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211: NYC to Bahamas Cruise

Vacation Mavens

Release Date: 05/24/2022

220: African Safaris show art 220: African Safaris

Vacation Mavens

Tamara is hosting an all-women small group trip to Portugal this fall and she would love for you to join her! . Did you know that Kim has been on safaris in four African countries? Today she shares some great tips that will help you decide where you might want to go, understand the differences between various safari experiences, and provide some advice for planning an African safari trip. You can read more about a few of Kim's safari experiences here:

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219: German Christmas Markets Trip show art 219: German Christmas Markets Trip

Vacation Mavens

Tamara is hosting an all-women small group trip to Portugal this fall and she would love for you to join her! . In this episode, Tamara talks about her two-week German Christmas Markets road trip! If you have this magical holiday trip on your radar, make sure to give this episode a close listen and check out the following articles:

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Barge and River Cruising Through France show art Barge and River Cruising Through France

Vacation Mavens

Before we say goodbye to summer and pull on our flannels and break out the pumpkin spice, Tamara and Kim are back with a recap of Tamara's European summer travels including a month spent exploring France by river and barge cruise! Tamara first spent two weeks in the United Kingdom, on a road trip through both Scotland and Wales with two other travel writers. She then took the Eurostar down to France and spent one week cruising through the Canal Nivernais on the Hotel Barge Elisabeth. Next, she went to Bordeaux and her husband joined her for a weeklong river cruise with AmaWaterways. Tamara...

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217: Scottsdale and Japan (Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka) show art 217: Scottsdale and Japan (Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka)

Vacation Mavens

Well it has been a minute since we had a chance to catch up and record a podcast but in this episode Tamara shares her insights and experience from her recent family trip to Japan. Kim and Tamara also share their love for Scottsdale, Arizona and some of the things they did on a girls' trip together. Read more at: Tamara also talked about her time in Paso Robles, California. You can read her to get inspired to visit this wine region. Kim attended conferences in Walt Disney World (read her tips for using DVC points to ), Disney Land, and San Antonio. She also took a family cruise to...

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216: Ireland and Northern Ireland show art 216: Ireland and Northern Ireland

Vacation Mavens

  Kim took a last minute spring break trip to Ireland and Northern Ireland with her younger daughter and this week on the podcast, she tells us all about it! She flew into Dublin and then stay at a country estate hotel in Northern Ireland before visiting Belfast, the Causeway Coast, Derry/Londonderry, and Galway before looping back to Dublin. See Kim's articles on: Ireland Trip Highlights: in Northern Ireland Belfast - Titanic Belfast and city architecture - Carrick-a-Rede bridge, Giant's Causeway, Dunluce Castle in Derry - walk the walls around the city Galway - Kim...

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215 Oceanside Disneyland California show art 215 Oceanside Disneyland California

Vacation Mavens

Spring break is almost here and on this episode Kim and Tamara share their experience on a girls' trip in Oceanside, California and then their mother-daughter trip to Disneyland with their girls.  If you want some inspiration for a SoCal getaway, be sure to listen in!

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214 Northern Italy + Big Announcement show art 214 Northern Italy + Big Announcement

Vacation Mavens

Happy New Year! We are back and apologize for taking so long to release a new episode. Moving forward, we will strive to have one episode a month to share our travels and tips, as we continue to each put more time into our respective websites. But first, Tamara has a big announcement and that is that she is hosting a women-only small group trip to Iceland in September 2023! You can get all the information on and she really hopes that some listeners will be able to join! Note that there is a discount of 15,000 ISK if you register by January 15, 2023. Next Tamara tells us all about her...

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213: Glacier Country, Montana show art 213: Glacier Country, Montana

Vacation Mavens

This episode is sponsored by Glacier Country Tourism. All opinions are our own. This week, Tamara shares what it is like to visit Glacier Country, Montana on a girls' trip and Kim shares her thoughts on this scenic part of Northwestern Montana. From Missoula to Whitefish, Kalispell to Glacier National Park -- if Montana is on your bucket list, give this episode a listen! Read more: Things to do in Glacier Country, Montana Glacier Country is a tourism region of Northwestern Montana that covers eight counties To get to Glacier Country you can fly into Missoula or Glacier Airport in Kalispell,...

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212: Summer Travel Catch Up show art 212: Summer Travel Catch Up

Vacation Mavens

We are back from our summer travel and packed a whole lot into a one episode recap! We apologize in advance for some audio difficulties on this one, especially after taking so long to get it live. Thanks for hanging in there with us! On this episode we cover Tamara's summer trips to: Nantucket (read her ) New Brunswick, Canada (, , and ) Prince Edward Island, Canada () Sailing on the And Kim shares about her adventures: Mediterranean cruise on Costa Cruise Lines () Gorilla trekking in Uganda Alaskan cruise on Holland America Graduation trip to Disney World and Universal Orlando ()

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211: NYC to Bahamas Cruise show art 211: NYC to Bahamas Cruise

Vacation Mavens

We are still catching up about our spring break trips and this time Kim shares the ups and downs from a Norwegian Cruise Lines voyage from New York City to the Bahamas with stops in "Orlando" and Norwegian's private island. Listen in and see if you are ready to set sail. In NYC, Kim stayed in the Hyatt Centric in Times Square for 2 nights before her cruise. The hotel was part of the American Express Fine Hotels Collection and she was able to get a $200 statement credits on her Amex Platinum Card. The hotel has a good location, but slow elevators and the rooftop bar is not open to minors....

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We are still catching up about our spring break trips and this time Kim shares the ups and downs from a Norwegian Cruise Lines voyage from New York City to the Bahamas with stops in "Orlando" and Norwegian's private island. Listen in and see if you are ready to set sail.

  • In NYC, Kim stayed in the Hyatt Centric in Times Square for 2 nights before her cruise. The hotel was part of the American Express Fine Hotels Collection and she was able to get a $200 statement credits on her Amex Platinum Card. The hotel has a good location, but slow elevators and the rooftop bar is not open to minors.
  • They flew into Newark and took the Airtrain to NJ Transit to Penn Station
  • Kim was able to visit the Museum of Natural History, rent bikes and ride through Central Park, see a Broadway show, and explore NYC before the cruise.
  • The cruise port terminal in NYC is very busy and it is hard to find the right spot to check in with very long lines. It took over three hours to complete check in for the cruise so if you are cruising out of NYC soon, be sure to pick an early check in time and expect to wait.
  • Passengers has to show proof of vaccination and a negative COVID test, as well as a passport, in order to board.
  • The ship seemed to be understaffed because there was a lot of waiting in line to disembark and wait for tenders for excursions.
  • The ship didn't seem to be at capacity but that may be because there wasn't enough staff to fully open.
  • Kim and her family cruised on the Getaway from Norwegian Cruise Lines. Her girls like the ropes course but they have recently changed the ropes course and moved things around.
  • If you book a package that includes specialty dining, it is usually just for the first 2 people in a cabin and if you want to add the kids you need to pay extra.
  • In the bathrooms they provide a pump of shampoo and body wash but not lotion or conditioner.
  • The kids club was not open during her cruise and they instead offered a voucher towards the arcade.
  • When docked at Port Canaveral, Kim and her family went to the Kennedy Space Center but they didn't have a lot of time to explore because the boat didn't dock until 1pm and they didn't get off the boat until 2:30 and the KSC closes at 6pm.
  • At the Norwegian private island in the Caribbean you need to take a tender boat over to the island so getting on and off takes a long time.