16 more days! Counting down to our Berlin to Budapest Contiki tour!

16 more days!  THIS month!  The days are going crazy fast and there's still lots to do!  I've got a few more last-minute clothing items and toiletries to pick up.  I still need to grab some jet lag pills for the plane (they are amazing!), and double-check my travel adapters (I haven't used them in ages so I need to make sure they cover everything).  I may pick up another travel adapter just in case.  With two girls traveling together, you can never have enough outlets!

My shoes and day bag arrived last week - very exciting!  I also need to pick up some remaining Euros aaaaand, figure out how we're getting to the airport. :) 

The trip is getting close... ! :D

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West Jet – the other Canadian Airline

Don’t you think it’s the most fascinating thing how an aircraft comprised of tons and tons of steel (with wings like a bird that don’t really flap) can lift all that weight, all those lives, way up into the air? Fly at incredible speeds and take you far away from your starting point to reach a destination that’s always more magical than the one you left from?

Commercial aviation is one of the most amazing things to me. I find it so fascinating – most people think I’m nuts and simply say ‘Hey, it’s an airplane. That’s what it does’. That may be true but the ability it has to transform our lives pretty quickly is something that calls for appreciation.

In Canada the main airline is Air Canada. Hands down. They’re the giant, the leader of commercial aviation in our country and they’re great. Not everyone loves them, but from my perspective they’re solid, safe, structured, all business. And I love to fly with them. They’re my first choice amongst anything else. So when I found out we’d be flying West Jet (the ‘other’ Canadian airline) I started asking questions. I’m sort of crazy like that. :)

I spent a lot of time checking them out, asking questions, getting opinions from others who’d flown with them before. To summarize – I didn’t find anyone that had anything bad or remotely negative to say about West Jet. Everyone was happy with their experience with them! Here’s the basics…

Fleet
Their fleet is mainly comprised of Boeing 737 aircraft. Not really a fleet that’s going to take you across the Atlantic anymore but definitely reliable. And I have a small bit of adulation for Boeing anyways, so plus one for that. Although the equipment wasn’t up to par on our flight, the TV in the back of our seats were out, the flight attendant offered to find us a seat with a TV that was working, and he did. He was very nice about it and made sure we were comfortable.

Staff
The commercials are out there – West Jet owners love what they do because they don’t only work for West Jet, they’re owners as well. The atmosphere is definitely more relaxed on West Jet than it is on Air Canada. Not to say one is bad over the other, but West Jet employees absolutely seem as though they love their job. They’re very candid on board, joking and being sincere. It’s refreshing and helps ease anyone with jittery nerves about flying for sure.

Price
The perception is that the price of flying anything BUT Air Canada will be cheaper. While my costs were covered for my West Jet flight, I tried doing a random search between Toronto and Fort Lauderdale with both airlines, and found Air Canada to be $60 dollars cheaper after taxes. Not to say this is indicative of all their pricing, but both airlines are on par with each other.

Would They Take Care of You?
Perhaps it’s just my perception but West Jet feels as though they would extend an olive branch if you did have a bad experience. Their Twitter staff is great and always engaging with their passengers. They have incredible seat sales once a week. Overall they seem to care about your experience with them. Who wouldn’t want that in a large corporate company that you’re dishing out your money to, and trusting your life with?

After flying with them I have to say I’m really impressed! In comparison to Air Canada their staff is more relaxed and laid back. Less ‘official’ and more in line with ‘your friendly flying companion’. And the best part? On the way back, I was able to watch LIVE TV. Air Canada doesn’t offer that! Yes, I was able to catch the NBC Game of the Week. Philly and the New York Rangers. At least it was hockey, and live hockey.

So West Jet is definitely an option I’d consider again. I do have a rewards card and rewards credit card with Air Canada (saving points for my big European trip) so I would look at their flights and prices first. But within North America, West Jet is fantastic!

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Holland America Port of Call: Costa Maya, Mexico

What an incredible day we had in Costa Maya, Mexico. The ship was able to dock at this port which is always better than having to tender in, because you have

freedom to come and go off the ship as you like. Costa Maya itself is really beautiful. The shore is modern, colourful and vibrant, and very welcoming. You can swim with the dolphins right near the port entrance, and there's plenty of shopping, swimming, and deck chairs for sun soaking with food and drink options close by. For our visit to Costa Maya, we decided to visit the Chochoben Mayan Ruins (definitely one of my bucket list items), and we had some time to kill before our tour started so we decided to grab a drink and some munchies.

I remember this day was SCORCHING HOT! One of those days where doing absolutely nothing, not moving an ounce, can cause you to break out in a crazy sweat. The only other time I've ever experienced weather this hot was on an abnormally warm day in Venice, Italy. Because I'm fair-skinned and the sun loves to burn me to a crisp, these are not my favourite kind of days but the excursion ended up being one of the highlights of our trip!

For all of the shore excursions, you meet your tour guide right at the end of the dock before entering in the port. Our tour was around $80-90 dollars, and was set to be 4 hours. We boarded a coach bus with no air conditioning (eek). The drive was about a half hour to 45 minutes, but along the way we had to stop and wait for another coach bus to pick us up because the speaker for the microphone wasn't working on ours. That was a bit of a killer in the heat but we tried

to keep positive in anticipation of what we'd be seeing later on that day!

Our tour guide Manuel was amazing! You could tell he was very proud of the Ruins and of being from the area. He was full of knowledge about the Ruins and had even offered paintings to show us of what he perceived the Ruins to look like in their hey day based on his historic knowledge of studying their past. Even though the day was sweltering hot, he answered all our questions and provided an incredible amount of information. Which for me is great because I'm a total sponge when it comes to exploring and learning new things. I

was impressed that there were quite a few more Ruins at this site than I expected. We learned that at one point it's believed the Ruins were originally covered in red stucco and claimed a bustling city home to 20-30 thousand people! The steps of the Ruins are tall, so when you walk them you have to look down to watch your step, which also puts you in the position of praying to the gods (which we got to try!). Climbing down the Ruins, you were supposed to side-step in their day as to not turn your back on the gods. We learned this location is actually quite new, only discovered in the past

10-15 years. The location was found because someone was flying over the area and noticed the land was quite mountainous, where normally it should be quite flat. As we were walking along, Manuel showed us random hills of dirt that he mentioned are pyramids that have yet to be unearthed. Because the terrain should all be flat, they know these random hills hide more secrets of the past so they are still working at uncovering them all. The area itself contains very large trees that are

hundreds of years old. It's all very beautiful!

At the end of our tour, we were offered a free beer or beverage. Free. Beer. Seriously! Nice touch, Costa Maya! We actually opted for pop because the day was sooo hot. On the ride back we melted from heat and exhaustion but we were also pleasantly and completely overwhelmed and mesmerized by the incredible history lesson we'd just experienced.

This day was incredible.

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Holland America Port of Call: Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

If there's one thing that can totally throw you off cruising around the Western Caribbean, it's setting your clocks back! Upon arriving in Grand Cayman we had to do just this. Which isn't too difficult to handle, but then it happened to us again

the next night. On the main deck of the ship near the middle area (I'm sure there's a proper ship name for 'middle of the ship') near the elevators are giant monitors that tell you the position of the ship, the current local time, weather forecast and all the other need-to-know info if you truly need to know. But I never thought to check this. When our cruise director announced the time change, we flipped our watches back and never thought about it again. I guess we could've checked our room phone too for the correct time, but that never occurred to us. Hey, we were on vacation! Who cares what time it is. You'll see where I'm going with this a bit later...

Today's port of call was Grand Cayman. I'm not sure what I expected. I remembered always hearing about people who vacationed in Grand Cayman and the diving and string ray swimming they did there. The way they presented it, it always felt like the 'it' place to take a proper vacation! Pulling into port, my initial thoughts were that it didn't seem as fancy as the other ports we'd been to. The main priority of the shoreline is to get the boats and tenders in and out of the island as efficiently as possible. I guess it wasn't about presentation here like Grand Turk was. Grand Cayman is more lived, so to speak. Stepping off the tender, you go through a small covered area where

you're bombarded with excursion options, then there you are! Streets and shopping everywhere! You're in the thick of it all immediately. My first inland impressions were of scattered hints of a North-Eastern coastal town. Complete with the brightly coloured buildings and traditional sign posts painted in white and blue indicating the maritime heritage trail around the area. It was extremely hot the day we arrived, and the streets were busy and full. It was a bit overwhelming. We struggled our way across the street through the traffic and took off shopping.

The stores inside are incredible. If you're looking to drop some serious change, this is where you want to do it. The selection is abundant and filled with the greatest amount of designer watches I'd ever seen

(amongst a ton of other jewelry and sparkle)! And every store feels this way. We toured around a bit. I tried on a pair of $5,000 dollar earrings at Milano. Hey, this wasn't my intention! The sales lady noticed my citrine ring that I'd purchased in Grand Turk, which she assumed was a yellow diamond (hah), offered us some very welcomed bottled water and had me decked out in five grand worth of the most gorgeous yellow diamonds I'd ever seen. After I found out that these clearly out-rivaled my great Grand Turk ring price of $115, I quickly discarded them out of my ears and away we went. We

also scored a collector island map print for..., well, I'm not sure why. They like to give you gifts if they think there's a chance you could spend some money.

Our walk around was pretty tiring, so we grabbed a nice overpriced cocktail at the Green Parrot, then jumped back on our tender for the ship to spend the afternoon there. Our included itinerary with the travel company called for a culinary demonstration at 6pm, so after a quick nap on the ship we headed down to the Culinary Arts Center. Because of the time change, and

our culinary event actually staying at the traditional time before we flipped our watches back, we were an hour late for our cooking demonstration. Which was disappointing. But they were just starting to cook the crab cakes when we got there so we were able to join in for the best part. I still haven't figured out how we missed the demonstration. I believe now the ship schedule stays the same even though we sailed through time changes. Perhaps. But the crab cakes were amazing! It was a nice treat!

We also chose to dine in the main dining room this evening. After much persuasion by me. Mom prefers to wing it on the Lido deck, but I love to check out the decadent menu options each night. Okay, so that's only part of the reason. My other two parts included the very cute main dining room guy who I chose to nickname 'Ashton' because he looked like Ashton Kutcher. That was our name for him for our cruise. :) And the other part included the amazing dining attendants we had at our table every night who were just awesome! Absolute rock stars! They quickly learned our preferences and had our table set just for us every night by the time we got there. Balsamic vinegar and wine for the bread, and extra caesar salad dressing for mom (a gravy boat worth), and red wine for me! Our wine attendant loved to keep my glass

topped up. After about the third time of him trying to top it up I politely declined, saying I was good. To which he replied "Oh, but you don't have to drive anywhere". Well, this is true. Okay, I'll take another glass. "It'll help you enjoy your night" he said. How did he know?!! :) I really miss our dining room crew.

I was really looking forward to the next morning though. We'd be stopping in Costa Maya, Mexico. To see the Mayan Ruins! I'd never been to Mexico before and I always wanted to see the Mayan Ruins so this was a huge day on my list!

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Holland America Day at Sea

I have to admit, after two full days of ports of call I was looking forward to a relaxing day at sea. I was excited to explore the ship and sample some of the on-board amenities. Number one on my agenda was playing bingo with DJ Renee in the Showroom at Sea! But first I'd start with a scrumptious breakfast on the Lido Deck. I had a great day planned, but found out I'd have to go it alone because mom would need to be in meetings all day with her travel group. No worries, I can do this.

First we headed for breakfast together. The Lido Deck is great for this because there's a huge selection of all the best breakfast fare. And you can eat anytime during the morning and don't need to wait to be seated. And the windows along the interior area overlook the sea which it's always fun to sit and watch the view while you eat breakfast. This morning we could see the coast of Cuba where my sister was vacationing at the same time. We waved a quiet 'hello' to her over breakfast. At 10:00am it was time for the meeting to start, so I began my ship adventure.

I hit the Showroom at Sea room early to get my bingo card. It seems every day that more people show up for the bingo than the day before. It gets pretty popular as the week goes on. But, I didn't win. Oh well, it's always fun. When you get down to one number you have to stand up. Every time someone stands up they play "hallelujah" and people boo at you! :). It's all good fun though.

My next adventure involved checking out the shopping seminar with our on-board shopping ambassadors Nicole and Todd. This. Was. Fun. Upon arriving everyone received bags filled with pamphlets of the different shops we'd be seeing in our next port of call, Grand Cayman. There were also giveaways of gems and jewelry! I love shiny things and this was right up my alley. We talked about watches (mmm), diamonds, jewelry pieces, different types of gemstones, what to look for, where to get the best deals. It was very informative. I learned the Caribbean is the best place to shop because it's all tax-free and watches are slightly cheaper then MSRP at home. I love watches! When I left there, I was a walking encyclopedia of shopping knowledge! And itching to spend!

Next I decided to grab my Sony Reader and head to the Lido deck for some light reading by the pool. Traveling solo is unique because you're forced to really think about what you want to do. And normally you do things and see things you wouldn't normally make time for when sharing your time with another person or group. I settled in at a table at the back of the deck in the shade with a nice view of the pool. I was going to read but I spent more time people watching. Seeing who people were with, what they were doing and trying to imagine what their story was. Why they were here and who they were with and what their life must be like off the ship.

Because ours was the last Caribbean tour before our ship repositioned for Europe, there was a huge sale on the Lido deck. Purses, scarves, costume jewelry all at crazy low prices. I briefly tempted the idea to dig in and join the frenzy, but the tables were *insane* with bargain shoppers. It looked like a ferret free for all as I saw the back of heads bobbing up and down between the scarfs and handbags flying around. I decided I'd head over to the meeting room early to meet mom for her lunch break instead. To my excitement she was given the afternoon off so we'd have the afternoon free to roam. Yay!

The best thing about being on a cruise is the freedom to take a quick cat nap - whenever you want! Sure, you can do that at an all-inclusive resort too but a cruise ship is more like a high class hotel on water, with tons of activities and amenities, and the opportunity to see more of the world with multiple ports of call. An all-inclusive doesn't offer that, so therefore cruising wins! At least for me! We decided to take advantage of our hotel on water, and catch a quick nap before our private invitation-only cocktail reception in the Crow's Nest with our ship's captain. Very exciting!

The Crow's Nest on the Nieuw Amsterdam is pretty awesome! Our cocktail reception included open bar with exquisite hors d'oeuvres and a magnificent wide angle view of the water around us from the front of the ship. Matching these long line of windows and glorious view are the most comfortable chairs on the ship. And they recline! This was one of my favourite spots! This is absolutely something to check out!

All in all, I really enjoyed our day at sea and it was a nice break from our active ports-of-call schedule. But I'm the type of vacationer who likes to keep busy so I was really looking forward to our next stop in the morning: Grand Cayman. Ooo, and all that jewelry!

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Holland America's private Bahamas: Half Moon Cay

Piña Coladas at 10am? Yes, I'm guilty. In a commemorative super-sized sippy thermos no less. Welcome to Half Moon Cay (pronounced 'key'). Our first stop on our Holland America Western Caribbean tour. Located in the Bahamas, this island belongs exclusively

to HAL and only welcomes its on-board guests. If sun, sand, seclusion and serene are your thing then this is where you want to be. Boasting more facilities, services and activities than any other cruise line's private island this mini piece of paradise welcomes you with 2 solid miles of powdered sand beach and a day filled with relaxation and warmth.

Our morning here began with our drinks underneath the bar hut as we enjoyed the warm breeze and watched the other passengers file in. The crew who runs the ship also runs the shops here that are located at the entry point of the

island. Amazing prices; I picked up a beautiful fuschia and white shell bracelet for $2 dollars, and all day long the shops offered draws and giveaways. The majority of our amazing day was spent under a clamshell on the beach. Clamshells are like semi-circular shade huts that lay close to the ground. These must be reserved through and they go fast, so if you're planning on visiting be sure to snatch one up.

The beach itself is gorgeous with creamy white sand, and ample swimming and water activities. Nothing beats lying on the beach with a drink in your hand, watching the parasailers on a warm sunny day with a panoramic view of the majestic Nieuw Amsterdam in the background. Wow.

Lunch was also provided by the HAL staff and was filled with much more than any one person could possibly eat in one sitting, including an abundant array of salads, barbecued meat and fish, corn on the cob, and plenty of desserts including ice cream and brownies.

Behind the beach nestled amongst the colourful vegetation you'll find the pirates bar. Newly built and modeled to resemble a pirates ship, this beauty is sprinkled with the essence of Captain Morgan himself. This is a great place to grab some nachos and a beer and just relax and enjoy the live entertainment.

Our time here seemed to slip by quickly but this was singularly the most relaxing leg of our trip. HAL has done a terrific job building up this private island to include all the needed amenities but still maintaining the feeling of exclusiveness and escape. This one is a treasure.

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Holland America, ships, and stuff

My favourite photo of the ship

I've *never* been on a cruise. Before this trip, I was a cruise virgin. I really didn't know what to expect. I'd heard stories about how these ships were big (be sure to call them ships, because if you call them boats, you'll quickly be corrected by those with an extreme passion for this lifestyle. It's not pretty, either).

Before our cruise, the general consensus of the population went something like this: Oh, you're going on a Holland America cruise? Those are for old people.

I cannot tell you how many times people said that to me. Doesn't that sound exciting and conjure up rousing images of soft-serve ice cream and crokinole on the Lido deck before an early check-in at sunset? Hah - yeah, this couldn't be farther from the truth! The theme of this ship was far from it. For the population, I would say half were retirees. But the other half was a solid mix of young adults, and families with children.

And of the retirees, I think I saw one the whole time who was actually beyond retirement if you catch my drift. The rest were young and young at heart and active, and participated in the late night festivities and shore excursions along with the rest of us. I was on this trip with travel agents who represent the top 25 agencies in North America, and their sentiments were constantly echoing the same thought throughout the week: "I always perceived Holland America as being for old people but its definitely not".

One thing I did pick up around the ship is that Holland America's theme is less people; more room per ship. I'd believe this to also be true. I hate crowds, and I hate line ups.

It's not that the ship ever once felt empty, but nearly ever did I have to wait in a line for anything. The open dining in the Lido area was probably the only lineup I experienced and it would never be more than 2-3 people deep.

A better word I would use for the atmosphere of this ship would be vibrant. There's always something going on from the time you start at breakfast, to the disco parties that run well into the night. There's a large blend of activities to satisfy any age, and the ship even has a kids club - I thought that was something you only saw on a Carnival ship.

Show Room at Sea
But the staff of Holland America are truly the stars! They are the most wonderful people I've met and they're what I miss the most! They made the experience go from just 'amazing' to "trip of a lifetime".

Whatever you need, the staff is there and ready to help. They're friendly and engaging. They truly care about your experience! And they're never in short supply. Our dinning room assistants got to quickly know our dinner preferences and always had our table prepared with our favorites by the time we arrived! Small touches like that really make the experience memorable.

I cannot wait to return on a Holland America cruise again. We're thinking about trying the Mediterranean next summer! And because we've sailed with HAL before, we're automatically 1-star Mariners and qualify for perks (I love points, and I love perks)! I can't wait!

Here are some of my recommendations if you're sailing Holland America...

Dining

There is the Lido deck for leisure dining, but my preference was the Manhattan Room, our regular dining option. The food there is amazing. But also, be sure to reserve a night at the Pinnacle Grill. The food there is incredible - very elegant, and extreme fine dining. The Pinnacle Grill is a must!

Activities
There's just SO much to do on the ship, you will not possibly cover it all. Some musts include catching a show in the Showroom at Sea in the evening. The performances are well polished, and spectacular! I enjoyed the daily bingo, with a growing jackpot each day from $10,000 to $100,000. Can you imagine winning that?!! On the last day was also a free-cruise bingo. I saw a girl win a free cruise. That would be cool. The culinary demonstration is also a must. The culinary arts center is very posh. And be sure to grab a drink in the crow's nest. The view (and super comfortable chairs along the front) are spectacular!

Drinks

This was a big deal for me because I'm a huge water drinker, and if you want a bottle of water on the ship you need to buy it. There are pop cards you can purchase (ick), but if you can live on water/juice/coffee/tea/iced tea, then I strongly suggest grabbing drinks from the Lido area whenever you need a drink outside of your meals. Water and drinks there are free, and if you cannot find what you're looking for, there's always staff around to help get what you need.

Shopping

A girl's favourite! I didn't realize this, but all the shopping on board our ship was tax and duty free! Our tax in Ontario is 13% so no tax is always a treat! I'm not sure if this is exclusive to any at-sea shopping on the ship, or just because we were in Caribbean waters, but be sure to check it out. We picked up some great items and souvenirs here!

(More cruise review to come soon...)

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