TravelBlog by Makarma

You may say it, but do you mean it?

noreply@blogger.com (Mr Makarma) — Wed, 05 May 2010 01:00:00 +0000

You can normally spot a phony fairy easily; we (Mr. Makarma) certainly can. You know, that person/place/thing that really isn't what it portrays itself to be

There's an international sandwich chain which we won't directly refer to, but we will tell you their name rhymes with "Bubway". Now, whenever we visit the local Bubway, we (and everyone else) gets greeted with a very muted, solemn chorus of "welcometobubway". We have a feeling they really don't mean it, but they say it 'cause the dang boss says they HAVE to say it. They never remember our preferences from last time, because they weren't working there last time, and likely won't be working there NEXT time. Although we like their product, the overall feeling we're left with is blah.

We contrast the above experience with those of our occasional visits to the sushi kingdom. We always get a warm greeting there from both samurai sushi man and favorite waitperson/goddess. If manager dude sees us, he'll always go out of his way to say hello. Nobody waits for us to actually place an order there, because they already know what we like. No matter how long we're there, everyone always acts like we're leaving much too soon. We go home feeling terrific, and we can't wait until we have the opportunity to return.

What's your daily experience? We'll guess you deal with both Bubways and sushi kingdoms on a regular basis, and that you wish everything (and everyone) would be a sushi kingdom. Well (and here's where we seamlessly segue into the world of travel), we recently returned from yet another spectacular, spectacular cruise. We'll tell you about it next time, and note in-particular how it was just like a seven-night nonstop sushi kingdom.

Return to Makarma Travel Home Page: http://www.makarmatravel.com/

Size matters (when it comes to new cruise ships)

noreply@blogger.com (Mr Makarma) — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 02:00:00 +0000

The past few weeks have seen the U. S. debut of a couple cruise ships that we (Mr. Makarma) have spoken about in the past. We'll guess though, that while you've seen plenty of media coverage about Royal Caribbean International's Oasis of the Seas, you didn't even know that Carnival Cruise Line's Carnival Dream had also arrived on the scene.

Why's that? Simple, Oasis is a no-holds-barred cruise industry game-changer, while the Dream is "only" the very best ship industry-leader Carnival has ever built.

Oasis is a headline grabber - largest cruise ship (by far), ziplining, ice skating, a Carousel for kids (of all ages), aqua theater, etc.

The Dream, on the other hand, takes the best of Carnival's tried-and-true formula, and enhances it a bit, adding a few features new to the cruise line.

Which concept do we prefer? Neither - we think both companies are doing a terrific job not only catering to their past guests, but also giving many thousands of travelers that have never considered a cruise vacation, two compelling new reasons to try one.

Return to Makarma Travel Home Page: http://www.makarmatravel.com/

Oh, what a (wonderfully) tangled web we weave

noreply@blogger.com (Mr Makarma) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 01:00:00 +0000

Well, well, it's been awhile, huh? Well, you need to know that we (Mr. Makarma) haven't spent our time sitting around watching cable or knitting a new quilt......

Although we (Mr. Makarma) are sorely lacking in spare time, we're currently in various stages of developing two new websites. One will make its appearance later this year, while the other won't show up until the first quarter of 2011.

First up will be a fun little website that's going to highlight the origins and history of fast food in the car culture of Southern California. What does this have do with travel, you may ask? Almost nothing, our dear friends, almost nothing. But, it's gonna be a lot of fun, and we'll all probably learn a thing or two about our favorite burger or taco joint. We'll have a bulletin board as part of the site, so you'll all have the opportunity to share a story or three. Who will the website appeal to? Only to those of you who have ever enjoyed a fast food meal.

We want that website to be up-and-running soon, so the initial look and navigation will be similar to that of the primary Makarma Travel website. This will be its "preview" mode, with a more extensive Web 2.0 site coming along as interest increases.

We'll announce the start-up of the fast food website on this Blog, and both that site and the primary site will, of course, link to one another.

Mid-2010 will find a complete upgrade to the Makarma Travel site. We'll freshen up the overall look, and change the navigation style. All this in preparation for......

Our Web 3.0 (has that even been announced yet?) cruise travel website that's about 18 months away. Unfortunately, we can't share too many details of it right now, but it'll be something that's not currently found anywhere online. Using the word "interactive" will not do justice to any description of this new site. To say the least, it will quite possibly change the way cruises are booked.

We're very excited about all three of these projects, but downright giddy about the third. We're not even sure all the technologies we're looking for are available yet, but we'll try to find a way to make this all happen between now and then. Stay tuned, O.K.?

Return to Makarma Travel Home Page: http://www.makarmatravel.com/

Happy New Year !

noreply@blogger.com (Mr Makarma) — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 01:00:00 +0000

The above headline is about as likely as Sears rolling out the Christmas merchandise in the middle of Summer. Well, Sears IS selling Christmas merchandise right now, and we (Mr. Makarma) are busy at work planning for the new year. For example......

We're busy tossing out (actually, recycling) the 2009 vendor brochures and replacing them with those for 2010. The same is the case with the various guides we purchase on an annual basis to further keep up-to-date; we've already ordered next year's editions, and they'll start arriving early next month.

Back in the old days, before the recent economic downturn, people DID start planning the following year's vacations (especially to Europe and Alaska, popular Summer destinations) right about now. Today, people tend to book closer in, once they know they can afford a trip and hopefully also find a last-minute bargain in the process.

Closer in or further out - either works for us. You gotta roll with it sometimes, and that's something we can most definitely do.

We talked about our new love for antipasto salads last time; did we also mention we recently rediscovered frozen yogurt?

Return to Makarma Travel Home Page: http://www.makarmatravel.com/

It's not easy being us in the Summertime

noreply@blogger.com (Mr Makarma) — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 01:00:00 +0000

It's been really rough around here lately, with both the local County Fair and the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale in full force. Throw in a short hike this weekend, and, here we are. We (Mr. Makarma) are survivors though, and we won't have our Summer days served any differently.

We may also be transitioning from sushi to antipasto salads. There are a couple reasons for this major lifestyle change, but we'll get into those sometime in the future. (O.K., we'll tell you now...we really like a good - we stress the word GOOD - antipasto salad, along with far fewer carbs in that delightful concoction. Can we now return to the seriousness of the TravelBlog?)

There are still some travel values to be found the next few months. Our recommendations include:

* Las Vegas (mid-week hotel rates are lower than we've seen in some time)

* Late season (late August/early September) cruises to Europe and Alaska

* Walt Disney World (an available free dining package makes this option an exceptional value)

We recently priced out a vacation to the Fontainebleau Resort in Miami Beach and were very pleasantly surprised at the package price. The Fontainebleau, as you may recall, appeared in the James Bond movie, Goldfinger, along with several other films. It's a classic resort that's been further improved in the last few years with a roughly $1 billion expansion/renovation. We visited the property several years ago and really liked it at the time. With the most recent improvements, we recommend it even more.

Return to Makarma Travel Home Page: http://www.makarmatravel.com/

Bigger will most definitely (maybe) be better

noreply@blogger.com (Mr Makarma) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 01:00:00 +0000

You may recall that we (Mr. Makarma) recently noted that both Carnival and Royal Caribbean will be introducing some unique features on their new ships setting sail later this year. In Carnival's case, the features will be more evolutionary, taking their current ship designs up a notch. Here, we're talking things such as balcony staterooms set lower in the ship than previously found, and family-friendly staterooms with split bathrooms.

In Royal Caribbean's case, we're talking about their introduction (yet again) of the world's largest cruise ship (Approximately 220,000 gross registered tons versus the current champion at roughly 160,000 GRT). Imagine, if you will, having a cabin overlooking "Central Park" and taking a spin on the first carousel at sea. (We just knew something was missing!) Oh, and did we happen to mention zip-lining at sea?

Yet another ship isn't going to be out until mid-2010, bit it's already creating quite the buzz - it's Norwegian Cruise Line's Norwegian Epic. This particular baby's gonna be interesting in a number of ways. For example, it won't be the world's largest (please see above), but it will be significantly larger than NCL's existing mega-ships. NCL originally planned to have two ships in this newer class but, for reasons too detailed to go into today, the order was reduced to just the one ship. This means that, for quite some time, Norwegian Epic will be their flagship, the one that will likely receive their highest level of attention.

Along with its unique cabin design (more about that in a future post), Norwegian Epic will be different because it takes NCL's "Freestyle" motto to greater lengths (pun intended). The ship will have an unparalleled variety of dining and entertainment venues. On the company's current ships, some dining rooms are included in the base fare, while others incur a separate charge. Now, with Norwegian Epic, there will no longer be a main showroom; "main" entertainment will be spread out to a number of facilities throughout the ship. And, as you may have guessed by now, some of these venues will require a separate cover charge. We're not certain we'll like this format, but we won't judge it until we know whether or not a guest on this cruise ship will be able to enjoy the full cruise experience without reaching into a wallet (or purse) over and over again.

What we are fairly certain of, however, is that we'll be one of the first to sail on (and check out, and report back on) Norwegian Epic firsthand.

Return to Makarma Travel Home Page: http://www.makarmatravel.com/

Help save the classics by supporting the classics

noreply@blogger.com (Mr Makarma) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 01:00:00 +0000

Every now and then, something reminds us (Mr. Makarma) of how precarious the future is for our favorite old restaurants, tourist attractions or stores. Quite often, this reminder comes by way of announcement that one of these old-time favorites is closing.

It's funny how a place that's no longer popular finds that second wind only when its closure becomes imminent. We'll never forget our trip to the famed Chasen's restaurant near Beverly Hills soon after its closing date was announced - the place was jam-packed. The same is true of Movieland Wax Museum. We admit we hadn't been there in years, but we did wait in a long line to get in on the attraction's final day. Of course, if these places were always that busy, they probably wouldn't be closing in the first place.

A recent program produced by our local PBS affiliate highlighted a couple Los Angeles area restaurants that have been around since almost forever. They're both family run places, with owners that see absolutely no reason to sell, or even make significant changes to, their beloved businesses. Fortunately, many of these places still do very well. Both of our favorite Hollywood hangouts opened prior to World War II, and they're still going strong. Many other places from that era aren't around anymore, though, and we can point out several places where - as the song goes - they paved paradise and put up a parking lot.

The lesson here? Support these places and help keep them around for years to come. The above examples are of places in Southern California, but these classics can be found almost anywhere. Seek them out when you travel. We've committed ourselves to help in this effort. When we assist our clients with their vacation plans, we make it a point to recommend places to visit while on their trip. We tend to avoid the "here today, gone tomorrow" hot spots; we'd rather point people toward those neat little classic diners that still exist right down the street.

Return to Makarma Travel Home Page: http://www.makarmatravel.com/

That travel checklist we've been talking about...

noreply@blogger.com (Mr Makarma) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 01:00:00 +0000

A couple weeks ago, we (Mr. Makarma) reminded our fine friends of a few things which should be taken care of prior to departing for travel. Well, one of our finest of friends Robert wanted to know more about the last item we noted - a review of the travel checklist. He asked about key items which should be included; more specifically, what we had on our list.

Well, we do have some essentials, such as the iPod loaded with "Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 - Greatest Hits", Clorets and a rubber duckie. Seriously, though, you can still have a successful trip if you forget the iPod and Clorets.

What can't you forget?

1) Photo identification (all travel), proof of citizenship (all foreign travel) and any foreign visas (if required).
2) Medication, with a list (kept separately) of the medications you take, along with their dosages.
3) The tickets (Almost everything is electronic these days, but it's still important to have a record of your travel purchases.)

The above are three absolute essentials. Some of the other items from our recommended list:

Underwear (unless you have no concerns about unexpectedly going commando)
Electric converter (for foreign travel)
Baseball cap / other hat, sunscreen, sunglasses
Prescription eyeglasses / contact lenses
Camera, digital media / film
Toiletries
Shoes, socks
Pajamas / sweats (in other words, whatever you wear overnight)
Cell phone
Disinfectant spray / hand sanitizers
Swimwear
Checkbook
Reading books
Umbrella (if there's any chance at all you'll need it)
Dressy wear (Will there be a special occasion to dress up on your vacation?)

Also, remember to suspend newspaper delivery, and make alternative plans for any other scheduled deliveries.

The above list is by no means complete, and it may not necessarily be the list for you. What we want to stress, is that having such a list is important. Update it frequently (we keep ours in a Word file).

Have any additional recommendations for a travel checklist? Please drop us a line, and we'll consider mentioning it in a future TravelBlog.

Return to Makarma Travel Home Page: http://www.makarmatravel.com/

Things to do before you take off / set sail

noreply@blogger.com (Mr Makarma) — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 01:00:00 +0000

June, thanks to school schedules, relatively mild temperatures and more reasonable prices, is a big month for foreign travel. As such, it's also a good time for a few last-minute pointers. We (Mr. Makarma) would like to remind you that:

Credit cards - If you'll be doing any foreign travel, you may want to call the customer service numbers for your credit cards and let them know where you're headed. Automated fraud protection systems are designed to notice, and react to, out-of-the-ordinary behavior. You could save yourself a lot of aggravation by letting them know the credit card you've used to buy nothing but groceries in your hometown, will now also be used for those hotel charges in Helsinki.

Cell phones - First of all, make sure the cell phone you're currently using will even work where you're headed. Then, look into what a phone call made overseas will cost you and consider signing up for a special rate plan if it makes sense for your calling/data needs. Finally, learn how to make a cell phone call (i.e., what additional numbers need to be dialed) when making a call either within the country you're visiting or from that country to a number back home.

Automated Teller Machines (ATM) - Many foreign ATMs will let you make a withdrawal from your account in the US. Besides the obvious (i.e., learn what additional charges apply), make sure your PIN number will work overseas. For example, don't wait until you get where you're going to learn your six-digit PIN may not work on an ATM which accepts only four digits. Also, remember that the currency that will be dispensed will likely be that of the country you're visiting. Have an idea about exchange rates so you'll know what you're withdrawing from your checking account.

Take care of the items above, along with those on that checklist you've been developing (you have put together a checklist, haven't you?), and you can help ensure yourself a bon voyage.

Return to Makarma Travel Home Page: http://www.makarmatravel.com/

News tidbits and a side of Miso soup, please

noreply@blogger.com (Mr Makarma) — Mon, 25 May 2009 01:00:00 +0000

Every now and then, we (Mr. Makarma) like to take the time to update you on some items which may not require a complete TravelBlog entry, but are important just the same......

The new Passport regulations we've discussed on a few occasions are still scheduled to take effect on June 1. There will still be a few instances where Passports won't be required, but they'll be few and far between. We've said it before (and we'll say it again)...if you plan to do any serious traveling, get a U.S. Passport.

The major cruise lines have confirmed that they'll return to their Mexico itineraries as of mid-June. One cruise line, Royal Caribbean International, has noted that their recent experience with the temporary Pacific Northwest cruise itinerary worked so well that they'll consider them again for regular cruises in the future. Bravo RCI!

New cruise ships will start service from Florida ports later this year. The ships, one from Carnival (a groundbreaking design), and another from Royal Caribbean (a design beyond groundbreaking) will sail from Port Canaveral and Fort Lauderdale, respectively. We'll have more information on the Carnival Dream and Oasis of the Seas in future TravelBlogs.

We plan to try Uni during our next visit to new top-secret sushi spot. Of course we're afraid but, when it comes to sushi, we laugh at danger.

Return to Makarma Travel Home Page: http://www.makarmatravel.com/

What the new cruise dining programs are all about

noreply@blogger.com (Mr Makarma) — Mon, 18 May 2009 01:00:00 +0000

Although the TravelBlog has written about the subject before in bits and pieces, we (Mr. Makarma) want to take a little more time this week to further discuss a relatively significant change in cruise ship dining.

Cruise ship dining, for years and years, was a fairly regimented affair. Although it's a type of regimentation we still enjoy, it clearly wasn't for everyone. What was it? Fixed dining times; in other words, early and late seating.

You see, cruise ship dining rooms were traditionally designed to accommodate roughly half of the ship's guests at any time. Why would they do that? Well, a couple reasons:

1) Three things here, but all related....if you design a ship's dining room to accommodate all of its guests at the same time, you're going to have less space for other public rooms (remember, your galleys would also need to be larger). You're also going to need more dining staff (or stretch existing staff more, possibly diminishing the service level) Finally, if everyone's eating at once, the rest of the ship (lounges, casinos, shops, etc.) would be empty during meal time. Inefficient, and boring (most people like to be in an environment where there's a certain level of activity); and,

2) Simply said, some people like to eat early; some people like to eat late.

Thus, when you booked a cruise, you also chose early or late dining; primarily for dinner, but sometimes for other meals as well.

In recent years, cruise lines have moved away from this tradition to various extents. Norwegian Cruise Lines, for example, did away with all fixed dining times and added a variety of other dining options (some at extra cost) to their ships. You dine when you want; if a particular dining room is full, you wait, just as you do at a land-based restaurant.

Princess Cruises, in its efforts to please both cruise traditionalists and those who want a little more freedom, has both options onboard its ships - fixed seating in one dining room, and open seating in one or two others.

Holland America, Royal Caribbean and Carnival have more recently implemented programs such as those at Princess - you not only have the choice to eat whenever you want, you have the choice (if available at time of booking) to have traditional fixed dining.

Our assessment of the pros and cons......

Traditional fixed dining

Pros:
- No waiting; you know that, when it's time to eat, your table (and waitstaff) will be there for you.
- Waitstaff learns your preferences. After a day or so, you'll get that iced tea, cream with coffee, etc. without even asking.

Con:
- A fixed dining time limits your meal TIME options.

Open dining

Pro:
- More meal TIME options, meaning a little less regimentation.

Cons:
- Waitstaff typically doesn't have the opportunity to learn your preferences.
- If your restaurant is full at the time you wish to dine, you wait. (Who wants to wait on vacation?)

Our preference? Well, you probably could have guessed it - we like fixed dining. We do appreciate that cruise lines are accommodating their guests by giving them more choices. We, however, are traditionalists - you see, we've been doing this cruise thing for over 30 years now.

Return to Makarma Travel Home Page: http://www.makarmatravel.com/

Keeping you up-to-date...

noreply@blogger.com (Mr Makarma) — Mon, 11 May 2009 01:00:00 +0000

Today's TravelBlog will be primarily an update for two major travel-related stories. First up, the swine flu outbreak and its effect on the travel industry. This story is something we've all heard quite a bit about lately. Second, the upcoming changes to U.S. Passport requirements. Although stories about the latter are hardly found through the major media, we (Makarma Travel) will help keep you informed.

Mexico cruise itinerary changes continue, with the latest news being that the revised itineraries will remain in-effect through mid-June 2009 for both Carnival and Royal Caribbean.

The seven-night Los Angeles departures for the Mariner of the Seas currently include port calls in San Francisco, Seattle and Vancouver.

The seven-night Long Beach departures for Carnival Splendor include port calls in Astoria (Oregon), Victoria (British Columbia) and Vancouver.

Four-night sailings for Long Beach-based Carnival Paradise and San Diego-based Carnival Elation will have their Ensenada stops replaced by an additional day at sea. (The sailings will continue to call at Catalina Island.) Three-night sailings of those ships will see their Ensenada stops replaced with Catalina Island port calls.

There are some amazing cruise fares available to those interested in sailing the above itineraries.

Now, onto Passports...the pending change we recently discussed is still scheduled to take effect in a few short weeks. This means that, as of now, U. S. citizens traveling to any foreign country by land or sea will need a United States Passport, effective June 1. (Those traveling by air already need a Passport.)

We'll continue to keep you updated regarding the above via our website, the TravelBlog and Twitter. In our experience, folks are still booking travel, but they're making changes to their plans as needed.

Please have a terrific week, and contact us with your travel-related questions. If things settle down a bit, we plan to get really silly next time in TravelBlog by Makarma.

Return to Makarma Travel Home Page: http://www.makarmatravel.com/

What next? Locusts?

noreply@blogger.com (Mr Makarma) — Mon, 04 May 2009 01:00:00 +0000

Having the ability to "roll with the punches" is a good thing when you're a travel specialist. That's been especially true this last week. And, yes, we (Mr. Makarma) are talking about the current swine flu outbreak.

Follow us, if you will......prior to last weekend, there was very little discussion anywhere about swine flu. It was over the two-day (April 25-26) period, however, that the story became the top news event. We went into the week knowing two things:

1) This will most definitely affect the travel industry; and,
2) We need to ensure we (and our customers) focus on the real story and not fall victim to the "hype" which inevitably will accompany it.

Air and sea travel into Mexico would be most immediately affected. Most airlines announced they would allow refunds for those not wishing to travel; this was followed by the short-term curtailment of flight schedules.

Cruises from the West Coast were an interesting challenge. Ships departing on Saturday and Sunday left, as-scheduled and, as can be expected. As of Monday, schedules for the week-long cruises remained intact. A four-night sailing also left for its cruise Monday, as planned.

Between Monday night and Tuesday mid-day, however, the story continued to increase in importance, as it appeared the flu was spreading. The major players in the cruise industry made the wise decision by mid-day Tuesday to shift course and head north.

Royal Caribbean's Mariner of the Seas did make its scheduled stop in Cabo San Lucas prior to its diversion. Carnival Cruise Lines' Carnival Splendor, however, didn't have a scheduled port call until Wednesday so, no Mexico, just a quick U-turn. Both ships scheduled their next port call for San Francisco. First, however, the Carnival Splendor made a quick stop back in Long Beach to give those passengers who wanted to leave, the opportunity to do so. Some left, but the vast majority carried-on, knowing, correctly, that a cruise is what you make of it, and not just the ports you visit.

Anyway, both ships arrived in San Francisco, where some guests decided to end their Mariner of the Seas cruise. (People!!! What were you thinking???) The rugged warriors who stayed onboard made it back to their home ports safe-and-sound earlier today.

Carnival's plans for upcoming itineraries are being addressed on a week-to-week basis. As of now, an altered schedule is planned for those sailings through May 11. Royal Caribbean, on the other hand, has announced their interim itinerary will remain in effect through the June 14 sail date.

How did all this affect us? Well, we've kept really busy staying apprised of all the changes. We've held off in promoting a group cruise scheduled for later this year. (We have absolutely no doubt, however, that we will proceed with our original plans.) And our bookings? Well, we haven't booked any cruise at all since......today.

Return to Makarma Travel Home Page: http://www.makarmatravel.com/

Itinerary Updates Related to Swine Flu Outbreak

noreply@blogger.com (Mr Makarma) — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 19:45:00 +0000

UPDATE: 04/29/09 12:45 pm

We've received information that some cruise ship port calls in Mexico ARE being affected by the current swine flu outbreak. As the situation is continually changing, we'll update this TravelBlog entry as needed.

Both Carnival and Royal Caribbean are canceling Mexico port calls for the time being. The most affected cruises are those that are currently underway from the West Coast (embarkation cities of Los Angeles/San Pedro, Long Beach and San Diego).

CARNIVAL CRUISE LINES
The Carnival Splendor is canceling its Wednesday, April 29 Puerto Vallarta port call and will be heading north. It will have a port call in San Francisco this Friday, May 1 prior to returning to Long Beach Sunday, May 3. It is likely that upcoming sailings will have a Western U. S. and Canada (Vancouver or Victoria) itinerary.

The Carnival Paradise is canceling its Ensenada port call Wednesday, April 29 and will spend an additional day at sea prior to returning to Long Beach Friday, May 1. It is only our guess (we'll know soon), but it's possible upcoming 3-night cruises will replace the Ensenada port call with a call in either San Diego or Catalina Island, and four-night cruises will replace the Ensenada call with one in San Diego.

For additional, updated information on Carnival Cruise Lines sailings:

http://www.carnival.com/cms/fun/cruise_control/Travel_Advisory.aspx

ROYAL CARIBBEAN INTERNATIONAL
The Mariner of the Seas will be replacing its current Mexican Riviera itinerary with one sailing the Western U. S. and Canada. We are unable to confirm if the ship stopped in Cabo San Lucas as scheduled Tuesday. The interim itinerary, for sailings through June 14, includes port calls in San Francisco, Victoria (British Columbia) and Seattle. The May 10 sailing will visit Astoria, Oregon instead of San Francisco. (This is actually an excellent itinerary.)

For additional, updated information on Royal Caribbean International sailings:

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/beforeyouboard/itineraryUpdates.do

Return to Makarma Travel Home Page: http://www.makarmatravel.com/

A friendly reminder 'bout Passports

noreply@blogger.com (Mr Makarma) — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 01:00:00 +0000

As you may recall, we (Mr. Makarma) told you back in September 2006 about pending changes to U. S. Passport requirements, specifically the need to have one for travel to neighboring countries. (Passports have been required for years for travel to many other countries.) We recommended that everyone who didn't have a Passport, should take the steps necessary to apply for one.

Well, it's time for an update. We'll give a quick summary below of the current requirements, and how they're scheduled to change again in a little over a month. As regulations can be altered between now and then, we'll be updating this specific TravelBlog entry as needed, and we'll place a link on our Home Page that will take you directly here.

As of January 2007, Passports have been required for those U. S. citizens traveling by air from/to the United States. Changes to requirements for those traveling by land or sea were to be implemented at a later date.

That later date is June 1, 2009. Yes folks, in approximately five weeks, you'll need a Passport for ALL foreign travel. We know that plenty of people still don't have Passports. There's only one good excuse for not having a Passport......you'll never - under any circumstances - travel outside the United States. For anyone not planning to use that excuse, do yourself a favor and get a Passport application online or at Passport Acceptance Facility (oftentimes a "main" post office in your area), complete it and have it processed according to the provided instructions. It's very easy to do, and something you should do...right now.

Now, a preview of next week......we'll again be boring you to tears with our sushi bar trials and tribulations. In brief, top-secret sushi bar has closed. (That's sad.) An interim sushi place Mr. Makarma went to, stank/sucked big-time. (Mr. Makarma is a spoiled brat.) The interim place is interim, however, because favorite sushi chef from top-secret sushi bar will soon be working at a Japanese restaurant Mr. Makarma's been going to for years. (That's very, very, good news indeed.)

Return to Makarma Travel Home Page: http://www.makarmatravel.com/

Five itineraries. From San Diego. One ship?

noreply@blogger.com (Mr Makarma) — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 01:00:00 +0000

Most cruise ships sail one particular itinerary, and they sail it on a fairly consistent basis. Naturally, there are some exceptions to this rule. Some ships sail a Western Caribbean itinerary one week; an Eastern Caribbean the next. Ships assigned to shorter cruises typically sail a three-night cruise on weekends, and a slightly different four-night schedule during the week.

Carnival Cruise Lines is getting a little more creative with one of their two ships based in San Diego - Carnival Elation.

Many of you may remember the Elation from her days sailing seven-night Mexican Riviera cruises from Los Angeles. When she was replaced on that route by the Carnival Pride, Elation was moved to a new home port. The ship eventually returned to the West Coast with both four-night cruises to Cabo San Lucas and five-night cruises which added an Ensenada port call. We (Makarma Travel) and others liked that, as it presented additional options to our local customers.

As a result of economic conditions, the four and five-night cruise series didn't last long; they were replaced with three and four-night options similar to those currently available from Los Angeles. A benefit to this was the increase in overall passenger numbers, and its resultant increase in sail dates for local customers. The disadvantage? The same itinerary as that available from another port just a short distance away.

Well, Carnival very recently presented us with some news that should please everyone looking for additional cruise options from Southern California. It gets complicated (but interesting); here are their new itineraries, beginning this July, based on a four-week rotation:

WEEKS 1 & 2
Five-night cruise to Cabo San Lucas and Ensenada
Five-night cruise, with two days in Cabo San Lucas
Four-night cruise to Cabo San Lucas

WEEK 3
Four-night cruise to Catalina Island and Ensenada
Three-night cruise to Ensenada

WEEK 4 (same as Week 3)
Four-night cruise to Catalina Island and Ensenada
Three-night cruise to Ensenada

A little complicated, but more choices and a great compromise. We most definitely like it, and hope you will too!

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Are we techno enough for ya?

noreply@blogger.com (Mr Makarma) — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 01:00:00 +0000

First off, we (Mr. Makarma) need to let you know up-front that this blog update is going to be a little shorter than usual. Why? Well, we've been really busy with Easter stuff today, but we still want to check-in with you on a regular basis and, well, here we are...

So...this is going to be one of those "reminder" blog entries. Today, we'll remind you of the various ways you can keep in touch with us, or we can keep in-touch with you.

There's that old-fashioned thing called the telephone; we're at... (562) 732-4465.

There's that email thing, where we're at... customerservice@makarmatravel.com

There's the TravelBlog by Makarma but, that's where we're at right now so, you already know how to reach us there.

How about Twitter? We hooked-up with that service a few short weeks ago, and already over 150 of you are following us. We send out about a message a day through that method. You can sign-up for our Twitter updates at:

http://twitter.com/MakarmaTravel

Huh, that wasn't so bad after all. We weren't able to give you the full blog, but were still able to stop by, say hello, and hopefully still give you some relatively useful information.

See you again next week. Until then, happy traveling.

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It's better in the Bahamas...especially at those prices

noreply@blogger.com (Mr Makarma) — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 01:00:00 +0000

Television news anchors are an interesting bunch; when rain is in the forecast, they'll remind the weather forecaster that the rain is much needed. As soon as any measurable amount of rain is detected, those same folks will ask the same weather forecaster to let them know when there will be a "break in the wet weather."

Though not exactly the same, we can find certain parallels in the travel industry. Understandably, many people are approaching travel cautiously this year, stating the economy has them concerned. Show them a great deal, though, and the credit card miraculously appears.

We (Mr. Makarma) think that's a good thing; people do need to be careful with their spending, but they also need to travel. Match them with a good value, and they're on their way.

There are a number of great values today, many better than what we've seen in a long time. There are some unbelievable deals on cruises right now; the values are also there with certain land vacations. As our title hints at, there's an amazing deal right now in the Bahamas.

If you've spent any time following the world's top resorts, you've no doubt learned of the Atlantis Resort in Nassau. One thing you've probably heard about the place is that it's incredible; another thing you've possibly heard is that it's very expensive. Many people choose less-expensive lodging elsewhere, and settle for a simple visit to Atlantis. That may no longer be necessary, as a promotional rate that's currently available for the resort's Beach Tower is, in many cases, pricing out for less than some traditionally cheaper places in the area.

How to get these deals? Contact your favorite travel professional (hopefully, that's us) and start packing.

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Carnival's newest ship? It's Spectacular, Spectacular!

noreply@blogger.com (Mr Makarma) — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 01:00:00 +0000

In the 2001 movie, "Moulin Rouge", the name of the groundbreaking show for the famous Parisian nightclub was "Spectacular! Spectacular!" That's also the name given to the three-deck-high main showroom of the new Carnival Splendor, and they're the best words we (Mr. Makarma) can use to help describe this beautiful cruise ship.

Last week, we had the opportunity to spend two nights onboard this incredible "Fun Ship" which will be sailing year-round seven-night cruises to the Mexican Riviera. If the last part of that sentence sounds vaguely familiar, it's because the Carnival Splendor is the second of two mega-ships to enter that market this year.

Ya see......the newest and largest ships usually ply Caribbean waters, as that region typically allows for the most varied itineraries and, as such, the greatest overall number of customers to a cruise line. Plans for the Carnival Splendor were that she was going to be based out of Fort Lauderdale for the foreseeable future. A sudden burst of competitiveness among the industry's two biggest players, however, meant that the Splendor's stay in Fort Lauderdale would be cut short, and she'd be sent "the long way" (around South America) to her new home port of Long Beach. Florida's loss is most definitely California's gain. (Lest you Floridians get upset with us, please let us remind you that the still-under-construction Carnival Dream will be calling Port Canaveral home starting later this year.)

The Carnival Splendor is a unique addition to the company's fleet. That's because she wasn't originally planned to be a Carnival ship but, rather, a sister ship to the Costa Concordia and Costa Serena. (Both Costa Cruise Lines and Carnival Cruise Lines operate under the same corporate umbrella.) Though Splendor will be very familiar (and comfortable) to those who have already sailed one of Carnival's Conquest-class ships, it also benefits by the larger spa and children's facilities presently found on its almost-sisters. You've likely seen the Carnival Splendor if you've had the opportunity to catch any of Carnival's current series of television ads starring improvisational comedian and "Fun Director" Matt Fisher.

We were very impressed by our short stay onboard. We found the food, entertainment, accommodations and service to be as good as, if not better then, that found on other members of the Carnival fleet, and superior to that of the company's mainstream competition. Most impressive to us was the ship's "Lido" dining options which, beyond the typical fare, included rotisserie, tandoori and deli stations, along with the ever-popular 24-hour pizzeria. Quantity is nothing without quality, however, but even here, Carnival more than excelled.

We experienced several examples of "above-and-beyond" customer service, but one really stood out. Shortly after we checked-in and found our cabin, we had a minor request for our cabin steward. The crew member we stopped in the hallway turned out to not be the one assigned to our particular cabin block. In situations such as this on other cruise lines, we'd either be politely reminded that our cabin steward would be in the area shortly, or we'd instead be asked to contact him or her via a telephone call to the front desk or to a paging system. Well, none of this was the case with the particular employee we had the pleasure of finding; not only did he ask us what assistance we needed, he said he'd relay the message to the cabin steward. We didn't even have the opportunity to think about our request again as, a very short time later, it was honored. That, our friends, is what customer service is all about.

Spectacular, Spectacular indeed.

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And what did YOU do this weekend?

noreply@blogger.com (Mr Makarma) — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 01:00:00 +0000

No sushi again this weekend, but all is still well. First, we (Mr. Makarma) will have three opportunities this coming week to get our mercury levels back to where they belong. Second, what we did in place of consuming various raw fish and rice combinations was something much finer.

As we've noted in the past, we attend a lot of tourism-related events. Most of these functions are held during the week, in the evenings. They're generally good opportunities to learn about a new vendor or destination, but they do usually take place after a long (sometimes, really long) day behind the desk.

We were recently invited by Tourism Queensland to attend a half-day seminar on a Saturday. Not only that, the training portion was going to be followed by a "Closing Celebration." Enough said; we're there.

The function was one of the better ones we've attended. Several of the finalists from "The Best Job In The World" contest gave presentations on why they should be the temporary caretaker of an exotic island paradise. (If you're not familiar with this contest, you may want to search the websites of one of the 24-hour news channels or, alternately, drop us a line.) Following those presentations (we already have our favorite to win), we had the opportunity to meet with a number of excellent suppliers.

Now, the closing celebration was the kind of happy chaos which we clearly like - an evening at the local dueling piano bar. Well, the image of the shy Australian was clearly broken that night. ;-)

We, on the other hand, added to our professional resume. We fully expect to be signing a major recording contract soon. (You had to be there...... )

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What reminds you of where you've been?

noreply@blogger.com (Mr Makarma) — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 01:00:00 +0000

O.K., here's the deal......it's Monday morning GMT and time to update the TravelBlog. The problem, however, is that we (Mr. Makarma) didn't have the opportunity to go to top-secret sushi bar this weekend. This creates two problems - we get cranky, and our creative juices just aren't what they should be.

How to get out of this funk? Well, we do what many people do - open the refrigerator and take a look-see inside. What do we find? Well, nothing less than a perfectly chilled bottle of Red Stripe. Just looking at this beauty instantly transports us to the beaches of Montego Bay and, suddenly, all is well yet again.

What reminds you of where you've been? Is it that pair of shoes you bought in Spain, the bottle of inexpensive (yet outstanding) wine you brought back from France, the case of Nutella you purchased in Italy? Could it instead be the now-empty bottle of Vermont maple syrup, the cruise line polo shirt, or the silly key chain you purchased in Seattle?

Whatever it is for you, we hope it continues to remind you both of the great times you've had, and of the ones you have yet to experience.

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What's better, bad advice or no advice?

noreply@blogger.com (Mr Makarma) — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 01:00:00 +0000

Earlier today, we (Mr. Makarma) were again reminded of why it's so important to provide the best possible information when customers trust us with their hard earned travel dollars. We were reading a daily travel blog for a major newspaper. Someone made the comment that, even though she's requested an early dinner seating on five cruises, the request was only granted once.

Various pieces of advice were given to this person; two were good, one was questionable and one was downright ridiculous. In our humble opinion......

GOOD - Use a cruise-oriented travel agent.

GOOD - Book early.

QUESTIONABLE - Book a cruise line that has an open seating policy. (This is not always practical. Some open seating arrangements are on smaller high-end cruise lines that may not be sailing where/when you want to sail. Other lines may not have as good a reputation for food, or could be very busy during the early part of the "open seating" period.)

DOWNRIGHT RIDICULOUS - The author of a famous series of cruise guides mentioned that one might want to withhold final payment until the desired seating was confirmed. Oh...brother. The one thing withholding final payment might bring about is a cancellation of your booking, and the very possible loss of your deposit. (We do, by the way, question a lot of what this particular author writes.)

A third GOOD recommendation the Q&A neglected to mention? Speak to the Maitre D' as soon as possible on the day of sailing. In every case we're aware of, the Maitre D' has posted hours (check the daily onboard schedule) where dining-related issues can be addressed. It's quite likely that the person above could have had her wish for early seating granted, possibly five out of five times, by talking to the wonderful wizards in charge of the dining room.

As one Maitre D' told us after we made what we thought was a complicated request...Nothing is impossible.

Something else that's questionable? Makarma Travel is now on Twitter. It wasn't enough that we were one of the travel industry's earliest adopters of this internet thing, we followed that with this uber-sexy TravelBlog. Now, we throw up random notes throughout the day. Recent topics we've opined about include our favorite of the new Carnival ads ("New Ship Smell") and our thoughts about the exterior design of another company's under-construction ship. Join us, or miss out on all the action:

http://twitter.com/MakarmaTravel

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Don't leave home without them

noreply@blogger.com (Mr Makarma) — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 02:00:00 +0000

As we've (Mr. Makarma) noted in our recent musings, two ships have set sail (actually, one's already here) around South America toward their new West Coast home ports. In both cases, some passengers were left behind, either canceling their trips outright or catching up with the ship at a later date.

Why did this happen? It happened because these vacationers arrived for their cruise without all the required documentation - in this case, tourist visas for one of the stops along the way.

While the importance of having a U.S. Passport is necessarily stressed for most foreign travel, it's also important to note that more is required by certain countries. Almost without exception, simply choosing to remain onboard the ship is not an option; if you don't have the proper documentation, and the ship pulls into port, some law has likely been violated. That's not something a cruise line (or an airline) wants to see happen. That's why some passengers on their way to a dream vacation recently made a side trip to a consulate and dealt with the expense of a one-way flight to catch up with the ship.

Always, ALWAYS, check the documentation requirements for any foreign vacation. There are a number of resources for this information; among them, the internet, travel agencies, tourism boards and consulates. Be certain of the information you're given. The ultimate responsibility to ensure you're ready for a trip is yours; a little preparation in advance will go a long way toward smooth sailing (or flying).

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The Mariner Arrives at Her New Home

noreply@blogger.com (Mr Makarma) — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 02:00:00 +0000

It took her 46 days to get here, and she didn't look the least bit tired. Good thing too, because we (Mr. Makarma) had the wonderful opportunity to help welcome Royal Caribbean International's Mariner of the Seas to her new home port of Los Angeles last week. Among those joining us on this adventure were Buffy and Ron, our very best friends in the travel industry.

The Mariner was the last built of the five-ship Voyager class, joining the Royal Caribbean fleet in November 2003. Her older sister, Voyager of the Seas, was introduced in 1999 and brought with it a host of cruise ship innovations. These included the four-deck Royal Promenade consisting of shops, cocktail lounges and cafes along its lowest deck, along with three decks of interior cabins with a floor-to-ceiling view of all the activity below. An ice rink (yes, ice rink), three-deck dining room, multi-level main showroom and a Johnny Rockets help round up all the excitement.

Mariner of the Seas is the largest cruise ever based on the West Coast (by far) and, based on our short stay, we're planning to keep her here for some time. After a quick check-in, we enjoyed lunch in the ship's Windjammer Cafe and the "Ice Under the Big Top" show mid-afternoon. In the evening, a delicious dinner (with outstanding service to match), followed by the "Pure Energy" show in the ship's Savoy Theatre. Later in the evening, both a 70's dance party and "Enchanted Knights" parade in the Royal Promenade. It was great to see Angelo performing in the Schooner Bar following his long, successful stint on the Monarch of the Seas when the latter ship was based in LA.

Although very comfortable, we didn't spend too much time in our stateroom, as the ship had much to explore and partake in. Still, we did need a couple hours sleep, followed by breakfast in the dining room and, sadly, debarkation.

Our one minor complaint had absolutely nothing to do with the ship or cruise line but, rather, with the World Cruise Center in Los Angeles (San Pedro). We had been under the impression a new terminal would be built to accommodate ships such as Mariner. Not only has this not yet been built (it's possibly still years away), the existing terminal doesn't appear ready for its close-up. We're not sure where the blame for this situation lies, but we do hope the Mariner gets the facilities she deserves soon. Nevertheless, we know RCI will not let the situation in the port affect its guests' embarkation/debarkation process, and the terminal's not-ready-for-prime-time status will do nothing to affect anyone's enjoyment of the cruise.

Thanks go out to Mariner of the Seas and her incredible crew, led by (Super) Captain Johnny Faevelen. Welcome to Los Angeles. Enjoy your weekly visits to Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta and Cabo San Lucas. We'll be joining you again really soon.

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Why use a travel consultant? We'll tell ya.

noreply@blogger.com (Mr Makarma) — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 02:00:00 +0000

You can imagine the sheer volume of email we (Mr. Makarma) get on a daily basis. Much of it is sent by our many travel partners. These emails have (thankfully) almost totally eliminated the avalanche of faxes we used to get. Needless to say, the environment is now in much better shape as a result of the switch to email.

Naturally, the balance of our email consists mostly of client inquiries. These are typically requests for price quotes or questions related to itinerary, availability, etc.

We recently received an email which was an absolute delight, because its writer not only told us of their interest in booking a particular cruise, it also asked if we could explain the advantages of booking through a travel agent. We'd be happy to oblige......

Thanks for contacting Makarma Travel! The benefits of booking through a travel agent are many, but the key items……

1) Service – We make it easy for you, as we handle many of the little details you’d otherwise need to be concerned with.

2) Experience – We’ve been in this business a long time, have sailed many different cruise lines and ships, and can give you the pros and cons of each.

3) Price – You don’t pay more for working with a travel agent; in fact, we can save you money by making sure you get the best overall value.

I ended the above email by again thanking its sender for contacting us, and let them know I'll be happy to give them a call or, if they preferred, they could contact us. The phone number I gave them, by the way, was our personal cell phone number - the same number we give all our clients. A good travel consultant will do this for you. Would a boiler room order taker do the same?

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