Viva la Vida Travel with Carmen Schaffer

I am always on a mission to learn all that I can about anything travel so tonight I went to learn about Windstar Cruises. I honestly didn't know a thing about the product or the destinations but went in with an open and curious mind. As far as cruising goes, people either love it or hate it so I like to see just what's out there for the in-betweeners, like me. Personally, I'm not a big fan of large scale ships and disembarking upon a port of call in a swarm of tourist frenzy,but that's me and everyone has their own likes and dislikes. That's what makes the world such a cool place. Anyhoo, onto Windstar. Windstar ships are meant to make you feel that you are sailing on your own yacht. Who doesn't want to do that? It's luxury, personalized attention, exceptional cuisine and a whole lot of YOU time. Windstar guests are typically experienced travelers who want a more intimate experience who are usually around the age of 45-65.  A Windstar cruise may not be...

     It's obvious that I eat, breathe and sleep travel but I've been thinking a lot lately about the importance of travel and it's long term impact on the traveler. Growing up on the cold plains of North Dakota, I often found myself longing to catch that next airplane to Fantasy Island.I dreamt of the story I would create when I, myself landed on Fantasy Island and hob nobbed with Ricardo Montalbon.      North Dakota was two things : green and blue ( most days ) in the summer time and grey and white in the winter time. The biggest adventure I had growing up was trudging through thigh high drifts of snow. Getting out of North Dakota was forefront in my mind. The intense curiosity to know what more was out there in this great big world was eating away at me.      I first came in contact with another culture when I was about 8 years old. We had received a couple of Cambodian refugees in our community and I was immediately drawn to them. They s...

I headed down to the island of Jamaica compliments of the Jamaican Tourism Board last week and discovered even MORE reasons why  a fellow lover of travel should go to Jamaica. The tagline for the Jamaican Tourism Board is, "Once you go, you know" and that couldn't be more accurate. This has been the third time since last July that I have been to Jamaica and every single time I go, I marvel at all this island has to offer. Upon landing, we were greeted by and escorted through immigration lines, bypassing all of the eager travelers and feeling a bit like royalty. Travelers going to Jamaica need to take advantage of the Club Mobay benefits both coming to and leaving Jamaica. It's the perfect way to create the best, most relaxed vacation ever. Club Mobay offers travelers the option of being greeted at the end of the gateway and escorted through immigration. Upon departure, travelers check their bags, head to the Club Mobay desk, check in and again, get a lovely...