Travel Insurance: Why is so important?

 If you are a frequent traveler, is highly probable you know the importance of getting travel insurance. But truth is there is still a lot of ignorance regarding what it covers and why is so important?

Travel Insurance is important because protects you and your family when unforseen events occur after you have booked and paid in full your trip. It will help in case your need to cancel your family vacation for personal reasons or circumstances on the part of the agency you purchase it (airline, cruise line or tour operator).

There is a good variety of coverages, some even cover pre-existing conditions. You can purchase one per trip or just get an annual insurance package. Here are some reasons for you to buy a Travel Insurance:

1. Your flight has been cancelled.


2. Your bags are lost and you have your medications in it. You need to have an emergency prescription filled.


3. Your passport and wallet are stolen, and you need emergency cash and a replacement passport.


4. You are involved in an accident and adequate medical treatment is not available, you need medical evacuation.


5. You need to cancel your trip due to illness.


6. Your cruise line, airline or tour operator goes bankrupt. You need your non-refundable expenses covered and to get to your destination.


7. You have an emergency on a foreign country.


8. A terrorist incident occurs in the city you're planning to visit and you want to cancel your trip. (Do you remember what happened last January in Egypt?)


9. A hurricane forces you to evacuate your resort, hotel or cruise. (Hurricane Irene)

Smart travelers buy Travel Insurance, and if you don't buy it, more than your trip could be ruined. I rather prefer to have a 100% peace of mind than a 100% loss of my vacation investment. Having a family of 5, having a Family Vacation is considered by me an investment. There are agencies (Vendors that offer insurance and only the adults pay the premium, as Disneyland in Southern California. They offer travel insurance but you only pay for the adults and it covers your entire travel party(which means kids don't pay and are covered if the adults are).

If we look at the recent news events caused by Hurricane Irene; I can tell that unfortunately not all cruise lines act the same way. Let's compare Carnival Cruises vs. Royal Caribbean, both cruise lines were force to depart early on August 23, 2011 from San Juan, PR due to the proximity of Hurricane Irene. Carnival Cruise Line contacted good portion of its passangers and offered 2 nights hotel plus airfare to meet the cruise in other port, while Royal Caribbean leaved them stranded with no compansation at all. Although they had short time to notify thousands of passangers, the cruise line stood up an offered a "solution", but not in every case this happens, and in top of that if you didn't have a travel insurance this could cause the loss of your investment and your vacation for sure.

Please if you are planning a vacation, which I consider an investment, take into consideration planning also what Travel Insurance you will use. Ask your Travel Specialist about which one best suits your needs and even to explain you in detail what are the coverages. Doing this could guarantee you peace of mind and highly probable you'll enjoy your family vacation to the fullest.

News: Courtesy of MSNBC.com and Cruise Critic

Leila Reyes

Family Vacation Specialist

817-554-3346

lrtravel@live.com

Family Vacation: Get what you Paid!

A reallity is that "most people" want to be able to book their own Family Vacation online, without depending on someone else's advise. Yes, not everyone trust Travel Professionals and even believe that booking a Family Vacation directly from Travel Companies like Carnival Cruises or Walt Disney World will lead the to get the best deals. Or even using booking engines like Orbitz or Travelocity to give an example.

What differenciates me from them? Not much, let me explain. L R Travel have access to the same prices, deals, destinations, etc. like the "Big Travel Companies" and "Booking Engines". An advantage for L R Travel is we have the expertise and travel education that "most people or common people" don't have. What drives this common people to book themselves? The Price. Unfortunatelly cheaper price is NOT equivallent to client's expectations or desires of an unforgettable and worry-free vacation, a simple truth is without a Travel Professional you are on your own.

As a Travel Professional, I use to talk and share with my collegues information that, in most cases, help me suggest a specific destination, a hotel, a cruise or in the other hand totally avoid it. I'm sure an accountant will advise you about Cash Flows or Income Statement, but a Travel Professional will give you the best advise about destinations, best time to travel, excursions, the pros and cons based on past client's experiences or my own.

To give you a better idea, let's picture this example together. Imagine you booked by yourself a Family Cruise Vacation to Mexico, you choose the best deal found with a perfect oceanview stateroom.  What you may not know is that due to high crimes in Mazatlan, MX most (if not all at this time) cruise lines has been avoiding that port of call, that you thought about visiting.

First, if you have had made this booking through L R Travel is for sure, I would have given you that information prior booking, that in fact could have changed your mind of taking that itinerary.

Second, but because you were focusing on the best price, your booked Oceanview Stateroom was a "guaranteed cabin" that in most cases means it has an obstructed view, and here is an example:



Obstructed View Cabin Oceania
All rights reserved

I don't consider that this was part of your plan, right? Well once again, if this reservation had been booked through L R Travel, this information would have been clarified upfront before making any committment. I'm here to commit to your needs, to your desires and to do all in my power to exceed your expectations.

We, together, can create a long and trustful relationship, just allow me to help you customize your Dreamed Vacations. One thing I can assure you is, that I'll be the person that pick up the phone the first time you call, and the second one too. On those big companies you don't know who will answer. With L R Travel that's not the case.


Leila Reyes
Family Vacation Specialist
lrtravel@live.com

Eating Mofongo on my Family Vacation

Puerto Rico is an enchanting island in the Caribbean. Surprising to some, Puerto Rico is territory of the United States. This means that citizens of the United States do NOT need a passport to visit the island. Puerto Rico has become a very popular destination for tourists and cruise ships, perfect for a Family Vacation. Reasons leading to the popularity among tourists include the friendliness of the locals, beautiful beaches and delicious food.

Mofongo with Chicken

Mofongo with Shrimp

A trip to Puerto Rico is not complete if you do not sample some of the local cuisine. Try some fried plantains as an appetizer and the delicious mofongo with your entrée. Puerto Rican cuisine is very similar to Cuban, Spanish, and even Mexican cuisine, it is a unique tasty blend (Taino, Spanish, African and American influences) of ingredients like oregano, coriander, garlic, cacao, nispero, apio, plantains and yam.

 

Essentially, mofongo is a dish of mashed plantains stuffed with meat or vegetables. Generally, green plantains, yuca or breadfruit are used and then combined with a variety of other ingredients. Common ingredients include garlic, bits of bacon and olive oil. The mashed plantains are fried and shaped to almost create a bowl like appearance, which is then stuffed with cooked chicken, beef or seafood and vegetables. Do you know that locals call their cuisine "comida criolla".

In other parts of the Caribbean you will find similar dishes, like the Cuban fufu de platano. Several ingredients in the mofongo are consistent with these culinary influences. Yuca was a common part of the Taino cuisine and the use of bacon was introduced into Puerto Rican cooking after discovering its popularity in the United States.

Enjoy your Family Vacation in Puerto Rico!

Leila Reyes

Travel Agent

lrtravel@live.com