Jeff usually tends to write posts because I have a hard time coming up with something to write about. He suggested that I write a post to summarize our latest trip so I sat down to write and it just kept on comin’! I wrote so much I had to separate it into multiple posts, so what you’ll find in this post is a little about what we did each day of our cruise and the adventures we went on.
Royal Caribbean Voyager of the Seas (2009)
Do Cruises Offer Enough Bang For Your Buck?
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Although you’re reading this a few days later, as I write this we’re flying on American Airlines from ORD to SJU (San Juan, Puerto Rico). Shortly after touch down we’ll be boarding the Royal Caribbean Serenade of the Seas for a cruise in the Southern Caribbean.
While we’re extremely excited to be going on this trip, it feels like just yesterday that we were booking it. Well that’s because we in fact just did.
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With Our Friends In Los Angeles: Donna and Matt
Airbnb: Saving Money and Making Friends
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I’ve been meaning to write this post since we returned from LA, and now that our next trip has been rapidly thrust upon us I feel the immediate need to actually get it done, otherwise if I don’t write it now it will just fade away into the past and never be shared. So it’s time to finally give my take on the Airbnb experience.
LA was a blast, but a much different experience than last time we were there. In our post about finding budget accommodations in Los Angeles I wrote about the excellent resource that is Airbnb. This most recent trip was our second excursion to Los Angeles, but our first time ever using Airbnb for our accommodations. I was excited to try it out, but little did I know quite how spectacular of a choice it was to ‘Airbnb it.’ (<- Let’s make that a thing, like ‘Googling’, k?)
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Snowpocalypse 2011
Snowpocalypse 2011: Making the Most of It
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Here in Chicago we got quite a bit of snow today, around 20 inches or so. And although I’ve been told by my favorite Canadian that what we got was only some snow, it’s still a lot to us. Those Canadians…they can keep their snow, I prefer the beach. 
Free Flight from Chicago to Los Angeles
Travel Hacking: 30 Minutes to Free Airfare?
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Today I’m excited to share with you something that I’ve been anticipating for quite some time. In the past I wrote briefly about how we were able to get United to foot the bill for our airfare to Los Angeles by earning frequent flyer miles while at home.
The method I touched on was signing up for high mileage credit cards and then earning your rewards by using those cards for your everyday purchases (gas, groceries, etc.). While it is a solid method, there are two downsides. First, you have to find credit cards that are offering high mileage bonuses and second, you have to sign up for more and more credit cards if you want to continue to reap the maximum benefit.
Cutting Travel Costs: Budget Accommodations