As I have written previously, this summer vacation came about as a gift to V for his 13th birthday - Disney World, at least. The cruise was entirely my idea. We didn't realize how tall an order it was until all the figures came in. Miami was an accident as we booked our tickets to Miami (deciding firmly that we'll choose from ships berthed there for our cruise) well in advance - like 4 months before - due to a good promo that Taca had.
So, there we were with tickets (return) for Miami on hand and still clueless on how to schedule both Disney World and the cruise. Having no idea about cruising, we ended up with a week in Miami to await embarkation day on our preferred cruise. We chose our cruise based on their destinations and not on the ship or cost. It being peak season and having booked late....very late, in fact, we had to pay full price on everything pushing our cost (total vacation package) to 5 figures (for 4 people), thus my preoccupation.
So, there we were with tickets (return) for Miami on hand and still clueless on how to schedule both Disney World and the cruise. Having no idea about cruising, we ended up with a week in Miami to await embarkation day on our preferred cruise. We chose our cruise based on their destinations and not on the ship or cost. It being peak season and having booked late....very late, in fact, we had to pay full price on everything pushing our cost (total vacation package) to 5 figures (for 4 people), thus my preoccupation.
Once in a lifetime we thought as dog knows where we will be posted next.
Our vacation was for the first time totally on our travel agent's hand and yes he delivered. We gave him a hard time but by dog, he delivered. Having returned from the vacation that turned out better than we expected, I'm glad we entrusted him the task. We pre-booked everything...from hotels to (all) transports to park tickets and all cruise costs including service charges. So unlike us but we figured that not having the luxury of time to look for service providers once we get there, we might as well book and pay everything in advance to be able to concentrate on the activities.
As for the documentation and procedure I was complaining about, it was mainly because this time we were traveling with a couple more minors not our own. T's 16 yr old niece was joining us for the whole shebang from Denmark while V's (also 13) schoolmate was traveling with us to Miami (and back) to visit relatives, both without their parents. It was tedious as both US immigration and the ports of destination (cruise) requires a lot of legal documents for us to travel with them. I was afraid we didn't have enough documentation with us (one can never be sure with these new immigration and child trafficking laws) thus missing the cruise and forfeiting our hard-earned payment. Documentation which at the end they did not even bother to check, anyway, sigh.
Now, with that out of the way, on to the travel details. Next post please...
As for the documentation and procedure I was complaining about, it was mainly because this time we were traveling with a couple more minors not our own. T's 16 yr old niece was joining us for the whole shebang from Denmark while V's (also 13) schoolmate was traveling with us to Miami (and back) to visit relatives, both without their parents. It was tedious as both US immigration and the ports of destination (cruise) requires a lot of legal documents for us to travel with them. I was afraid we didn't have enough documentation with us (one can never be sure with these new immigration and child trafficking laws) thus missing the cruise and forfeiting our hard-earned payment. Documentation which at the end they did not even bother to check, anyway, sigh.
Now, with that out of the way, on to the travel details. Next post please...
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