to say I have been sleeping on this area. It was when I got there that I learned that the Pina Colada was invented in Puerto Rico, who knew? From the food, temperature, culture and it’s overall vibe, I highly recommend you add this place to you bucket list. So lets get into it shall we? Don’t forget to comment, share and subscribe!

Entry Requirements

As a U.S. territory, Puerto Rico is excluded from the CDC requirement to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test to return to the mainland United States.

Travelers entering any of the Island’s three open airports, whether on commercial or private aircraft, are required to fill out a Travel Declaration Form and upload negative PCR molecular COVID-19 test (nasal or throat swab) results to the Puerto Rico Health Department’s online portal which produces a QR code required to proceed. Passengers will also be required to present their ID to ensure alignment with the information entered within the Travel Declaration Form. A rapid test will not be accepted, as it can sometimes yield false results.

The protocol for the negative PCR molecular test result requirement is as follows:

For passengers arriving with a negative test taken no more than 72 hours prior to arrival:
Upload their test result to the online portal, which will produce a QR Code required to leave the airport. Travelers will then be allowed to proceed with their trip. You can also find this info here

What Did I Do

Though I went for relaxation, as a travel advisor that takes her craft seriously I couldn’t resist touring some the properties on the island for future clients. I will rank the hotels below:

 

Hyatt Regency Grand Reserve Puerto Rico

Out of all three properties that I toured, this was the best hands down. Why was this property the best?

  1. It is very quiet
  2. It’s very open
  3. The Cabanas are only $80.00
  4. The rooms are hella spacious
  5. It’s off the beaten path of touristy Puerto Rico

 

Now, I have to keep it 100 with you all, you may want to consider securing a rental car to this property. It was about a 40minute drive from San Juan, but when you pull unto the resort grounds, you will totally understand why.

Fairmont El San Juan Hotel

My 2nd runner up is the beautiful Fairmont El San Juan Hotel. This property is definitely for the grown and sexy. From the custom chandelier upon entry, to the returning casino coming soon, and their beautiful/romantic villas this property is a great options for a girls trip! Here are somethings to note about this property.

  1. It has a night club in it
  2. The Villas are a must
  3. There are very sexy connecting rooms with awesome views

 

 

My last resort was the Caribe Hilton. This resort is for the budget friendly and seems to attract the more Spring Break crowd of traveler. The rooms had pretty decent views but seemed pretty outdated. However, there are things I liked about the property.

  1. It’s budget friendly
  2. It has a private beach
  3. When sitting out on the beach, the beach personnel bring you your beach umbrellas and they put them up for you
  4. You have a property guard that takes the temperature of every guest upon entering the property

 

Where To Eat & Adventure

Puerto Rico is very Americanized so you will have access to McDonalds, Burger King, Church’s Chicken, KFC and Wendy’s. But if you would like to try some authentic Puerto Rian food then try some Mofongo. Mofongo can be found just about anywhere on the island and is a staple. It’s smashed fried plantains as its main ingredient. Plantains are picked green and fried, then mashed with salt, garlic, broth, and olive oil in a wooden pilón. We tried the Mofongo at La Cueva Del Mar.

 

Up next is some Cevice

 

Then a Conch salad of course

Then I had to try the stewed goat and fish tacos of course

 

Ropa Vieja is where we tried the stewed goat

 

Adventure

Last but not least, we drove out to Farjado to do some snorkeling. Please note, this is about an hour away from San Juan and you need a rental car to get here. Unless you’re of with paying a hefty Uber bill. We went with the company “Kayaking Puerto Rico” for our excursion and I have to admit they were super funny and helpful.

We slowly leave the pier area to head out on open water in a few small boats. The boat ride is about 30 minutes going and coming. It’s a bit bumpy, but so worth it! The water was absolutely wonderful and we saw plenty of wildlife.

 

Guys, if you have not visited this dope place, I highly recommend you do, and soon. With so much to see and do, you can’t go wrong. FYI, I am a travel advisor and I would love to assist you in planning travel to Puerto Rico. Schedule a call with me today by slapping the link below so we can get you booked and “flewed out.”

🚨 https://bit.ly/3fq5CjI   🚨

If you haven’t already, be sure to check out my business website and secure your spot on one of our many Escapes planned for 2022!

 

Book Directly Or Nah?

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Book Directly Or Nah_

Wander tribe let’s be honest, no one wants to over pay for anything am I correct? But are you truly getting the better deal when booking your travel with a third-party company such as Expedia, Orbitz and or Priceline?

COVID-19 has definitely shaken up the world, to include the travel industry and many individuals are having a hard time getting to speak to someone, let alone get their travel funds back from cancelled travel.

So let’s talk about it, let’s layout the pros and cons of booking your travel direct with an airline/hotel vs a third party company. So let’s start with third party companies.

Third party travel companies or Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) are companies that sell you travel online. They act as a middleman between airlines/hotels and consumers, though their prices can often be cheaper than booking direct. Many of us are familiar with top OTAs like Orbitz, Expedia, and Travelocity. There are hundreds of smaller OTAs as well, and more pop up all the time. Some smaller ones include OneTravel, Vayama and eBookers. Some benefits of booking with an OTA include:

  • Cheaper fares
  • Price comparisons
  • You can purchase multi-airline itineraries
  • Discounts after a certain number of reservations

Cons of Third-Party Travel Sites

  • Poor customer service
  • Hard to change your reservation
  • Additional costs tacked to the booking
  • Many of the cheapest deals are non-refundable
  • Unable to earn points through hotel loyalty programs

Personally, I do not care for third party sites. I haven’t used one since late 2012 because they did not provide me with all of the details. For example, I was planning a trip to North Carolina and used Hotels.com. I paid one price online, only when at checkout there was an additional fee of some kind. When I made a fuss at the counter, they mentioned that the site was notorious for not being 100% transparent and many of their guests that have booked with them have experienced this. That was the LAST time using a third-party site. But let’s not forget about how the COVID-19 really showed the hand of OTAs. Remember the site Bookit.com? Well Bookit.com was a OTA and it went out of business amid COVID-19 without refunding their customers! Thousands of travelers received an email stating “Your trip is now cancelled,” others travelers were stranded, while the company went belly up overnight.

Capture

Now let’s dig into booking direct shall we.

Booking direct means exactly what it sounds to be. This is simply securing a room/plane ticket via the hotels/airline’s website. Here are some of the pros and cons:

  • Room & seat preference
  • Best rate guarantee
  • Loyalty program points
  • Better customer service
  • Free WI-FI and other amenities
  • Can capitalize on co-branded credit cards

Cons

  • They could cost more

So, tell me what would you decide on? Are you going to gamble and secure a flight/room with a third-party site? Or will you book directly in the future to maximize your travel dollars? Me personally I will continue to book direct to continue to receive free Wi-Fi, free breakfast, and room preferences but I hope this breakdown assists you in making the best decision for your travel needs.

Did you find this useful? Be sure to comment, share and subscribe to my blog for more travel stories & tips and follow me on my social media platforms!

 

Anita

 

Carnival’s Great Vacation Guarantee (Is It As Good As It States)

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Good morning wander tribe! While being quarantined, I wanted to brush up on my travel knowledge and I stumbled across the Great Vacation Guarantee provided by Carnival Cruise Lines. Let’s take a look at what it looks like shall we?

Breaking Down the Guidelines

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  • If you’re not happy with any 3–14 day Carnival Cruise Line vacation you take to The Bahamas, the Caribbean, the Mexican Riviera, Bermuda, Canada/New England or Alaska, just let Carnival know within 24 hours of leaving the port of embarkation. If Carnival gets something wrong, they will refund 100% of your fare with no hassles and our Guest Services team will get you back to your home or port of embarkation free of charge.
  • Their Guest Services team will make all the arrangements to get you off the ship as quickly as they can, and fly you to either your home airport if you flew in, or back to your point of embarkation if you drove to the ship.
  • Simply notify Carnival’s on board Guest Services desk.  If you decide later that you want to give Carnival another try, they will give a $100 per stateroom on board credit to any guest in your party who exercised the guarantee and, within a year, books another Carnival cruise.
  • Applies to individuals who are U.S. and Canadian residents only.

Thoughts?

With cruising being a great way to see many countries at once, I highly advise any and everyone to give cruising a try. Whether it’s Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Princess, or Norwegian, be sure to take note of all of it’s guarantees, and payment/cancellation guidelines in the event you have to cancel and or decide that you no longer want to continue your cruise once you’ve embarked. Looking deeper into the Great Vacation Guarantee, I looked through a couple of reviews and some past passengers were not happy with the guarantee because they had to “PROVE” that they were not having a good time. This negates what is mentioned above and I can understand why past passengers were unhappy when trying to utilize the guarantee.

Recommendations

When deciding on cruising with any cruise line, give them a call and see if you can get them to email something to you in writing. Just to have it on stand by in the event you may want to cancel and or utilize any of the guarantee policies. To take it one step further, PLEASE look into their insurance policies to ensure that you are actually getting your money back and not a voucher. I mean, who wants a voucher to return in the future if you weren’t happy the first time around right?

Last but not least, take a look into travel articles and posts on the topic. For example, TripAdvisor has a lot of feedback on the matter and many posts from past passengers on their experience with the guarantee.

I hope you guys liked this blog post! If so, be sure to comment, share, and subscribe to my page!

Anita

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