Magic Moments Travel

05/04/2024

May the 4th Be With You!

04/15/2024

Hi Gang

Got some good news and some so-so news today

I CAN DRIVE AGAIN!!!! Hallelujah!!!

However, I may have a “problem” with my other shoulder. Have to see a NEW Dr for this one.

11/26/2023

I’m home. The Drs think I actually had a version of the “dreaded” noro-virus. It ain’t fun but it’s out of my system. Yay!

11/23/2023

I can’t wait to see this in person!

11/23/2023

Anyone for Ireland?

Sunset at the Giant's Causeway is an experience everyone needs to add to their Irish bucket list!🤩

📍Giant's Causeway, County Antrim

📸instagram.com/0janken0/

11/23/2023

So, who wants to go to Vegas?

When the sun goes down, the Strip lights up! 💫

📸 Clayton Haam

11/05/2023

WDW is EXTRA magical during the holidays

10/26/2023

Reservations will be available next year for 2025

10/20/2023

Just a few images of our last cruise

07/25/2023

❗ Important information regarding recent incorrect reports about cruise operations in Amsterdam.

02/26/2023

Lots of tips available

Our current passport processing times are 8-11 weeks for routine service and 5-7 weeks for expedited service ($60 fee). Apply now if you plan to travel this summer. Travel.state.gov/passports

11/22/2022

Norwegian's Black Friday Greatest Deal Ever is here! Make sure you take advantage of this amazing offer! 🚢💸

10/28/2022

Having additional symptoms. Primary Doc wants me in the ER. Heading there shortly

02/27/2022

11/29/2020

Looks to be a good deal

07/21/2020

Let me know if you want more info on this or other Travel Special ma

07/13/2020

Who wants to go???

07/12/2020

Can’t wait to go next year!

05/19/2020

Hello My Friends

I know it’s been a while since I last posted an update. To be honest, I’ve been a little under the weather. NO I do not have “the” virus. However, I did have “a” virus. I think a had a case of the “Norovirus”, at least that’s what I thought and my doctor agrees. While not normally fatal, there are moments, if you have it bad enough, when you almost... almost.... wish you were going to. Fortunately, that has “passed”. On that “pleasant” note, since I have regained most of my strength, and it’s time to get back to work.

There are over a dozen Travel Developments which I wish to discuss: Las Vegas, Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando, the airlines, the cruise industry in general and several lines in particular, etc. etc! So this is going to be a multi-part update. For today, I wish to discuss the situation in Las Vegas and Orlando. Tomorrow, I will deal with several other topics and conclude on Thursday, ok?

Let’s start with Las Vegas. When most of us think of “Las Vegas” we think of the “Strip”, where most of the extremely glamorous resorts/casinos are located. Would it surprise you to learn that the “Strip” is actually outside of the municipal limits of Las Vegas? That’s right, so that has lead to some “confusion” as to who was actually in charge, the mayor or the governor? Regardless, things are slowly starting to open up there. Several restaurants have partially reopened their outdoor areas and more are running delivery/pickup Services. A few shops have opened as will, with strict capacity limits.

To that end, MGM Resorts announced a “phased” opening of some of their properties. MGM owns Thirteen properties on the Strip plus two Golf Courses, so they are a key player there. This week they are reopening “The Bellagio” and “New York, New York”. They are only opening up approximately 25% of each resorts capacity so they can control the influx of guests. (To give you some idea, Bellagio alone has well over 4000 rooms and Suites on property, so that translates to over 1000 rooms and suites available.) if all goes well, they plan to open the “MGM Grand” right around Memorial Day. They hope to be able to open one additional property every week to ten days after that through the end of the year. This will be based on the demand and the then future medical situation. Until further notice, any and all properties will be running on strict “social distancing” guidelines, especially the 25% capacity rule.

On a similar vein, in Orlando, both “Disney Springs” and Universals “City Walk”, have begun slowly opening up. In addition, “Downtown Disney” in California’s Disneyland is also coming back to life. As of now, several “third-party” locations have opened up in each location, plus Disney is opening two of its company owned properties before the end of the week. More “third-party” and company owned businesses will be opening each week thereafter. It is hoped to have all facilities up and running before the year’s end. Sadly, some properties will not be returning. A few, like Ample Hills Ice Cream, have had to file for bankruptcy. What will happen to these locations, is not readily known.

Now, for those who do open, there will be some strict rules in play. For example, at WDW, there will be limited parking available, plus there will be reduced entry points. All guests, employees and third party workers must wear face masks. (Masks May be removed while seated at a table for dinner or lunch.) At each entry point, besides the normal security screenings, there will now be temperature scans being done prior to entry. Anyone who scans at 100.4 degrees or higher, will be asked to step aside to be rescanned. If they still scan at 100.4 or higher, they will then be denied entry. There will be spaced ques for people to wait in before entering any facility. Also, There will be limits as to how many guests can be allowed in at any one time. There will also be extra Hand Sanitizing Stations and hand washing stations scattered throughout the property. And there will be arrows to direct people where/how to walk to prevent jams of people at intersections.

I think this is enough information to absorb for now. Later, this evening I’ll continue with our update.

Until then, we remain,

Your Travel Partners

Cheryl and Tony D’Onofrio
Magic Moments Travel, Inc.
[email protected]

04/24/2020

Thought this might make people smile

BEST EVENING EVER! You Can Watch Disney World’s Happily Ever After Fireworks TONIGHT!

https://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2020/04/24/best-evening-ever-you-can-watch-disney-worlds-happily-ever-after-fireworks-tonight/

02/02/2020

Good Morning Everyone:

Today’s topic is the new Federal ID requirements.

As of October 1, 2020 the TSA will no longer allow any passengers over 18 years of age to board Domestic or International Flights unless they provide a form of “REAL ID”.

The TSA has been urging states to upgrade their Drivers Licenses to the new Federal Standards for several years now. Some states have upgraded, many states have not. If your state does not issue the new Licenses, the TSA will not accept them as proper identification.

If your state does not comply with these new Federal Guidelines, but you have a U.S. Passport, you may be required to provide that as an acceptable form of ID to board your flight.

To check whether or not your state has the new License, or other forms of “REAL ID” contact your local DMV or the TSA at TSA.gov below

01/28/2020

Hello My Friends,

Today I’m going to talk about a question which came up this weekend from a client: Cruise Upgrades.

Remember how I said that roughly 90 days away from sailing a number of deposited cabins get returned to the cruise line? Besides offering discounts for new passengers, many of the lines will go to existing passengers and offer them upgrades for a new cabin. This usually occurs about 30 days before sailing.

There are three types. The rarest is a Complementary Upgrade. This is usually done to members of the lines “Past Guest” program. However, this is happening less and less as time goes on. Cheryl and I experienced a couple of those around the year 2000. More on that later.

More commonly, they contact you with a specific offer. “We’ll move you from an Oceanview to a Balcony Stateroom if you are willing to pay “X” dollars more per person.” Following up on an offer like this, we got upgraded from a Balcony to a Suite on the NCL Breakaway. This meant were were part of the “Haven” group, Norwegians “Ship within a Ship” class. (Discussing the Haven and similar trends will be tomorrow’s topic.) we paid several hundred more each over and above our Balcony cost, but it was still way less than if we had booked a Suite from the onset.

The final option is a revolutionary program developed by Norwegian Cruise Line. After having made your Final Payment, a couple of weeks before sailing, they will allow you to “bid” on an upgrade. NCL holds an Auction on it’s remaining cabins!

Like many auctions, they will set a minimum bid and you proceed from there. The client who got the offer this weekend had already paid for an Oceanview Stateroom. There were a number of Staterooms available ranging from Balconies all the way up to up to a Penthouse Suite! For example, If she wanted to bid on a Balcony, the minimum bid was $75 pp over and above what they had already paid for their existing reservation or $150 total for her and her husband. At a certain point over the next week to 10 days, NCL will close the bidding and award the cabins to the winning bids.

Now, there are a couple of things to keep in mind with all these upgrades. 1) You don’t HAVE to accept them. It’s your choice, especially if you’re being asked to spend additional money. Sometimes, some of the lines will try to get you to pay the difference between what you are paying and what the current offer is. So sometimes, sometimes, there is no added savings by accepting the upgrade.

The another thing to keep in mind, is that IF you accept the offer, there usually is no going back. Once you pay the extra money, you are locked in. So if you don’t like the new cabin, you’re stuck. Keep in mind, these are the leftovers that usually nobody else wanted. (We lucked out on The Breakaway. It was one of the top experiences in our 40+ cruises!)

The final consideration, you may have no choice over your new cabins location. For example, you might be all the way forward near Bow of the ship or all the way aft near the Stern, possibly hundreds of feet and several decks away from all the activities on board. For someone like me, hobbling with a cane, that’s a major consideration. It may also be a Partial or Wholly “Obstructed View” Stateroom. (Imagine going to someplace like Alaska, with all that wonderful scenery, and your new upgraded cabin has a wonderful view of.... the lifeboat!)

So, not all upgrades are worth it. But many, many are! If you get offered one, do some research before accepting. Or better still have your “Friendly Neighborhood/Online Travel Agents (us) Check it out for you.

Smooth Sailing!

Your Travel Partners,

Tony & Cheryl D’Onofrio
Magic Moments Travel, Inc.

[email protected]

01/27/2020

Hello Friends

A lot of people have been asking us a variety of questions, so if you’ll permit me, I’m going to answer them here, one at a time.

The first question we get asked a lot is “When is the best time to book a cruise?”
Short answer: As early as possible!

Now for the long answer: The Cruise Lines establish their prices for any sailings nearly two years ahead of time. At 18 months out, they publish those prices, which are referred to as “Rack Rates”. Now, because it’s so far out, they give huge discounts off of those rates, 40%, 50%, sometimes even 60% off of the published rates, for people who place an initial deposit this early (usually $50 to $100 ppdo ... per person, double occupancy).

Another advantage of booking early is Cabin location. This far out in advance, you can choose not only the type of cabin, but it’s location as well. For example, if you have any concerns about sea-sickness, we urge people to get a cabin as close to mid-ship as possible and as low as possible. Why? Because that normally is the place where you will feel the least motion on board. (I can go into more details on these and other tips at another time.)

As the ship fills up, the prices go up, slightly, each month. That is until we reach 90 to 120 days from sailing. That’s when the balance of the Deposit is due, usually $500 to $600 ppdo. At that point, a number of cabins get surrendered back to the Cruise Line by people who for one reason or another, decide they can’t go.

That’s the next best time to book. The Lines now see how many cabins of what type are fully deposited, so they’ll give a discount on the remainder. It may not be as good as the earlier discount, depending on what cabins are actually left, but it still will be way less than the “Rack Rate”. However, there are two considerations to remember.

By waiting this long, you won’t have as much choice as to where the cabin is located on board or what type is available. Plus, if you are flying to the port, as you get closer to your travel date, the airfare goes up. Unlike the Cruise Lines, the airlines will raise prices virtually everyday from this point forward. So you have to be careful to make sure the Cruise Discounts balance with the Airfare increases, which is another reason to book as early as possible. However, if you live close to your port of departure, airfare should not be a factor.

So, to recap, put a REFUNDABLE deposit on a sailing as early as possible. (Deposits, normally, are refundable until the day the Final Payment is due.) Work through your “Friendly, Neighborhood/Online Travel Agents” (us) so we can keep an eye on your cruise to see if the cruise line runs a last-minute special that they will allow us to put you in, which sometimes does happen.

Ok that’s it for now. Any questions, or comments, put them below and we will answer them as best we can.

Until then, we remain,

Your Travel Partners,

Tony & Cheryl D’Onofrio
Magic Moments Travel, inc.
[email protected]

09/14/2019

Have got some great news!

Norwegian Cruise Line is offering 5-night sailings out of NYC for as little as $299 ppdo for a limited time

Plus they still have their “Up to 5 Free Offers” available!

Contact us for full details, but act fast!

07/20/2019

Earlier this year, we took a 5-Night Cruise on Royal Caribbean’s “Anthem of the Seas” out of Bayonne, NJ to Bermuda.

It is a member of The “Quantum Class” cruise ships, which is one of the largest ships afloat. It has more “Bells and Whistles” than any other ship I have ever been on.

Let me share a few photos.

01/01/2019

24-HOUR SALE FROM NORWEGIAN CRUISE LINE!!!

Hello Friends, now through January 2, 2019, guests can enjoy ALL SIX “Free At Sea” options ..... AT NO COST!!!

Book a Balcony Stateroom, or higher, on most ships in their fleet, and receive: a beverage package, shore excursion credits, a specialty dining package, an internet package (All for FREE!) plus you can take advantage of Free or Reduced Airfare initiatives, Plus, you can also take advantage of Norwegian’s Friends and Family Sail Free option (which allows the Third and Fourth guests in a Stateroom to sail..... COMPLIMENTARY!)

This offer, which extends to most ships in their fleet, ends on January 2, 2019, so ACT NOW!

For more information, contact us at [email protected] or call (914) 934-8729 or (914) 282-4215

08/11/2018

Insider Presents

A great day-trip in California. Let us help you experience it!

[email protected]

This train is dedicated to wine. 🚂

08/11/2018

Cruise Lines International Association - CLIA

Just attended a weekend long summit with CLIA. Details to follow

Looking for a few thrills at sea? Royal Caribbean International has just unveiled an incredible Sports Deck aboard Mariner of the Seas - check it out! 🏄🏼‍🧗🏿‍