Cruising

Cruise Countdown – 14 Days To Go & Cruising Extra Costs

Posted on February 2, 2017
Sun Princess South Pacific Cruise

As of today, it is just 14-days until I will be boarding the Sun Princess to cruise the South Pacific. It is getting a little exciting with the cruise getting so close. But at the same time, it has also got me thinking about some of the things that do cost extra when cruising.

Sun Princess News

As I was putting this post together, I found out that it seems the Sun Princess has experienced an outbreak of Norovirus. Nine News reported that around 90 passengers had been affected. You can read more on the Nine News Website.

Sun Princess South Pacific Cruise

I Thought Cruise’s We’re All Inclusive?

In some respects, a cruise is all inclusive. The fare you pay at the travel agent does include everything that is essential. Included will be the place you sleep, most food, most activities and entertainment.

So technically it is possible with most cruise lines to take part in an all inclusive cruise. There are some common things and some not so common things you may find yourself paying extra for. Just keep in mind that this is something that will likely vary between cruise lines. It is also a topic that I will cover again after my cruise on Princess to share some of my experience onboard.

What Could Cost Extra?

There are many extras that you can add on both before and after boarding your cruise. Some of the things that might come to mind are most beverages, internet access, Shore Excursions, and speciality Dining. However, there are also some that you might not have consider. Added costs like daily gratuities, spa & salon treatments, laundry, some onboard activities and photos.

Most Beverages

While the cruise line will not let you go thirsty often it is only the most basic drinks that are free. Any drinks like soft drink, bottled water, speciality coffees, mocktails and alcoholic beverages will all cost extra.

The cost of drinks will vary between cruise lines. Likewise, there are some lines that will give a little more than others.

Internet Access

If you want to have a connection to the outside world while cruising it is best you prepare to pay for the privilege. In doing some research for my upcoming cruise, the cost is around 86 cents per minute to get started. Dropping to as little as 41 cents per minute for the largest package.

Ordering an internet package before boarding can be beneficial as there are some bonus minutes available. My suggestion is research this early to take advantage of any offers. Also, consider where you are cruising and if you will need internet access or not.

Shore Excursions

When you arrive in port, there are two options. You can explore the port on your own, or organise your own tour. Which depending on the port and where the ship docks can have varied results.

The other option is to book a tour or shore excursion with the cruise ship. Although shore excursions do come with a price tag, they do also have some benefits. You could look at spending anything from $80 up into the hundreds of dollars depending on what the tour is. But with benefits like guaranteed return to the cruise ship, it could be worth the cost.

Specialty Dining

When on a cruise ship there is little chance that you will go hungry. There are numerous options for restaurants to eat at included in the price. However, there are also some options that are only available for an additional charge.

Each cruise line will offer a range of different restaurant choices, and they can even vary from ship to ship. The speciality restaurants often are as much about the dining experience as they are about the food. So it can be a nice little treat to experience something a little different.

Cruise Specialty Dining

Daily Gratuities

While the amount varies, almost every cruise line adds a daily charge onboard listed as a gratuity. The charge is an amount that is to be split between the people that serve you both directly and indirectly. You may have the option to have the charge removed or reduced, and tip directly yourself. So it might be worth doing a little research.

The charge is something worth being aware of, and there is a lot of discussion about it going around. However, the full story would be too much to include in this post.

Spa & Salon Treatments

If you are looking forward to a massage or some pampering, it is another area that will cost you. The pricing can vary a lot, but if you are looking for a little me time, the price might be worth it.

Laundry

Depending on the length of your cruise, laundry may or may not be an issue. Less than ten days and you could probably get away with packing enough clothes to cover you. Longer cruises you may not have an option.

Some ships do have washers and dryers available for a small cost. While some ships your only option is to pay the fee to have the ship’s laundry do your washing.

Some Onboard Activities

For the most part, there are loads of free activities going on to keep you entertained. However, there is also a range of activities that may come at a small or not so small cost.

Again depending on the ship and the cruise line these can vary. In the past, I have paid for some exercise classes and cocktail making demos. However, have also seen cooking classes, wine tasting and bingo. Plus while it might be nice if it was free, there is always the Casino.

Photos

When you are onboard a cruise ship, there is a good chance you will find yourself face to face with a photographer. At boarding, getting off the ship in port, on formal nights and other times the ship photographers will be there to capture the moment. Of course, you have the opportunity to say no to the photo, and the purchase.

Watch The Budget

So if you are considering a cruise, keep some of these items in mind. If you think they are going to be something you want to take part, do a little research. Knowing what you might be up for before getting on board can help you stick to your holiday budget.

Travel Tips

Getting A Free Drink In Huatulco Mexico

Posted on January 31, 2017
Getting A Free Drink In Mexico

When travelling to some areas of the world, there are things you just do not do. They are to some degree common sense and easy enough to figure out. But there are times that we just forget about these few little things. The story of this free drink is a little bit different, but an interesting experience.

Don’t Drink The Water

Probably the most common warning when travelling to many different countries is not to drink the water. In some places, this extends even to not even remotely letting the water get near entering your body. Being careful when brushing your teeth and showering.

It is, of course, a warning that is best listened to for the most part as well. Especially when you consider the potential of sickness and disease in some countries. There is every reason to do everything you can to ensure you stick to this advice.

When you are staying in a country, it is relatively easy to remember. Because you go and buy bottled water and you religiously stick to it. But when you are on a cruise ship visiting these countries, you are a little buffered to the thought and idea.

Visiting Huatulco, Mexico

Huatulco - Beach

The small town of Huatulco is a perfect spot to visit. There is a small natural harbour where the cruise ship docks. A beach with plenty of locals enjoying the sun. With numerous cafes and bars overlooking the beach.

Huatulco is a beautiful place in Mexico. However, if I was honest it is not a place I even would have known existed let alone planned to visit. That is if not for the port of call twice on the itinerary of my 28 Day Panama Canal Cruise.

The first port day was on the southbound leg heading towards the Panama Canal and was rather uneventful. I spent a couple of hours walking around and exploring the small town, before going to the beach. In the late afternoon, I found a cafe and sampled the cliche Corona in Mexico.

A Free Drink!

The second port day in Huatulco was on the northbound return towards San Diego. It was more a half day in port arriving around lunch time and departing around 5 pm. So my choice was to spend it on the beach.

Heading back towards the ship I was having a good conversation with one of the crew members. We had stopped and sat on a stone wall just enjoying the beautiful day.

Soon a local man wandered over and invited us to come and sit at the tables he had set up in the shade. It did look inviting, and we headed over. We spent another 10 minutes chatting with the gentleman before he offered to get us a drink. Neither of us had any money with us, but he said: “no worries, I organise for you a margarita.”

The Makings Of A Drink

It is here that the story takes a twist. Anywhere else you would imagine a bar or cafe with everything on hand. But this gentleman’s tables were set up in front of what was a boarded up abandoned building.

On another table, he did have a few large plastic cocktail goblets of sorts. He headed off in one direction, returning a few minutes later with a small bottle of Tequila. Then it was off in another direction, where he came back with a small bottle of lemon squash soft drink. Finally, he wandered off again returning with two plastic cups full of ice.

One cup of ice had gone into each goblet before he split the bottle of lemon squash between the two. Then it was to add a good portion of Tequila to each drink before he brought them over to us with a straw.

To be honest, I am not so sure that this drink could be called a margarita. However, the way he went about making it and the generosity to offer two strangers a drink I will always remember.

Reflections On A Drink

Getting A Free Drink In Mexico

Thinking back to this day some things were quite wrong with this situation. The first one that comes to mind comes back to the introduction above about “don’t drink the water”. Although doing a little reading most ice is going to be ok, but still something you should check the origin of.

Also, I believe had the circumstances been different I would have personally not been comfortable. The location was very close to the ship. Plus, being with a member of the crew that I had gotten to know a little helped as a little reassurance. I think the only regret from the situation was not having my camera with me at the time.

The same situation if I were by myself, I would walk away from. Enjoying experiences is about taking calculated risks, and not putting yourself in a position you are not comfortable with.

Cruising

Three Weeks And Counting To Sun Princess

Posted on January 26, 2017
Sun Princess - Departing Auckland

It seems like just yesterday that I booked a 10-night cruise in February. In fact, it was way back in May last year. Now there is less than a month to go till boarding the Sun Princess to cruise the Pacific.

Sun Princess - Departing Auckland

The cruise will be my first since crossing the Atlantic in early 2012 and I am very much looking forward to it. I have already shared one post about the cruise “Sun Princess: South Pacific Cruise February 2017“. In this post, I walk about the Itinerary and the ports.

Today I wanted to cover some of the things to consider before heading off on your cruise. You will find that I may discuss Princess Cruises, as that is who I am cruising with. However, the information may also apply to other cruise lines but may require a little checking to confirm specifics.

Cruise Personalizer

Taking a look at the cruise personalizer is something that you look at soon after getting your booking number. However, I thought it good to include it here, just as a reminder.

If you are cruising with Princess, once you have your booking number you can access the Cruise Personalizer. You can find it by visiting www.princess.com and scroll down until you see the purple box to the right. The title of this box is “Booked Guests” and the last options in there is to “Visit Cruise Personalizer”

Finding Princess Cruise Personalizer

The cruise personalizer is basically where you can do everything pre-cruise for when you are onboard. Well, almost everything. The options you have here include

  • Booking Summary
  • Guest Check-in
  • Excursions Reservations
  • Onboard reservations
  • Plus more…

Booking Summary

The first page you will see outlines all the basics of your cruise. Including your booking number, embarkation and disembarkation ports and dates. There is also some information about your bedding and dining requests and stateroom number when available.

Guest Check-in

The guest check-in section is probably the most important section. There are a few pieces of information that are requested here. Included you will find some personal details, emergency contact, travel documents, shipboard account and travel history.

It is definitely beneficial to get this section completed as early as possible. It saves the chance of potentially forgetting to fill it in and will save time on boarding day. There is some information in this section that is required in advance. So I like to get in and complete as much as possible as soon as I have my booking number.

Excursions Reservations

In most port calls there is the option to take a range of different excursions. Through the excursions reservations, it is possible to browse and book any that you may like to take part in.

Sun Princes - Noumea Excrusion Bookings

There are a couple of benefits with booking an excursion with the cruise line. The first and most important for me is that you are guaranteed a return to the ship. It is worth checking sometimes that this means, for different cruise lines. But in general my understanding is the ship will either wait for the tour to return or arrangements will be made to meet up with the ship.

The other benefit that I have found is the tours are quite a good experience. Unlike taking a taxi or other small self-organised tour, you can be sure to see what you are expecting to see.

Onboard Reservations

When it comes to onboard reservations there are a lot of options you can organise in advance. Everything from drink packages, onboard credit, internet access, photography, flowers, gifts and some special culinary options.

Booking some of the onboard reservations prior to boarding can be beneficial. For example, I know I want to have internet access onboard. If I pre-purchase this time online before boarding there are additional bonus minutes offered. Likewise, there is also a special offer for pre-purchasing photography packages.

Many of the other options may be available just the same after you board. But by pre-purchasing, you save having to think about it once you are onboard.

The one aspect that I find lacking and have enjoyed with other cruise lines is booking speciality dining online before boarding. There are two aspects to being able to book this online. First, you don’t have to spend time going and organising it once you are onboard. Second, you can be sure that you have been able to book into a restaurant you want to visit.

More

There are a number of other items that may or may not be relevant in the cruise personalizer. There are options for booking and reviewing flights you may need for your cruise. Another section to review any payments or credits you may have or need to make.

Finally, there is a place to look at your calendar (or itinerary) for your cruise. It shows details of the ports, embarkation and disembarkation information.

3 Weeks Until Sun Princess

I must say that I am quite excited to be boarding the Sun Princess in just three weeks. Time does pass so quickly in anticipation. But I expect it will seem even quicker when I am lamenting that it is the last day of the cruise.

I have a couple more posts to come in the next couple of weeks before the cruise gets underway. Including one about packing for your cruise.

Announcments

Travel Explored – Launching My New Blog

Posted on January 23, 2017
Travel Explored New Blog

I would like to welcome you to my new blog, Travel Explored. My name is Joel Brown and this is a blog as you might expect all about travel. Here I will explore where I travel, how I travel and the travel of other people.

The beginning

Although this is a new blog, it is also the continuation of another blog. The other blog was called Joel Travels, and it started back in 2010.

I was 26 years old and chosen for the most part to get head down and work as a priority over anything else. The wish to travel though was gnawing away at me, though. In fact, it was around 18 months ago I got my first passport and it was still unused.

In March of 2010, I took my first real trip away by myself for a week to Melbourne. Which is where the blog started with my first post discussing “Booking Flight To Melbourne.” It continued with daily posts from my time in Melbourne.

Over the following two years, the blog continued including posts on multiple overseas trips. Over this period I visited 31 countries, and countless cities and towns. Sharing photos and stories of the places I visited while travelling.

However, there was a number of distractions over the following years and a distinct lack of posts followed. Until recently when I decided I want to get back to sharing. Sharing about the places that I travel and the way in which I travel.  But there was also something else that I wanted to do. I wanted to explore more than just my own travel experiences. I wanted to connect and share the travel experiences of others.

The result is Travel Explored.

Travel Explored

Travel Explored is now the home of the posts from my overseas travels in the past. I have moved across some 200+ posts with over 1200+ images. Which is just to get things started.

Travel explored is a place where I will share my travels both through stories and pictures. Additionally, over time I hope to also integrate video and audio into this mix. Potentially this will be in the form of a Podcast and Youtube channel. But at the moment I am still working on the details for these.

But there is much more to Travel Explored than what I am going to offer. I want it to be mostly about what I can offer you as the reader. So I hope you will join me on the journey to Dream, Explore and Discover the amazing world around us.

Connect On Social Media

The best way to keep up to date with my travels and updates here is to follow Travel Explored on social media. Travel Explored is active on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram & Pinterest. Just click the link for your favourite network to go to my profile.

Cruising

Sun Princess: South Pacific Cruise February 2017

Posted on November 24, 2016
Sun Princess South Pacific Cruise

Recently I have been looking at a lot of options for where to travel. I have not locked in anything for this year as yet and may not get anything worked out in time. But I wanted to share a little look at the next trip that I have booked in. A cruise around the South Pacific Island on the Sun Princess cruise ship.

Overview

The trip is a South Pacific Cruise onboard the Sun Princess. There is a total of five ports and some sea days.

I will get to the ports in a moment, of which I have only previously visited one. There are two aspects of the cruise that interest me.

The first is trying a new cruise line. My previous cruises have been onboard Holland America Line, and while I enjoy their ships, it will be nice to experience something different.

Second will be getting to visit a country that I have not visited before. You will see some islands in Vanuatu on the itinerary. So I am excited to visit these islands and add another country to my count.

Itinerary

The cruise is 11 Days or 10 nights visiting five ports in the South Pacific.

Cruise Day Port
 Day 1  Brisbane – Embarkation
 Day 2  At Sea
 Day 3  At Sea
 Day 4  Noumea, New Caledonia
 Day 5  Mystery Island, Vanuatu (Tender)
 Day 6  Vila, Vanuatu
 Day 7  Champagne Bay, Vanuatu (Tender)
 Day 8  Luganville, Vanuatu
 Day 9  At Sea
 Day 10  At Sea
 Day 11  Brisbane – Disembark

Sea Days

Although they are not for everyone, sea days for me are some of the best days on a cruise. When you are at sea on a cruise ship, it is in some ways like disconnecting from the world as a whole. You have access to all of the modern facilities, food and activities. But at the same time, you are disconnected from all of the electronic distractions.

There is the ability to connect to the internet, but it is rather expensive so something that you do sparingly. The same as a phone connection, it is available, but at quite a cost. Albeit there are still significant distractions available in the form of activities, entertainment and social encounters. But it is much easier to ignore these if you need to.

New Caledonia

I have previously visited Noumea, on my second cruise from Vancouver to Sydney. Even though I have visited here before, it will still be a great stop with the opportunity to explore the city some more.

One aspect that I will be looking forward to is taking a look for some of the Geocaches in the area. New Caledonia has quite a reasonable number of Geocaches around the islands; I will be focusing near to Noumea itself. Primarily this is based on time and access to transport.

Vanuatu

Visiting four different islands in Vanuatu is going to be great. First as mentioned above it gives me an extra country to my count. Having visited some other islands in the area, this will give me a chance to see some different places. Places that I have not visited before.

Two of the ports here will require a tender to get from the ship to the island. In some ports, this can be a little restrictive and limit your time to do things. In the case of these islands, it is not a big loss. They are both small islands with not a lot to do, but I will still leave the ship and explore in the time that is available.

At this stage, I am still trying to decide on the visits for Vila and Luganville about tours. While I want to maximise the time that I have available, the cost of tours is slightly prohibitive. I still have a little while to decide.

Princess & The Sun Princess

Sun Princess South Pacific Cruise

I have previously cruised three times and all have been onboard Holland America Line Ships. So this cruise will be a first time to try Princess and specifically the Sun Princess.

Sun Princess is the oldest ship in the Princess fleet built in 1995. While not the oldest ship that I will have sailed on, it is fairly close.

Either way, I am happy to be trying out a new cruise line and ship.

Countdown & Updates

As of this post, there are 84 days until the cruise sails.

I have had mixed experience with updating while onboard cruise ships in the past. For anyone that has been on a cruise, you will understand the issue with internet connectivity. There is a good chance that I will end up getting a small package for internet access. The cost I am looking at right now is AUD$86 for 120 minutes.

There will be a post for each port, sea day activities and about the ship. However, it will very much depend on the internet connection available as to what I will be able to post from the ship. As a minimum, I hope to share plenty of cruising fun via my Instagram (@joel_travels) so make sure you are following there. My goal will also be to get some of the posts shared, but only time will tell.

Keep watching on the blog or make sure you are following on social media for updates on the cruise. You can connect with me on social media, pick your favourite social network below.

Travel Tips

Research & Book Tours Before Leaving Home

Posted on November 21, 2016
Research & Book Tours Before Leaving Home

Finding your way around a city when you are travelling can be an exciting experience for sure. Every city has a bit of a different flavour as to what there is to see and do. There is how to get around small towns and big cities. While some cities you need to try and identify just what is worth visiting. In all cases taking some time to research tours before leaving home can be of great value to your trip.

In many cases, there are some options to research the tours that you may like to consider when travelling. Researching a tour in a city does not mean that you have to take that tour, but can help you in planning what you want to see. With another great benefit of researching tours to give you an idea if your plans are realistic.

Getting Around

Potentially one of the biggest benefits of tours, when you are travelling, is that it saves you finding your way from place to place. Of course, this all depends on how long you are spending at a particular destination.

If you are spending a couple of weeks in a city, finding your way around to the places you want to visit is no problem. However, if you are in a city for just a couple of days and have a lot of places you want to visit, a tour can be a very good idea.

In the same way, if you are in a big spread out city like London can help to save you a lot of time. You could spend your time learning the public transport and working out how to get between places. But I think you could save some hassle by taking a tour that will visit the key places that you want to see.

Consider What You Want To See

Everyone that travels has a slightly different slant on what they want to see as part of their trip. Of course, this is the beauty of travelling that there is just so many different options available. You can visit a museum, gallery, shops, parks, amusement park, zoo, or aquarium just to name a few.

Some cities have very specific sights that everyone knows and wants to see. Things like the Eifel Tower in Paris or The Statue Of Liberty in New York. Whereas other cities might have numerous lesser known spots that may interest you.

The act of researching tours can help you identify if there are any particular places that you would like to visit. As many tours will list off the main spots or sights that they will visit. In this way, you can start to identify if one tour will cover everything that you want to see or if you might be better to work out your plan.

Where To Find Tours

There are some options for how you can find information on tours all of which are most often free. Below are a couple of choices, but there is also options to get creative here as well.

Travel Brochures

Travel Brochure For Tours

A great place to start is a visit to travel agent to check if they have brochures available for the area you are visiting. Often the best travel brochures are the ones that are more generic to a city or country. These brochures will cover a range of areas including the main sights, accommodation, and often include some tour information.

The biggest downfall in travel brochures is that everything is competing for page space. So while they may offer some information about tours, it will be far from comprehensive. Often meaning that this is a good place to start, but will need to be supplemented with one of the other options.

Web Search

The next best place to find out about tours is a search of the internet. There are some different search terms that you can try depending on what information you already have.

  • If you have found tour information in a travel brochure, start by searching for the name of the tour listed in the brochure.
  • Your next option is to search for the city you are visiting. Consider search terms such as “Tours in *city*” or “*city* tour options”. For example “New York tour options.”
  • If you have a particular place that you want to see, try searching for that combined with the word tour. For example “Stone Henge Tour.”

Viator

A website that I used when preparing for my last trip to Europe was Viator. They bring together thousands of tours in cities all over the world. You can book the tours directly through their website in one of eight different currencies.

For my trip, I booked around 12 different tours, with a mixture of half day and full day options. Every single tour turned out just as described, and there were no issues in any of the bookings. As mentioned above I was able to book in my currency. I avoided having to carry so much money with me to pay for tours and the hassle of finding a tour with space. Along with not having to try booking in a foreign language.

The below banner is an affiliate link, and by clicking this link and booking tours you will be helping to support this website.

Paris Tours

Know Before You Go And Save Time

Having my tours booked and paid for before leaving home was the perfect option for me. Being a person that likes to plan and organise in advance rather than on a just in time basis.

It can save you a lot of time and hassle trying to find tours and get a good price once you arrive into a city. Giving you the opportunity to plan a mixture of tours and time to organise your other activities.

If you have any tips or suggestions for researching or booking tours when travelling, I would love to hear them. Just scroll down a little and leave a comment with your tip or story. You can connect with me on social media, pick your favourite social network below.

Inspiration

Starting Where You Are, With What You Have

Posted on November 17, 2016
Starting Where You Are

There is an overwhelming body of evidence that proves the best way to accomplish something is to start. All too often though it would seem there is a form of self-sabotage that stops us from starting. Whether we know what we need to do, and just don’t do it. Maybe we have a goal or target in mind but just keep moving the proverbial goalpost.

Getting Started

 “He who has begun, has half done.”—Horace.

The above saying in some form or another appears in many different languages and cultures. The phrase may be worded differently or vary in some small way, but the basic premise is the same. The greatest challenge in completing any task before you is in starting.

The reason getting started is the most challenging aspect, is often based on not knowing where to start. Though rarely is this the actual problem. We are aware what to do for the first step or to get started. But do not take action because we do not know the second or third step.

In many ways getting started on a task is much the same as driving your car between two locations. You maybe want to travel from home to visit a friend. You know how to start your journey, and you know the final destination. However, some parts in the middle you may be unsure how to handle. Corners you may not remember, road changes you need to divert around. But you are visiting your friend, you may not know every turn along the way, yet you still get in the car and start driving.

Procrastination

Procrastination is one of the biggest roadblocks to getting started and one that can be easy to avoid. The main problem is identifying when you are procrastinating. Sometimes it is very easy to identify, just think about the time you spend on social media, watching TV and playing games. If these things are explicitly part of what you are doing for what your want to achieve, then they are procrastination.

Other times procrastination can be tough to identify because it is in disguise. The most common disguise that procrastination wears is that of taking action. It can be hard to pick up on because we do believe that we are doing something useful that needs doing.

Unfortunately, I have far too many good examples of this from my life. Writing is a task that I need to do so that I have something to share with you. But all too often when I have the title, and I know I need to write the post, I find myself procrastinating. I will be outside gardening, sorting through papers, or reading about some new gadget. All things that I may need to do at some point, but all of which at the time I should be writing is essentially procrastination.

The Ever-Moving Goal Posts

At times we are going to have a task that does have a particular need before we can start. Things like having money to start a business or having a qualification to apply for a certain job. These situations are all around us and often easy to identify.

Apply For a Job

An obvious example might be that you cannot apply for a job as a doctor before undertaking the required education. As such you may find that you need to spend numerous years studying before you can get started applying for doctor jobs.

In the same vein though if you have completed that seven years of education to become a doctor don’t move the goal posts. More to say now you can start applying for jobs as a doctor. It is not always a good spot to say I cannot start applying for jobs now because there is another course I can do. Continually moving the goal post is how people become career students, rather than starting their career.

Starting A Business

The idea of starting a business is one that I had quite early on in life. It is also something that I did not realise until much later on. My ideas started around 12-13 years old, and I wanted a mowing business. I had been mowing the lawn at home for pocket money on occasion, and I thought I could make some money mowing neighbours lawns.

The business did not need much, and I worked out that I needed $100. With this money, I could buy some petrol, print some flyers, and pay dad to use his lawn mower. It took about six months, but I eventually had saved the $100. But by this time I had thought of another plan to buy my lawn mower, so I would need to save $300. So I set about doing this and some 12 months later finally had saved $300.

The problem though was that no matter what I decided I needed to start this business. I kept having another idea along the way and not taking action to launch the business. I kept moving the goal post.

Starting Where You Are

Starting Where You Are

Time and time again we see examples of people that have succeeded. They succeeded not because they had everything they would need. But succeeding because they just got started and figured out what they needed along the way.

Getting started is a whole lot easier than you might think. It starts with taking a good hard look at what it is you are trying to achieve. When you do this realistically and exclude any significant requirement for skills or money, you might just find you have more than you thought.

The next step to getting started is to identify the first step. There is a good chance that you already know what this first step is. The problem is rarely knowing the first step. But failing to take action on the first step because we do not know what the second or third step is.

The Final Step

The final step is to go and take that first step on whatever it is you want to achieve. You might think that this is simple and basic and just a repetition of what you have heard before.

The problem is that repetition is the only way we seem to learn. Not just repeated once or twice, all too often we need constant long-term repetition. Repetition of very basic concepts. Without the repetition we start making excuses, start delaying and start procrastinating.

The time to stop all the delaying tactics and procrastination is over. It is time to go out identify what you want. Find out what the first step is in achieving what you want. Then go out and take action on that first step. Start whatever it is that you want to do.

Just remember an Olympic Swimmer standing on the starting block does not hesitate. When the starter’s gun fires, they dive in and start swimming. Any hesitation at that point will likely result in losing the race.

If you know what that first step is, why not leave it in a comment down below. Let me and the other readers know what you are going to take action on today. You can connect with me on social media, pick your favourite social network below.

Focus

A Final Review Of My 2016 Focus Areas

Posted on November 14, 2016
2016 Focus Area Review

At the end of December 2015, I set out some focus areas for myself in 2016. Today I wanted to review how successful I have been in these focus areas for the year. You may question why I am writing this post in early November. The simple answer is I want t clean the slate and start preparing for 2017, instead of dwelling on not so stellar results.

The Focus Areas

There were six area’s that I wanted to focus on for the year. These areas included wellness, travel, collecting experiences, Geocaching, photography, and this blog. I outlined each area in a post here and will just do a quick recap now.

  • Wellness – I wanted to focus on improving my wellness in ways such as food, exercise, and self-education.
  • Travel – I wanted to travel more, with an expectation to be visiting another country early in the year.
  • Collecting experiences – I expected to collect one experience each month throughout the year.
  • Geocaching – I was rather non-specific in what I wanted to achieve here.
  • Photography – There was the desire to get motivated again to go out and take photos and share a lot more throughout the year.
  • This Blog – Bringing all my blogs together on this one site was my goal for 2016.

That about summarizes the focus areas for 2016 and leads me into the next section, how I performed.

Focus Area Performance

I am going to approach the overall summary of performance like ripping off a band-aid. Which is to say, I totally failed at almost all of it. With the only exception being the area of wellness, where I did have some success.

The problem is that I failed not throughout the year, although I have made little to no progress on any of the areas. But I failed when I first outlined the focus areas, through a lack of direction.

When I look back at the original post, I can see some clues that I would be writing this post now. The post gave almost nothing of substance to work on.

A look at the area of travel shows nothing but a comment I am planning things. Nothing robust and actionable to measure my progress.

Likewise, the area of collecting experiences is even worse. I say that I have ideas, but also mention being “not fully committed” to anything.

My focus areas mainly lacked any ability to measure my success. Without an ability to measure progress I was lost before I even begun.

2016 Small Successes

2016 Focus Area Reviews

Right now I see that I have failed in all but one focus area. However, there were a couple of small successes. The area of wellness was the one area I believe I succeeded to some degree. Along with small successes in travel, and this blog.

Wellness

When I look at how I framed the focus area of wellness, this could be some of the reason why I had success here. I mentioned a focus on the food I eat, exercise and self-education. I have been very focused on all three of these.

About one week into the new year I decided to try cutting all sugar out of my diet. Although I have reintroduced some sugar, the ultimate result has been positive. I started the year with a weight of 86.3kg, and presently my weight is around 79kg. I do not attribute the weight decrease entirely to removing sugar from my diet.

I have also maintained a high level of exercise, which helps to maintain a lower weight. The first aspect has been walking 15,000 steps every day. In 2016 I reached my goal of 15,000 steps every day for a year. Ultimately going 392 days walking 15,000 steps every day. So far this year I have only missed two days at reaching this goal.

Travel

The plans that I had been considering for travel had been quite significant. While I did not discuss them in the original post, I did later expand on this in another post “2016 Travel Thoughts“. As it stands at this point, I have not left Australia this year. I think there may have only been two occasions that I have even left the state of Queensland.

The extent of travel this year has been short 1-3 day trips. There have been a couple of occasions staying in Tweed Heads in February and March. A three-day trip to Ballina in May. Also a three-day trip to Toowoomba in August. In total maybe 10-15 days away from home.

There is also some potential that there will be another short trip before the year ends. However, nothing like the sort of plans that I had for the year or even at a couple of different points throughout the year.

This Blog

I started out the year wanting to combine my three blogs together into this one. Everything stopped for a few months and then I went the complete opposite direction. I started working on first one of the other blogs and then the other.

It was not until August that I came back around to this blog. When I needed to choose where I was focusing my time for a conference I attended. In the end, it was at that conference that I realized this blog was the perfect spot to bring everything together.

At this stage, I am starting to get more consistent on posting on this blog. Working to build the social media profile for myself and the blog. Also hopefully getting everything into a good position to continue into 2017.

Focus Areas 2017

A part of why I wanted to write and share this post now is to clear the slate. I know that 2016 has not been the most successful year for me. Instead of trying to create a last minute flourish of activity, I would like just to move on and prepare for next year. I can dedicate some time to planning my focus areas for 2017.

In some ways, I have also used this post to identify and understand what went wrong in 2016. I have been able to see that the biggest problem was around not being clear about what it was I wanted to achieve.

In other words, it is great to say I want to focus on Photography. But without a clear objective, what am I working towards, how do I know what success is in this area.

Create Accountability

As such in identifying my focus areas for 2017, I will take this very much into account. I will be looking to include some specifics about what I want to achieve with measurable targets. At least to create some accountability and expectation.

Frequently Review Progress

The final aspect that I have come to realize from this process is my lack of review. I started reviewing some progress back in February, but while I almost finished the post, I never posted it.

For 2017 this will be a very different aspect, I will commit to reviewing progress on a monthly basis. As such I will be looking to have at least a starting goal or position to gauge progress. I will also look to modify any goals or focus areas that are no longer serving me. Frequent Reviews could have served me well over the last year and identified a problem earlier.

Keep Up To Date

I would love to hear about how you approach your focus areas or goals. You can leave a comment below or find me on social media at Twitter – @joel_travels, Instagram – @joel_travels, Facebook – Joel Travels & Pinterest Joel Travels.

Travel Tips

Using Hotel Booking Sites To Choose A Hotel

Posted on November 10, 2016

The process of booking a hotel while traveling can be a nightmare. However, there are some ways that you can use hotel booking sites to save some of the pain and help to answer some of the questions. Can you believe the pictures that make the hotel look brand new? Are the facilities as the hotel describes them? Is the hotel even located in an accessible part of town?

In most cases, the hotel will provide the information to show the hotel in the best possible light. However, as I am sure some of us have discovered this information is not always the best guide. Thankfully there are a few more options to help ensure you will get a better experience. That is if you are willing to do a little more research.

Hotel Booking Sites

With the increase in websites that will allow you to book and more importantly compare hotels, you have a wealth of information available to you. You just need to be sure that you are using this information in the right way and not getting caught up with the booking.

Guest Ratings

The hotel booking sites offer the option for guest to leave a star rating for their stay. The average of all these star ratings can be an excellent way to thin out the options for choosing a hotel.

Unlike the star rating that many hotels tout based on the facilities that are available. I start with selecting the city and the nights I want to stay. Then I will add a filter for hotels that have received on average a 4 out of 5 (or similar for other sites) by past guests.

Adding this filter still leaves a good choice of hotels and in my experience significantly improves the chances of booking a good hotel.

Guest Reviews

Along with a guest rating, almost all hotel booking sites allow guests to leave a review on the hotel after their stay. With many of these sites actively seeking these reviews and encouraging them.

These reviews can in many cases provide a wealth of knowledge, which you can use to help make your decision. Having a quick read through especially some of the most recent reviews will give you an idea of what people have been experiencing. Whether the service is good, what the beds are like, if the hotel is in a dodgy neighbour and a whole lot of other things.

One thing to keep in mind though is people are more likely to leave a bad review. However, in saying that I have found a broad representation of both positive and negative reviews. Often narrowing the field of options significantly

Guest Images

Comfortable Hotel Room

Some of the hotel booking sites do allow past guests also to attach images. Not many sites allow this, and it needs proper consideration before making it a defining part of the decision process.

I have used images that guests have left as a reason not to book a hotel in the past. However, in general, I do not go looking for them. It is often difficult to tell if an image is truly indicative of the hotel as a whole, especially when taken into consideration with the other factors such as guest ratings and reviews.

Check Hotel Booking Sites Deals

Once you have done your research and you have found the hotel that is right for you, there is one more step. Check to make sure that the deal being offered by the hotel booking site is a good deal. There are some factors to consider before clicking the button to book the hotel.

The Best Price

The way many hotel booking sites are set up, they lead you to believe they have the best price. With secret offers and exclusive deals. But this may not always be the case, checking the price on multiple sites is a must and can make a big difference.

The best place to start is checking the hotel’s website; sometimes they will offer the same price direct. In some cases, you may even find special deals they are offering with added inclusions. The next step is to check at least one or two other hotel booking sites. Sometimes one will have a better deal, and the only way to know is to check.

On one booking I made recently this made a $60 difference on a two-night reservation. The site I often used listed the hotel for $250 for two nights, and I found the same room offered on another site at $190. While this was a two-night booking, just imagine how much this could add up to over a two-week trip, or an even longer trip. Even $5 a night difference can add up to $150 in a month.

What Are The Conditions

Hotel Booking Site Terms

Depending on the site that you use there will potentially be additional booking conditions to what you might expect from a hotel. These can include cut-off dates for cancellation that may be months before the booking, and part of why a price might be so good. Additionally, on a small number of sites, there may also be booking fees on top of the price you are paying, that may make the deal not as good.

The conditions that may come with a good price can be one of the downfalls of jumping between hotel booking sites. But if you are just looking for a good price and know for certain you will be going; there may not be a lot to lose.

Other Factors

There can be some other factors that may come into play which might make a deal that little bit better or worse. It can be worth considering one-off factors into the equation as well.

One of the main factors for me here is one site that I use a lot offers a free night of accommodation for every ten nights booked (and stayed). If you are booking hotels often, this can essentially be like getting a 10% discount. But with offers like this don’t get lazy and stop checking the alternatives. Because at times, you may save more than 10% with a better offer elsewhere.

Offers such as discount codes, special upgrades, and extras, need some consideration in the price you will pay. Consider if any extras are things you need vs. being able to get a better price on a different site.

It’s All About Comparison

All of these hotel booking sites, are essentially offering you a service to comparison shop on hotels. As such this should not stop you from comparing the different sites.

With the above in mind, it doesn’t mean that you have to go through the process for every booking. I can assure you it gets quite arduous checking every site, every time I am researching a city.

The process I use is to compare a few sites and identify one go to site for bookings. Then review the comparison once every two-three months. I will use this site whenever I am booking unless the price seems abnormally high.

Your Best Deal

Share the story of the best deal you have found on hotel booking sites. Did you score a cheap room with a great deal? Maybe you found out the hotel you were booking was not all it was cracked up to be. Just go down the page and leave a comment to let me know about the deal you got. You can connect with me on social media, pick your favourite social network below.

Photography

Patience And Capturing The Perfect Photo

Posted on November 7, 2016
Mount Rainier Peak

Being a photographer is far from an easy gig, depending on what you are photographing there are numerous different skills that you need. To be fast yet calculated in capturing the key moments that matter. There needs to be a knack to capture the story and not just the subject. The ability to sit, to wait with patience for just the right moment to capture the photo.

What Is Patience?

Patience is a personality trait that takes an awfully long time to develop for many people. Think back to when you were a child, how often did you hear the phrase, “be patient.” If you are anything like me, I would imagine it came up quite frequently.

Patience : The capacity to accept or tolerate delay, problems, or suffering without becoming annoyed or anxious. – Google Search

When it comes to photography and patience, I believe the essential part of the definition is to “tolerate delay.” There are some aspects of photography where a delay is almost a given. Rarely as photographers do we get the opportunity to arrive, take the photo and leave. There is almost always some degree of waiting at every stage, whether we are capturing a wedding, a model or landscape.

Patience And Photography

There are sometimes both as a recreational and as a working photographer that patience will play a part in getting the photo. Being able to wait for the client, wait for the right conditions or wait for the camera. If you are not able to be patient, you either end up with bad photos, that are not what you want or no photos at all.

Waiting For the Client

Whether you are photographing a wedding or a model or anything else for a customer, there is going to be waiting. It is a rare day when you can walk into a photo shoot, and everyone is ready and in place. Even if things start well, changes will happen, set-ups changed and people to manage.

The thing we need as a photographer is the ability to move things along, but also to show patience in waiting for next step.

Waiting For The Right Conditions

Depending what you are photographing, there could be any number of factors that will impact your photo. Whether you are capturing a landscape, seascape, sunset, sunrise or any combination. There are times that photographers may wait for minutes, hours or even days to get just the right set of conditions for the photograph.

Although at times as a photographer we take the conditions as they are and capture the photo we can. There are more times such as a sunrise or sunset; that time is spent waiting for the right moment to capture the photograph.

Waiting For The Camera

Then, of course, there are so many times when we find that we are waiting for the camera. Taking long exposure images, or testing the settings that we are using to be sure we will have a usable image. Possibly even faced with longer waits if trying a new technique such as light painting or star trails.

Patience to capture a waterfall long exposure

The above image is a great example of having patience while waiting for Long Exposure Photos. At this particular place, the only vantage point is a cantilevered platform. Even the slightest movement on the platform moved the camera. I captured around ten shots to get a sharp image, as people would step on the platform and shake the camera.

Of course, there are also the times that the camera starts doing something that we do not expect. Leaving us to spend time trying to figure out which setting was adjusted and how to change it back. A time that patience can be a virtue.

The Results Of Insufficient Patience

Time and again I have been out with my camera, and got to see what others without patience have missed. For example when there might have been an underwhelming sunset, and most photographers left with the sun passing the horizon. Those who stayed will sometimes reap the rewards with some amazing images. While there is no guarantee, many of my best sunset photos occurred between 10-30 minutes after the sun set.

Patience at Cleveland after the Sunset

The above image is a great example of those who don’t have patience miss out. On this particular day, there was probably around 20 photographers in the area for the sunset. The sun had dropped below the horizon around 10 minutes before I captured this photo. The sunset itself was not so impressive, and around three-quarters of the photographers had left as the sun disappeared. However, the handful of us that remained end up with some excellent images with the colors in the clouds.

Choosing When To Be Patient

You cannot always wait indeterminate amounts of time, in case something happens. However, there are usually some factors and time frames you can apply.

The thing is especially with something like a sunset or sunrise; there is only a small window that you will get usable images. In the morning at sunrise, about 20-minutes after the sun is above the horizon, usually is too bright for images unless the conditions are perfect. While around 20-25-minutes after the sun has gone below the horizon will see the images too dark.

Describing every situation is difficult. In other cases, it just comes down to being certain the time frames you are putting on yourself are not too short. Other cases are entirely dependent on luck.

Mount Rainier Peak

One such situation was the image above, which is the peak of Mt Rainier near to Seattle. It was just a matter of luck as the peak was covered in cloud most of this day. But there were so many places to get a photo from we just kept going and managed to find a spot at the right time. Allowing us to get many other great shots this day instead of just sitting in one place waiting for this one photo.

Don’t Miss A Great Photo

I hope that the above has inspired you for a bit more patience. To take a little more time and see what might develop in a situation. Just not to walk away at a time that might be just before the right opportunity for a great shot.

Is there a time that you know you have missed a shot, where a little more patience might have given you a great image. Why not share your story by leaving a comment below. You can connect with me on social media, pick your favourite social network below.

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