We've moved

Thanks for subscribing to the My Vacation Lady blog. We haven't stopped blogging about interesting travel information but have moved our location.

Effective Nov 15, 2010, you can find us at
My Vacation Lady's Blog
Check out our new website while you're there.
Looking forward to sending you away very soon!

What your bank won't tell you about currency conversion

Did you know that if you don't take the right steps in converting your US $ to Euros, you can lose up to 22 cents for every dollar that you convert?

When it comes to navigating exchange rates, it pays to know all your options. From buying money online to grabbing it on the go at the airport, Budget Travel Magazine has assembled a handy guide to the seven most common methods for foreign exchange. Each has its pros and cons (some of which can feel like legal swindling), so they've evaluated the options for you with the euro as our base tender, using an Exchange Rate Rip-off Meter from 1 to 5.

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Tips for reducing stress during holiday flying

The year has zipped by and before you know it, Thanksgiving and Christmas will be here. These are also 2 of the busiest times of the year to fly. Whether you are flying home for the holidays or going on a vacation, be prepared to wait in longer lines at the airports.

This article looks at whether it is worth the money to pay some of the airline fees to reduce your stress during the holiday peak flying season. Read More.

If it sounds too good to be true...

You get a call or a letter saying that you can get a free cruise just by sitting through a 90 minute time share presentation. What do you do? Do you hang up the phone or rip up the letter?

In this case, this central NJ couple took the offer, sat through the time share presentation and sent in their money for their "free" cruise. They never got it and realized that they got scammed.

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Honeymooners guide to the hot beaches

After the stress of planning a wedding and the wedding day itself, many of My Vacation Lady's honeymooners just want to relax at a beachfront resort. With beaches all over the world, how do you know which are the best beaches for your honeymoon?

Click here for a list of some of the world's hottest beaches.

As a honeymoon specialist, My Vacation Lady can help recommend a honeymoon that will combine a great beach, great accommodations and the right property that will make your honeymoon dreams come true.
Contact us for your complimentary honeymoon consultation.

Review of the MSC Poesia

My Vacation Lady was invited to visit the MSC Poesia on the day the ship was in NYC before heading down to the Caribbean for the winter.

Sister ship to the Orchestra, which we saw a while back, the Poesia is a beautiful ship full of European touches. This ship is owned by an Italian company so the decor, cuisine and style is definitely European.

There are 2 specialty restaurants (at an additional cost)- and Italian restaurant and Asian/Sushi.






The main dining rooms are lovely and the food was very tasty.
The spa is gorgeous with a spacious sauna and jacuzzi room with 2 hot tubs overlooking the ocean just outside (a perfect way to finish a spa treatment!)




I found the service on the Poesia to be much better in terms of attentiveness. Please keep in mind that when the ship is in Europe, the wait staff might be a bit more unobtrusive, which is what the European guests prefer. The wait staff here was definitely in tune with an American market this time. They were constantly coming around to refill water glasses and checking that all was ok.

My favorite areas on the ship:
The theatre- in one of my favorite colors- purple. This show lounge offers completely unobstructed views from all of the 1240 seats.
The Zebra Lounge is a great and slightly wild place to spend some time enjoying the music with a cocktail. Don't drink too much here since the carpet might make you a bit dizzy!





The spa, sauna and Jacuzzi relaxation room
The pool deck with movie screen and stage on one side, the quieter pool on the other, separated by 2 hot tubs overlooking both.


All in all, MSC is building a presence in the Caribbean and is worth taking a 2nd look at. They typically offer great promotions, including kids sail free so they can be a very cost effective cruise to take. I would recommend the MSC Poesia to the client who is well traveled and likes a European flair. For those clients who want to sail only with Americans where English is the only language spoken, MSC, even in the Caribbean, might not be the right line for you but if you are looking for something with a bit of international flair, the Poesia might be just the thing!

Make sure your airline ticket matches your ID

For months, My Vacation Lady has been preparing our clients for this day and today, it has arrived. As of Nov 1, 2010, if the name on your airline ticket does not match your ID, the TSA says it will not approve airlines to issue a boarding pass if the required information - your name, date of birth and gender as it appears on your government ID - was not provided by customers at the time of booking.

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