Re: Travel Chat

Stray · ‎04-20-2013

@JudyL wrote:
World Traveler that is just what I'm looking for! The heart shaped will be perfect.

@JudyL@World Traveler- at first I thought you meant the tall handsome guy from Montenegro lol😊

World Traveler · ‎02-02-2015

I am very excited that my Lori Grenier Weekender (leopard) luggage arrived today! I love it and know I will use it frequently. I checked out the zipper situation, as some reviews gave it lower marks because of them. However, mine work just as they should. It is easy to maneuver around the house and has a whole bunch of compartments.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the matching four-piece tote will go off waitlist and I'll be able to use them together on my next trip!

@JudyL Have you done a trial run with your Lug, fully loaded, yet? I anxious to hear if it holds everything you normally would put in a carry-on. I love the looks of mine and like taking it to the gym and anywhere else I need to go with a bag to carry a bunch of stuff. That was a good TSV.

Still plan to have the over-the-shoulder straps shortened so it is more comfortable for me to carry. It sure catches the eyes of everyone at the gym, even the guys! ha!

JudyL · ‎07-11-2010

No World Traveler haven't done a trial run yet. Won't start packing until the weekend before I leave. If it doesn't work for me, I'll use my backpack. Glad the Lori Grenier luggage worked out for you. Sending back the DreamJeannes as they didn't work for me. Ordered a blouse & a pair of jeans from denim & Co today. Hope I like those. Checking more things off my list.

World Traveler · ‎02-02-2015

@JudyL Sorry about the DreamJeannes; they were awesome for me and so comfortable during the whole trip. I plan to make them my regular clothes to take from now on.

I realized last night that Lori's Weekender is so perfect because the last three weeks of my recent trip I only had bathrooms in the hotels that were so very tiny. Most of the sinks in them didn't even have a place to set my contact lens case, toothpaste/brush, creams, etc. And one was so small that I could have brushed my teeth while sitting on the toilet, if I wanted to! ha! It was annoying.

You won't have that problem on your Ireland trip if you go to the same hotels I went to, which I am quite sure will be the case since it is the same travel company. They were all nice sized bathrooms, as I recall.

So if you ever saw the demonstration of the Weekender Lori did, I can just roll that thing into the bathroom and it has all the compartment do-dads held up vertically by hooking onto the handle that you pull/push the case with. Probably shows on the product video too.

It would be super for a cruise too, because every one I have taken the bathrooms have been very small. You've been on a safari too, so you can identify with the space you usually have in the tens or cabins. This would be good to use for that kind of travel too.

Still keeping my fingers crossed for the four-piece matching tote. I am big on organizational pieces.

By the way, GCT worked hard to make another trip, any trip, work for my schedule (well, they are in the business of making money!), so I can do something after the England/Scotland/Wales itinerary in June, and they came up with the Baltic capitals cruise. I only have half a day between trips, so that will be much better than the four days extra I stayed in Albania before the Adriatic trip started.

The Baltic cruise is ten days with pre/post in Sweden and Denmark. More money than I am used to spending, but I think it will be beautiful to cruise that area of the world.

JudyL · ‎07-11-2010

@World Traveler so glad that GCT was able to work something out for you. I'm still thinking about a possible trip next year along with the NYC trip my DD and I are doing. Will look into it more when I return. Got that travel bug, ya know!

I am going to Columbus Ohio for a few days over the Christmas holiday and need a smaller bag than my large suitcase. Do you think the LG bag would work or is it not big enough. Obviously being winter the clothes I take will be heavier and bulkier but I'll only be gone for 5 days. Isn't it considered the right size for carry-on?

The DreamJeannes were nice but one size was a bit too big and I was afraid once it stretched out it would be really big and baggy and the next size down was too small. Felt like a sausage in the jeans. I may try wearing them around the house this weekend to see if they stretch out enough for me to feel comfortable wearing them - they were a tad to tight for a woman of my age and size, if you know what I mean. LOL

World Traveler · ‎02-02-2015

@JudyL I encourage you to look at the videos for her Weekender and her 4-piece tote. I think you will agree they would hold everything you could possible want for not only a weekend, but a week! I forget exactly, but she had a few pairs of shoes, a bunch of pants/jeans, several blouses, hairdryer, socks, underwear, bras, etc. in it. There is also a compartment for your ipad, etc.

It is H201762 for the weekender and H209188 for the four-piece tote.

Understand the "travel bug." Thanks to my parents, I got that bug at a very early age.

The DreamJeannes......I understand what you mean. I got what I thought would be my correct size and was afraid they would be too big once I read that they do stretch out a bit by the end of the day. So when I got them and wore them for a few days, I decided to return them for the next smaller size. Now they are perfect. Each time I wash them, though, it takes a couple of hours before they stretch out a little again and are comfortable until the next wash day.

The ones I got need to be hand washed (not sure all the DreamJeannes are the same), but what I do is use the washing machine on the "hand wash" mode, use cold water, and hang them outside to dry. Perfect! I'm a believer in this brand and had never tried them before this past spring when it was a TSV.

Thinking of you every day as your countdown to leaving for Ireland is coming closer and closer! Is your guide a male or female? Did you tell me that they contacted you yet? Can't remember.

JudyL · ‎07-11-2010

@World Traveler no I haven't heard from my guide yet. Should soon tho.

Have you done the Real Affordable Peru trip through OAT? I have thought about doing that trip for a while and looked at it today and was so surprised that most of the trips for 2017 are either sold out or very limited already! I don't want to do a trip with an extension and thats about all that's left! Was so shocked! If you have done this trip, what time of year did you go and what did you think of it?

World Traveler · ‎02-02-2015

@JudyL Oh, that was the first trip my sister and I did with OAT, around 6-7 years ago, I think It was awesome! We never looked back to any other company after that wonderful experience.

There is soooooo much to do on that itinerary. Zipline, horseback riding, holding a bat (yes, a bat!) in your hands (with gloves), beautiful scenery, my first-ever close up of holler moneys and sloths, go out on a tractor trailer to pick fresh pineapple and eat it right there and then (yummy!), go to a coffee farm and pick the beans, white water rafting (what a blast!), walking on really high suspension bridges over the tree tops, boat/river trips, school visit where we played games with the students (they danced for us too), dozens of crocodiles to view, up close and personal with tarantulas (we would poke their nests at night and they would come crawling out!), outside mud sauna (after which we were squirted off with a water hose), a healing ritual with a village healer (can't think of what you call them) where he chanted over you after painting your face for the ritual. Oh, the list goes on and on. So much to do! Then there were the few nights we stayed at a place right on the beach and the sunsets were so beautiful.

It was one of the least expensive of their trips at that time; not sure if that is true now. We had never herd of OAT and I was comparing several different companies for Costa Rica, and without knowing anything about them, we found they did the most for the least amount of money. Most of the companies covered the same type of activities, but this one was just better in all ways.

I must say our travel agent was not happy because we had been good customers for many years. But OAT/GCT don't use travel agents; you go directly to them. So our agent couldn't make any money off the trip. She kept trying to steer us to some other company's similar trip. After repeated times telling her no, we want OAT, she broke down and told us that she would not make any money on it. They do not give discounts to travel agents. I felt badly because we had used her for umpteen years, but we really wanted to go thru OAT.

Bottom line, we have not turned back. We like going directly to the tour company, we get the information faster than thru the travel agent, and a whole host of other things that we like better. In addition, our agent would always keep the tickets (at that time when they were not electronic) in her safe until a week before the trip. Don't know why, but my sister and I just wanted everything given to us right away.

As you know, OAT/GCT send you the entire information you need within days of putting your deposit down.

GO TO COSTA RICA!!!! It is an excellent trip and the variety is awesome! You will not regret it.

JudyL · ‎07-11-2010

Its not Costa Rica - its the Real Affordable Peru trip. But I loved your description of the Costa Rica trip!

World Traveler · ‎02-02-2015

@JudyL wrote:
Its not Costa Rica - its the Real Affordable Peru trip. But I loved your description of the Costa Rica trip!

@JudyL LOL!!!!!! Must have just seen the "real affordable" part of your post and went with that trip. They call Peru the same thing. ha! So sorry; I was on a roll!

No, I went to Peru (Amazon and Machu Picchu) through International Expeditions, another great company, but much more expensive.