Dominica: Our First Visit To The Nature Island

Allan and I recently traveled to Dominica - not to be confused with the Dominican Republic. What’s the difference? Well, there are many, but the primary distinction is that The Dominican Republic is a major tourist destination in the Western Caribbean, and it shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti, while Dominica - known as the Nature Island - is an entire island located in the Southeastern Caribbean and seems to be far less known or, at least, less visited for vacation.

7 FUN FACTS ABOUT DOMINICA - THE NATURE ISLAND:

Dominica has 9 volcanoes
Dominica’s beaches are black sand beaches
There are at least 365 rivers in Dominica
There are at least 12 waterfalls in Dominica
Dominica can be visited by airplane or cruise ship
Dominica is known for excellent whale-watching and dolphin-spotting as they live very close to shore, year-round
Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man’s Chest and Pirates of the Caribbean 3: At World’s End were filmed, in part, in Dominica.

Dominica was country number 30 for me, getting us closer to accomplishing our goal of visiting every country in the Caribbean!

The TWA Hotel

We all know from flying that we are to put on your own oxygen mask before attempting to assist others. So, in applying that to vacay season, especially after the past year, Allan and I decided that, before venturing out with the whole family, and before returning to our far and wide family travels, we would personally refresh near home - just the two of us. So, we recently enjoyed a quick staycation at the TWA Hotel, here in NYC! Sometimes we just need a change of scenery! Prior to this hotel visit, Allan had repeatedly said for months that he’s felt the need for a change of scenery. Well, although it’s not yet the beach and didn’t require a flight or a ship, this was a nice refresher.

Our Pullmantur Monarch Anniversary Cruise 2018

Beginning Our Baecation 2018

For months, my hubby and I had been looking forward to our 9th anniversary celebration. Although we went about business as usual on our actual anniversary this year, we had an amazing trip planned for the following week.

On October 14, 2018, my hubby and I flew from New York/JFK to Bogotá, Colombia, and connected in Bogotá to our flight to Curaçao.

How We Packed "Carry-On Only" For A Family of 5

For our family's most recent 5-day vacation in St. Maarten, we were able to travel with carry-on bags, no checked bags, and it was great! Packing for our two sons, using one Rume Garment Travel Organizer ("GTO"), allowed their items to fit into one carry-on, which made it super easy to use only carry-on bags, and also helped us to organize in a way that made unpacking simple.

Getting To The Port On Embarkation Day

I recently received a question regarding boarding times, distance to the cruise port, and recommendations for getting to the ship on time. The general rule of thumb to address all three of those areas is to pay close attention to the documents provided by the cruise line. Specific cruises differ with regard to the time that guests should arrive to “check in” at the port. Keep in mind, that most, if not all, cruise lines require online check-in which will then produce cruise documents for guests to print and take along to the port. So although I say “check in” at the port, what that entails on embarkation day is usually guests presenting their printed cruise documents, along with their passports, for a fairly quick process at the counter with an agent from whom guests will receive their stateroom keys and a number to be called to board the ship.

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Getting To and From Guadeloupe

Our family is looking forward to cruising from Guadeloupe on our most port-intensive cruise yet, so I was quite concerned when I realized that the round-trip cost that I was finding for flights between New York City (NYC) and Pointe-a-Pitre (PTP) was over $2000 per person! That doesn’t include checked bags, and we are traveling as a family of five!

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