Roaming & Recording with Brenda & Craig

We loved everything about Barcelona - it was so easy to walk. The people are friendly and helpful. We only had one day and one night in the city after a cruise. We both wished we had more time. Since it's one of the busiest ports in the world you might find yourself with an overnight there. If so we have a few suggestions. Our Hotel was the Ritz Carlton Hotel Arts - we paid $400.00 for the night and had a great view of the beach. I know this hotel can go for a lot more, so it might depend on the season you are there if it's in your budget. We used our AMEX Platinum Card Fine Hotels and Resort that gave us over $225.00 in extra value in food and drink so we thought this was a great deal. I'll also say I have never in my life had such exceptional service. From a birthday surprise of champagne and chocolates in my room, to the amazing concierge service that made secured last minute tickets to the Cas Batillo (One of Gaudi's masterpieces) and also providing a town car to ta...

OBC: On Board Credit:  What it is.  How to get it.  How to spend it!   TYPES OF OBC: Refundable   is usually given by a travel agent and can be stacked with other OBC. If you don't use all of your refundable credit, the agency will usually send you a check after the cruise. This type will usually stack with non-refundable OBC.    NonRefundable is usually given by the cruise line, travel agent, shareholder benefit or credit card as a perk. If you don't use it, you'll lose it. Make sure you spend every penny! Category Specific is good only for a certain type of on board spend. They usually include one of the following: excursions run by the cruise line, spa or wellness credits, casino credits or beverage upgrades.  How to get it:   Before the cruise:   ·          Special booking offers from cruise lines or travel agents.   Often you can stack them for more OBC. o  ...

 Travel Insurance: Our experience with TWO claims on TWO different trips with TWO different Insurance Companies. What we learned about submitting claims and coverage. No one wants to buy trip insurance after shelling out big bucks for long awaited vacay. When we were younger, we'd often risk it - thinking we were invincible. We're older now, and we see how risky that was. Now that travel is more expensive than ever, we'd NEVER be with out it. We still don't like paying for it on top of the trip, but we've had TWO different occasions to file claims. One when we needed medical care on board a cruise when we were sick and the second when just 8 hours before leaving for the airport my husband needed emergency eye surgery and we had to CANCEL the ENTIRE TRIP at the very last minute. These two events have convinced us that so many things can be out of our control no matter what your age.  Watch the video above to see what happened, how each insurance claim was handled, an...