When the Disney Cruise Line Spring 2020 itineraries were released, we didn’t plan to book anything. We had already booked a Spring Break cruise on the new Royal Caribbean Symphony of the Seas and thought that would be our big cruise for the spring. As the winter went on, we got tired of sitting in the cold and looked at what was available. Luckily, I look every month to see the cheapest Disney cruises. There were two cruises that matched up well with a long school break in January and were relatively cheap (compared to other Disney cruises).read more
It was the saddest day of the cruise, time to disembark the ship. Luckily for us, we had two more days of vacation left before we had to head home. We got up, drank some of our coffee that we ordered the night before, and then made sure our bags were ready. We had a late breakfast scheduled back in Tiana’s Place, where we’d had dinner the night before. We enjoyed one more look off our great balcony before heading to breakfast.read more
The Disney Cruise Line Spring 2019 Itineraries were released at the end of October 2017. While scanning through the list, we decided either the Magic or Wonder 5 night cruises would fit within our budget. The Magic would be on a 5 night Western Caribbean leaving Miami on April 14th, 2019 with stops at Cozumel and Castaway Cay. The Wonder would be on a 5 Night Baja cruise leaving San Diego on April 14, 2019 with stops at Cabo San Lucas and Ensenada. read more
Time passed quickly as we waited for our travel day to arrive. The travel itself was actually pretty anti-climatic. The outbound flight for our trip left from Dulles airport. We had arranged for a cab to pick us up at 6:00 am and drop us at Dulles. We dropped our bags off and headed to the TSA Precheck line. We had packed our carry on bags fairly full, mainly because we were sneaking Christmas presents on for our girls. Of course, our carry on bags got pulled aside for additional screening. Luckily, the girls cleared without issue and we shooed them away while TSA looked through the bag. Nancy was able to tell the agent about the gifts and he discreetly searched the bag without revealing to the girls what the presents were. After we reassembled the bags, we were on our way to the gate.read more
One of the best ways to earn Hilton Honors points (which can give you free rooms at the Hilton Hotels and Resorts) is to to sign up for one of the two types of Hilton-sponsored credit cards.
American Express Hilton Surpass card
One Hilton-sponsored card is the American Express Hilton Surpass card. It has a $75 annual fee. There is usually a sign up bonus offered with the card; the bonus varies from 60,000-100,000 Honors points, which are credited to your account after you spend a certain amount within the first 3 months of card membership.
The American Express Hilton Surpass card has great earning potential:
– Earn 12 Honors points per dollar spent at participating Hilton properties
– Earn 6 Honors points per dollar spent at U.S. restaurants, supermarkets (unfortunately, warehouse stores are not considered supermarkets in this regard), and standalone gas stations
– Earn 3 Honors points per dollar spent everywhere else
You will also receive Honors Gold status for as long as you have the card. If you spend $40,000 per year on the card, you will also receive Diamond status. The loyalty rewards benefits for Honors are described on the Honors website.read more
