Where is Chris - Scrapbooking

Today is National Scarpbooking Day.  We started scrapbooking after we made new friends on one of our cruises.   They were avid scapbookers and invited us over to their house before another one of our cruises.  We looked through some of their scrapbooks and we were hooked.

When on trips, we keep souvenirs with scrapbooking in mind.   For example, luggage tags, admission tickets, pamphlets and other small items make a great edition to the pages.  These items were collected on our favorite cruise of all time.  Can you guess Where Chris is?

Scrapbooking isn't limited to vacation memories.   Perhaps you and your family might enjoy doing some scapbooking while self distancing and staying home.   You could include family photos and other memorabilia from this year.   Birthdays and holidays are a great topic to memorialize in a scrapbook.
#KeepTheKidsEngaged

We hope you are enjoying this series of  "Where is Chris" posts.  We'd love your feedback on our social media.

Where is Chris?

Where is Chris    Learn More

Here is today's post: See if you can guess where I am. 

As promised, we've updated yesterday's post, Where is Chris - Historical City, with the answer to the puzzle.  Revisit that post and just scroll over the image to reveal the answer.  You can also click on the link below the picture to read more.    

Make sure to follow us on our social media, so you don't miss any destinations. 

If you can't wait for tomorrow for the answer, you can take my quiz in my Instagram story.

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Galapagos - Quito (Day 10)

click image to enlarge

Sunday, September 7th, we were back in Quito following our 7 days on Celebrity Xpedition. The transfer by motor coach from Quito Airport took about 15 minutes. We arrived at the JW Marriott Quito where we checked back into our hotel rooms.

We had time to relax before departing by motor coach for a shopping trip to a local craft market. Since our flight on Monday wasn't until 11 PM, we would have the entire day to spend in Quito. We spoke with the Celebrity representative and arranged a private tour to Mindo Cloud Forest. I'll talk about this tour in my next post.

By the time we got up to our hotel room, our bags arrived from the ship. The hotel did a fantastic job with luggage throughout the entire trip. We never had to deal with the bags ourselves. As far as I know, everyone had all their luggage without incident.

We went up to the 9th floor to the Executive Lounge and had something to drink and some snacks before heading out on the shopping activity. We met in the lobby and boarded the motor coaches for a short ride into Quito. The coaches dropped us off by the market and the Celebrity representative said they would return in an hour to take us to another location.

They told us that the crafters expected us to negotiate on price and set us loose. There were several rows of crafters in a covered area. Each aisle had crafters on both sides in small booths. There was just enough room to navigate down the aisles. As we'd walk down the aisle, the crafters would try to get your attention to look at their merchandise. Many of the booths carried the same products. The majority of the merchandise was handmade.

You could get handmade scarfs, jewelry, religious and other items. I found some earrings that I liked. They were only 3 USD. Keep in mind that Equador uses US dollars which makes it quite easy to shop there. I didn't have the heart to negotiate, so I paid for my earrings and went further. We had already done some shopping earlier in the week, so we didn't buy much at the market - just a few items.

Boarding the motor coaches one more time we headed to a more exclusive gallery. There were various art pieces and sculptures. Several of the items peaked our interest, but we really didn't have the room for any large boxes, so we simply walked around the gallery admiring the craftsmanship. Some people were having items shipped home and others were taking the boxes with them.

After an hour or so, we boarded the motor coaches again for our return to the hotel. That ended the escorted portion of our day in Quito. Dinner was at our leisure in the hotel. We had a choice of a chicken or beef entree. We were hoping to meet another couple but were unable to reach them. So, we asked another couple from our cruise to join us. More people started arriving at the restaurant and eventually most of the passengers were there. We had the restaurant to ourselves complete with entertainment. It was an enjoyable meal.

Following the meal it was time to say our good-byes to all our new friends. Some of the people were leaving as early as 4 or 5 AM for their flights home. Most likely we would only see a few people on Monday. It was a bittersweet moment as we said our good-byes. With a small group like this, you really get to know people. It was like saying good-bye to friends we'd known for years. After dinner, we just went back up to our room to relax.

In my next post, I'll talk about our final day in Quito.

Click on the image to the left for more Blog posts about this trip.

Additional Photos can be found on our Exotics Shutterfly page

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NCL Dawn Bermuda - Shopping

Our first port of call in Bermuda was King's Wharf, also know as the Royal Naval Dockyard. The stone walls of this old dockyard have been transformed into various shops for you to explore. For example, the Bermuda Arts Centre houses displays of local art including paintings, quilts, costume dolls, jewelry, and wood sculpture.

The Cooperage, also at the Dockyard, is an ideal place to shop for island-made handicrafts. In the Clocktower Mall, you'll find a wide selection of products including souvenirs, fashions, gifts, arts and crafts, books, and jewelry.

Inside the Bermuda Clayworks, you'll find pottery including house signs, lighthouses, and plates. If you don't want to take your purchases with you, they can provide overseas shipping.

The Dockyard Glassworks are manufacturers of high quality hand-made art glass. You'll find plates, angels, sailboats, bowls, angel fish, dolphins and much more. Each piece is unique and has been inspired by the natural beauty of the Bermuda Islands. Free, working demonstrations are held every day except Saturday.

Hamilton is the shopping district of Bermuda. All along Front Street you'll find several unique shops to browse. There are imports from Great Britain and Ireland such as English woolens, Harris tweed jackets, Irish linen, china, island-made jewelry, local crafts made of Bermuda cedar and local products. Don't forget to purchase some Bermuda Shorts for the rest of your trip.

The major stores and smaller boutiques carry a range of cosmetics and perfumes, some of which are available at prices less than in their country of origin and there’s no sales tax! The price you see is the price you pay. Another convenience offered in many stores is overseas shipping.

These two shopping districts are the major locations you'll want to visit for your main shopping trip. Several attractions, such as the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute, and Gibb Lighthouse also have gift shops for you to explore.

Shopping while on a cruise has many advantages. You can find unique gifts for friends and family. You can even get an early start on your holiday shopping. Prices on certain items may be considerably lower than other locations.

In Bermuda, there is no sales tax. Items can be purchased duty free up to your allowances (this is where your children can save you money - the allowance is per person, including children). Even if you go over your allowance, you may still come out ahead. Since the Bermuda Dollar and U.S. Dollar are equal, you don't lose money on the conversion.

Have you ever considered starting a collection which you build during your vacation trips?
What a great way to relive your cruise vacations as you look at your collection as it builds.
There are several options that can easily be transported home such as spoons, pins, ornaments, thimbles, patches, key chains, and magnets. Read more about starting a collection while cruising.

So, your feet are tired; you've shopped till you dropped. I hope you've gotten everything that you were looking for in Bermuda. If not, fear not - one hour after sailing from Bermuda, the ship's stores will be open and you'll still have another chance to find that perfect gift for someone.

Happy Shopping. It's time to say good-bye to Bermuda as we sail from Hamilton towards New York. There's still another day at sea before returning to our hope port of call.

Shop Until You Drop

The busy holiday shopping season is now behind us. By now, hopefully you've gotten all the post-holiday bargains, exchanged the gifts that didn't fit, spent some of you gift card money, and have gotten shopping out of your system. But, perhaps you really love to shop and instead are missing shopping already. Not to fear, there is hope for those that love to shop.

I'd like to suggest a new venue for your shopping excursion. Shop while on a cruise. There are plenty of opportunities to shop during a cruise vacation. This picture shows some of the shops onboard Caribbean Princess. If you didn't know better, you might think that you were inside a neighborhood mall. There are a few keys to having a successful shopping experience during a cruise.

Many cruises ago, we decided that we'd dedicate at least one cruise for some holiday shopping. On our Baltic cruise, we decided that we'd buy gifts from Russia for everyone on our Christmas list. Some items were purchased onboard the ship, but the majority of the items were purchased on land during our private tour.

By shopping during a cruise, you are able to purchase unique gifts that will have a lasting meaning for the recipient. In the picture above, taken in Bergen, Norway, you could purchase some hand-made items for someone on your list. Of course, don't forget about your collections and yourself while doing your shopping.

A happy shopper is an educated shopper. I strongly encourage you to do some research prior to your cruise. There is a wealth of information available on the internet. In our Cruise Vacations website, there are several links provided under the Shopping category.

You'll want to be able to answer the following questions: What is the best bargain in this destination? What unique items can be purchased here? What are the custom limitations?

What are the duty-free rules? How do I get the taxes refunded? Are there items that I am not allowed to bring home (such as Cuban cigars if traveling to the U.S.)? Are there local markets where I can purcahse hand-made items?

One advantage to shopping while on a cruise is that you can take advantage of duty-free shopping. You'll want to know what your custom limits are and also how to get refunds of Value Added Taxes (VAT) you might pay. Sales tax / VAT is included in the purchase price and can make up to 20% of the price tag. It is important for you to undertand how to obtain a refund.

For example, in the UK, there is a VAT added to all purchases. You need to complete a form to obtain a refund of the taxes. For the latest information on Value Added Tax (VAT) see the HM Revenue & Customs website.

In Norway, you will see TAX FREE shops during your visit. The thing to note is that there is a minimum purchase amount to qualify for a refund. As of this writing, the minimum purchase amount is NOK 315 on regular goods. While in Bergen, we found that several of the stores were actually associated together and you were allowed to "pool" you purchases to get the refund.

On some itineraries, a customs agent is located at the pier or onboard the ship to process tax refunds. This is a great benefit that you'll want to utilize if it's available on your cruise. Check with Guest Relations onboard if you need assistance.

Often the ship will do a shopping briefing and/or have brochures with recommended stores.
Watch your daily paper for details about shopping talks or special sales onboard the ship.

Sometimes there are specials offered in the various stores for ship passengers. Most ships will offer a guarantee on merchandise purchased in one of the recommended stores. That's not to say you should restrict your shopping to those stores, but if you do, you'll have the added security of the cruise line assisting you with any problems that occur after the sale.

The final thing I'd like you to consider is the ship itinerary. Obviously, if you are looking for a particular item, it will most likely be easy to determine which cruise to select. One thing that you may not have considered is the oboard ship inventory and how a change in destination might be a benefit to you and offer bargains.

For example, the last cruise to a particular destination (and possibly cruises that follow) may offer an onboard discount as they clear out merchandise to make room for the new destination's merchandise.

Take for an example, a cruise that visits the Baltic during the summer and the Caribbean during the winter. After the last Baltic cruise, they will want to clear out the Russian and other Baltic country's merchandise. So, if you want some Russian trinkets, but aren't able to get there this year, perhaps the first Caribbean cruise after the Baltic might be a good one to consider.

I hope this gives you some ideas about planning for a cruise vacation that includes some shopping. Again, I strongly suggest that you do some homework prior to your cruise so that you can have an enjoyable time and get some good deals. Check on the web, talk to your cruise specialist, read the shopping information, and attend the shopping talk(s) onboard the ship and you should be in good shape.

Happy Shopping,
Chris