Stephanie The Travel Agent Next Door

Wednesday, 23 February 2022

Cabin on Our Disney Cruise

So originally we were supposed to take this cruise in February 2021. At the time of booking, I had booked an ocean view cabin. However, after covid hit I made the decision, I would never stay in anything less than a balcony cabin, so I upgraded when I rebooked. Originally I was very much a room is a place to park my head at the end of a day and that is it. However, I have come to enjoy sitting on a balcony and watching the world go by. Seeing a sail away, relaxing. Also if ever I had to be quarantined to my room I would prefer to be able to get fresh air and know what time of day it is. It is also nice to go back take a break and relax in the afternoon if need be.

Our balcony had an obstructed view but it just meant the bottom of our balcony instead of being clear glass it was solid. It did not affect our enjoyment of the balcony in any way.

Our double bed

The couch that turns into a bed at night

Above the couch, there is a pulldown bed. Across from the couch was a vanity, along with the tv and lots of drawers.

When you walk in on the right-hand side is the closet with the safe inside. On the left are two doors. The first door is vanity and the toilet. I will admit it is very tight in that bathroom and I was very glad I am not a taller person. For once I was happy I was short. The second door had the bathtub/shower combo and a counter and sink. While it was nice being able to go to the bathroom while someone was showering I kind of wish they removed the wall between the two and gave us some more room.

Our room host was awesome as well. He left us chocolates every night as well as some amazing towel animal creations. I can not believe how much I missed seeing those. Love them.

The last night along with our chocolates, luggage tags, a survey we also got four mickey mouse head rice Krispies squares. It was a great touch. So simple but made everything so magical

Where you can find me:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/stephaniethetravelagentnextdoor
Website: http://www.exclusivetoyoutravel.ca
Email: slough@exclusivetoyoutravel.com

TICO 50021282
55 York Street, Suite 1003
Toronto, On M5J 1R7
Office Phone 416-367-8264 ext 2625
Direct Phone 613-543-3006

Please keep in mind that while my head office is in Toronto. I am a home-based travel agent and I live in South Dundas I can service clients anywhere in Canada. But, I meet with clients in the SD&G area

Tuesday, 22 February 2022

Let's get on Board the Disney Magic

So we have made it this far but we still have a few more hurdles to cross before we can start our amazing vacation. We take a shuttle from the airport to the cruise port. $10 USD a person so it cost us $30 USD plus tip. Now just like with Air Canada, we had to do online check-in. We had to upload our proof of vaccinations. We also were given a time when we could arrive at the port and we would not be allowed in until that time. At the port, you go through security and then take a rapid antigen test. You are then led to a room where we wait to find out our results. About 45 minutes and we had results and we were ready to board our ship.

Of course, we had to stop for the mandatory pre-boarding photos with a photographer. I will be honest we pre-purchased all pictures taken on board and on their private island on a USB stick for $211 USD. You save $50 USD off buying it on board.

I highly recommend it. We took every opportunity to get our pictures taken and I was very happy with the results although my youngest was not as into it as I was. But as much I hate my picture taken also I realized how little appeared in them with my family or without a few years back and I have been trying to embrace taking more.

So when we boarded the ship this is where my experience was very different than any other ship I have sailed on. I have gotten the welcome on board from staff. I have even had a band playing while boarding. On Disney, they announce you by name. They let only a handful of people board. You then get a special show with Minnie and Mickey Mouse welcoming you to sail away with them. I will post part of the video on my business page.

As our stateroom was not yet ready they rarely are when you board which is why I recommend you take a carry-on bag with what you could need when you board. Such as a swimsuit if you want to swim while you wait. We decided to do a sit-down lunch at Rapunzel's which ironically was our dining room for the next two nights. What was even more ironic was that the server we had for lunch ended up being our server for the whole cruise. More on that a bit later.

Here are a few more of the professional pictures from that day

As you can see I was the cruel mother that bought custom matching shirts for our first day. Big shout out to Two Sassy Ladies in Brockville for this. They did our masks and water bottles also. They are absolutely amazing to deal with. I have bought many products from them over the last two years and have never been disappointed.

I have to say while I was the cruel mother I did not go as far as some families. they had matching outfits for every day and different themes. Many decorated their room doors with magnets. This is very amazing and not done on other cruise lines. I may be that mom in the future time will tell.

So every cruise you have to do a muster drill. They are mandatory. They are how you will evacuate the ship should there be an emergency. Usually, everyone gathers where the muster station is and then you will be given a demonstration. This time we watched a video on our stateroom tv and then we went and found our station and uploaded it into the app that we had done so. Super easy and I preferred this as getting a room full of people to be quiet and pay attention is not the easiest. This went much smoother.

Stay tuned for the next installment of this amazing trip!!

Where you can find me:

Monday, 21 February 2022

Getting Excited!!!

So I left you in my last post getting ready to fly to Miami from Montreal. It was a direct flight. I love when that happens. Makes it so much easier. That is why I tend to fly out of Montreal more than I do Ottawa

waiting for our flights

Eeyore was so happy that I did not forget him

getting ready to leave the snow behind

Children and masks a pain

Eeyore took advantage of the baggage belt before it started

So we flew into Miami on Friday February 4th but our cruise did not start until the 5th. I always fly in a day before ever since I had trouble with connecting flights back in 2017. We arrived very early but our room was not going to be ready until 3pm and I will be honest we were too tired to do anything. So we hung out in the lobby of the hotel. We have stayed here before the Embassy Suites by Hilton in Miami. The rooms are run down but the lobby is amazing, the free shuttle from the airport and the $10 USD shuttle per person to the port does not hurt either. They also have a great armoire in their rooms that made the kids believe in Narnia again.

For those of you who know me I live in the small town of Morrisburg, Ontario. We do not have Uber Eats, Skip the Dishes, Door Dash or any of those services. So we got to try them out in Miami. For lunch we ordered from Mr. Beast. A youtuber who has opened burger joints across North America and whom my children have followed for several years so they were very excited about this. We also had Chick fil A for supper first time giving them a try as we do not have them in our area at all.

So the room was a suite. 2 double beds and bathroom in bathroom, tv, a countertop and sink and the armoire, First room has a pull out couch a chair, dinning room table and chairs, another tv and a bar area with sink and bar fridge.

Definitely no lack of space for just three of us and we have stayed here before with the six of is and again no problems with space. Their is a 24 hour gyn, business center, outdoor pool and a restaurant and bar on site.

Eeyore approved of Mr. Beast Burgers also

Armoire to Narnia

So this a good a place as any to stop. The cruise will start in the next installment.

Where you can find me:

Thursday, 17 February 2022

What a month

The last few weeks have been crazy for me. I started my new job with Brockville Para Transit. My father had heart surgery. My middle daughter moved in with my parents to help them out and has changed schools and I took my youngest two on our first ever Disney Cruise.

So to say I am behind with my travel business would be an understatement. I was hoping after one week of work I would get my balance in check for the two jobs, family, etc... So I may have underestimated how long that would take. I get home at night rush to get supper put on the table and then I am tired and weekends are now spent getting my daughter for visits and shopping and other chores that may need to be done.

But with all that said I will not change a thing and will continue on my journey. I will just take the detours as they happen.

So enough about my issues let's get to my trip away. What an amazing trip it was. Lots of steps and changes but this is the first of four cruises planned for this year and at least two for next year. So we will be able to see together what changes.

First off we were expected to get a winter storm on Friday the 4th when I was flying out and the weather started coming on Thursday night. So the week before I made the decision to take the last train from Cornwall Thursday night and head to Montreal with the kids. No driving to really worry about. We stayed at the Marriot hotel attached to the airport which meant at 5:00 am when we had to be at the airport we could just walk downstairs and voila we were there. It was worth the price for that alone. We slept in until 4:30 and had breakfast after we checked in and passed security.

The train station was empty it was just us and another lady traveling we were there an hour early and waited patiently for it to come. It was the first time the kids had been on a train.

As you can see from the pictures. We were fully masked and we did not forget my traveling companion at home like I did for the conference. Not even out of the country yet and they are already connecting with friends.

On the train and ready for our next adventure

The next pictures are of the hotel. My only problem with the room was that the beds were a bit low to the floor. I am used to the ones I need a step ladder to climb into lol. Also, the shower was frosted but you can see it in the bedroom. A bit odd but it worked.

2 double beds

cozy chair and table

bizarre shower stall

tv with a nice long bench underneath to put suitcases on

great desk area to work

So the process for getting out of the country was a bit different from back in November when I traveled. First of all my antigen test could not be older than 24 hours. So we did them Thursday night at Shoppers Drug Mart before getting on the train Also with Air Canada to do my online check-in and I had to upload all my documentation. Which meant 3 travel passports and 3 negative antigen tests. So I finished my check-in at the lovely desk pictured above at ten at night.

For whatever reason, we could not get my daughter's boarding pass it had to be done at the airport. The reason being she was randomly picked for extra security. Kind of ironic as her carry-on bag was almost empty and she is fourteen but it really did not add to our process at all. Because all my documents were submitted online we just had to get our luggage tags and head over to security. She got an extra wand check and they physically checked her bag which did not really delay us in any way. We then headed to a leisurely sit-down breakfast at Houston's and by the time we were done, we sat for maybe 20 minutes before we boarded our plane.

Well I will continue this story.... stay tuned for the trip details

Where you can find me:

Friday, 4 February 2022

Travelling Again

Traveling now is more complicated than it was in the past. Booking and getting there are the same. The complications are what is required to travel. Each destination/country has its own rules and regulations to follow. These rules and regulations change frequently also, with the different outbreaks.

To fly you must have proof of vaccination. You must also have a valid antigen test result or pct test depending on where you are headed. Our annual conference was held in Ochos Rios, Jamaica back in early November. They required an antigen test no older than 72 hours ( have to be careful here too in case there are delays with your flight). So off I went to Shoppers Drug mart so within 30 minutes and $40 lighter I had my negative results.

So that was step one completed. I then had to complete a Visit Jamaica form. Basically a covid screening. They do mention you are restricted as to where you can go. You are restricted to the travel corridor only and can not go inland. So no worries you can get your jerk chicken and visit the tourist attractions. Please note that the CDC just raised their level back up to 4 but I know that again if you stay in the travel corridor this area is still safer than the rest of the island.

Step 2 was done. Step 3 online check-in 24 hours before your flight. Remember to download the airline's app as you normally need it for accessing the internet or the apps while in the air.

Now you are done until you get to the airport. You will need to arrive 3 hours before your flight. Check-in and security are taking longer than they use to. This was the norm for international flights but it is now the norm for all flights.

I printed my own baggage tags at the airport and a worker looked at my proof of vaccination before I loaded them. This process was fairly quick while those waiting in line for check-in and baggage had to wait for a while.

Security went smoothly and again there was a line for this as well. Temperature checks were down also. The wait for our plane was not overly long and then we were off to Toronto. Our bags went right though so no need to collect them we only had to worry about ourselves and our carry-on luggage.

Other than my passport and boarding pass they did not check anything else unless you were not doing a connection then they were checking the vaccination status.

So anyone paying attention might be wondering why they have not checked my antigen test results and my answer is I have no idea why. I know about 80% of the people I talked to had to show their results but no one ever asked me and either way it was negative so I was safe.

In Jamaica, we did a quick arrival at a self-check terminal and then you go through customs with all your paperwork. They did not ask for my antigen test either.

Going home was a lot more stressful First of all you do not want to leave the heat behind and I needed some rest and relaxation after the conference but who knows maybe next time. Also to get back onto Canada we require a PCR test. This test cost $75 USD and the nurses came to the resort to test us. Each resort and country has a different procedure. The cost was amazing originally it was going to be $150 USD. I tested negative and was clear to head home. The test was done 2 days before heading home. Jamaica Airport did not have an automated baggage check machine so everyone had to line up. 80% of us were travel agents and had done online check-in so you can imagine the line for baggage only and check-in had a huge difference in waits, Also their priority check-in was not working so they were being processed priority through the normal lines. Needless to say, I was at the end of the line and it took me almost the whole three hours to check-in. I had maybe 15 minutes before the plane was boarding so very rushed and I know why they say three hours.

Toronto went fairly smoothly this is when only selected individuals would do be tested again. Currently, everyone not traveling domestically or from the US have to be tested again but this has been a hit and a miss as test availability has not been the greatest since the change was announced at Christmas.

This blog is posting today but I am flying this morning headed to Miami for a Disney Cruise with my two youngest. Next week's blog will cover those details

Where you can find me: