Traveling with the Jones — Sharing Travel Discoveries

A Peek Inside the DoubleTree San Diego Downtown

by Janis on February 13, 2013

When searching for information about hotels in a destination we are going to visit, we like to see photos taken by guests, rather than the hotel website. To return the favor, we occasionally post photos — all taken with an iPhone — of our hotel experiences.

A Look Inside the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in Downtown San Diego, California.

In early February we met up in San Diego, California for a quick weekend stay, scoring a great rate of under $100/night at the conveniently located DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel San Diego Downtown. This hotel offers a complimentary shuttle to and from the airport, and is located within walking distance of the Little Italy neighbor and the waterfront.

The waterfront view from room 2113. You can step outside the sliding glass door onto the small balcony.

The view from the balcony in the other direction: a good view of downtown San Diego.

Room 2113 is fairly spacious with good lighting and bedside plug-ins.

The television and the work desk; also a nice place to hold your suitcase in between.

Decorations on the desk remind you that the beach is nearby, even if you are working too much to experience it first-hand.

The bathroom is standard, on the smallish size.

Toiletries are citrus-scented by Crabtree & Evelyn. The toothbrush and toothpaste were a nice addition.

The lobby features a Zen-like waterfall.

Easy access computers are right in the lobby, perfect for printing out a boarding pass.

The lobby bar and restaurant are just okay, nothing special even by DoubleTree standards.

One of the best things about this stay is the quick walk to Little Italy, filled with terrific restaurants and wine bars.

Of course, who can resist the warm chocolate chip cookies upon check-in?

The bottom line: we found this hotel a good value for under $100 per night. The location near Little Italy and within walking distance of both the waterfront and downtown is ideal. Room 2123 offered a nice view from the balcony.

The drawbacks: the property is dated and while the rooms are refreshed, the walls are thin. (We had to call security when are neighbors woke up with their loud conversation when they returned around 2:30 am.) The elevators were slow and the bar/restaurant was uninspiring. This is no reason not to stay — just plan to eat and/or drink in nearby Little Italy.

Have you stayed in the San Diego DoubleTree Downtown Hotel? What did you think? Please share your thoughts in comments below.

You also may be interested in these other hotel posts”;

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Are You A Traveler? An Invitation To Share Your Discoveries on This Blog

by Janis on February 12, 2013

TravelingWithTheJones is about Sharing Travel Discoveries. Before we visit a place or decide whether to include a destination on our “must visit” list, we enjoy reading other travelers’ insights and experiences with that destination, hotel, restaurant or mode of transportation. Many of our readers share the same interest in gathering travel inspiration and ideas.

Recently, we have received a number of inquiries about guest posting on this blog. If you are a traveler, and want to share your travel discoveries here, you should know that….

We accept guest posts from other travelers.

To be considered for publication, posts need to be written and submitted according to our Guest Post Guidelines below. Guest posts will be fit into the schedule as they are received; generally no more than 1-2 guest posts will be published during a single week. See a sample guest post here.

Guest Post Guidelines

If you have unique travel discoveries or travel tips to share, along with 3-4 related photos that you personally took, you have the ingredients for a guest post on this blog.

Content

Your post should be on one of six travel topics, written from a first-hand experience.

Travel Tips
Destination Discoveries (close to home or in a remote corner of the world, but the more unique the better)
Cruises and Cruise Ports
Food & Wine Discoveries
Hotel or Resorts That You’ve Stayed in
Tours You’ve Experienced

Your post cannot be an advertisement for a product or a sponsored post.

Guidelines

Your post must be original and not have been previously posted anywhere on the internet or in print.
You agree not to publish the guest post anywhere else, including your own blog or Web site. However, you may post a brief summary or “teaser” on your site that links to the post.
You may provide up to three links in your three to four sentence bio: one for your blog or Web site, one for your bio, LinkedIn profile or About page, and one for your Twitter username.
Your post should be a minimum of 350 words long and no more than 800 words.
Your post should close with a question designed to stimulate comments.

Photos

Your post should have 3-4 supporting photos that you personally took, or that you can legally grant the rights to share with attribution.
Photos should be horizontal in orientation, be sized to 700 X 525, and be submitted as a .JPG file. Include photo captions and photos credits, if required.
You submission should also include a thumbnail size headshot photo of yourself, for use with your brief bio.

Editing Process

We reserve the right to edit your post for grammar, punctuation, spelling, etc. If the edits are substantial, we will email the revised post to your approval.

We may provide a short introduction or conclusion to your post to provide context, and/or to add reference other posts or materials after the end of your post. If done, we will set our comments clearly apart from your post.

Promotion

We give you advance notice when your post will run. When your post goes “live” we’ll promote the post through our social networks and we encourage you to do the same.

We expect guest bloggers to monitor their post throughout the day and respond to the comments that other readers leave.

We appreciate your interest in sharing your travel discoveries, and we hope that you will continue to engage with our audience of fellow travelers by reading and commenting on our posts.

Submitting Your Post

If your post meets these guidelines:

Please email it here for consideration. Allow up to two weeks for a response.
Please include a three to four-sentence byline that includes what you do, along with your blog address and up to four links as described above.
Please include the post in the body of the e-mail. DO NOT include it as an attachment and do not include HTML coding.

If your post is not accepted for publication, you will be notified, and are free to publish it elsewhere.

We look forward to learning from your travel discoveries.

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5 Things that Surprised Me On my First Cruise

by Janis on February 11, 2013

This is a guest post by Danielle Smith, an agricultural communications student at the University of Arkansas.

Danielle took her first cruise on the Carnival Conquest, sailing 7-days in the Western Caribbean to Jamaica, the Cayman Islands and Cozumel, Mexico.

I had some ideas about what to expect when I went on my first cruise, but here are some things that surprised me, both good and bad, about cruising.

Read about my first cruise experiences to know more about what to expect.

1. The Food is Incredible and Offers a Good Opportunity to Try Something New

The food is absolutely incredible on cruises and many people go on cruises just for the food! Expect some yummy grub while sailing the seas.

My advice: eat in the restaurant as much as possible. It is already paid for in your cruise price and the food is much better quality than the buffets. Also, order whatever you want, it’s paid for. Try something new, order an appetizer and a dessert; enjoy yourself!

2. Alcohol Can Be Expensive but You Might Be Able to Bring Your Own Wine

I expected to pay a pretty penny for an alcoholic beverage, but prices were even higher than I expected.

My advice: check to see how much of your own alcohol you can bring on the cruise. Many cruise lines allow you to bring a couple bottles of your own wine or champagne; take advantage of this to save a few bucks. (BE SURE TO CHECK FIRST: Carnival, Princess and Holland America allow you to bring limited amounts of your own wine on board, but charge a corkage fee to enjoy it in the dining room; NCL and Royal Caribbean forbid you to bring on any alcohol, including wine.)

Will and Danielle with a comedian on the Carnival Conquest

3. The Service is Amazing

The service on cruises is incredible. Everything from dinner waiters, to entertainers, to the room concierge, you will feel like royalty.

My advice: get to know the staff. We found a dinner waiter that we liked and requested him every night; he always brought us little bonuses and took extra special care of us.

Check with your travel agent on how many pools to passengers there are on a cruise ship before you book.

4. Pool Space Can Be Limited

On our particular cruise there was only one small pool and 3 hot tubs for the whole cruise ship to use. From seeing TV commercials and ads I was expecting huge, beautiful pools.

My advice: Be prepared to share these common areas with a lot of people and if you are really into water attractions, do your research on the cruise line and ship you choose.

5. You May Not Need a Room With a Balcony

I was surprised to see that a room with a balcony that our friends stayed in was the same size and layout (minus the balcony) as our porthole room was.

My advice: unless you really want a balcony or plan to spend a lot of time in your room, don’t get too caught up where you are staying on the ship. Plus, there is too much going on to be in your room!

What surprised you about your first cruise? What advice do you have for new cruisers? Please share your thoughts in comments below.

A native of Stilwell, Kansas, Danielle plans to return to the Kansas City area upon graduation.

Danielle is currently working as a social media intern with VentureTime Travel. When she isn’t working or in classes, Danielle enjoys traveling the world with her fiancée Will.

Learn more about Danielle here.

Other posts on cruising you may want to check out:

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When Should I Book My Cruise Vacation?

by Janis on January 29, 2013

This is a guest post by Danielle Smith, an agricultural communications student at the University of Arkansas.

Knowing when to book your cruise vacation and flight can help you to save money and ensure that you get exactly what you want out of your vacation. Here are some helpful tips on when to book a cruise and flight.

The Best Time to Book a Cruise

The best rule to follow when booking a cruise is to book early in order to ensure price and availability of the best staterooms. If you see the cruise you want at a fair price, book it. You will most likely not find that price again in the future. If you do find a cheaper price many cruise lines will reimburse you for the difference or give you upgrades, as long as you haven’t made the final payment.

The best prices are found early, with fares going up, as sail dates get closer. Try to book your cruise 6-12 months in advance. 60-90 days before departure is considered last minute when booking a cruise so be sure to plan early.

The “WAVE” season — generally the first three months in the year — is the most popular time for consumers to book cruises, so the cruise lines often offer enticing discounts and/or extra bonuses during this period.

Booking a Flight with Your Cruise

There are many benefits to booking your flight through the cruise line including peace of mind and convenience. But, many passengers prefer to book their own flights when cruising in order to save money and ensure flexibility. If you do choose to book your own flight here are some tips:

Shop for flights in the mornings and on Tuesdays. Sales are almost always posted at night and the deals will be gone by the afternoon. Many airlines post their sales on Monday nights so other airlines will have matched the sales by Tuesday morning.

Book Early. Flight prices will always fluctuate, but fares usually go up by more than they go down. Airlines Reporting Corporation stated that passengers paid the lowest price when buying six weeks in advance during regular travel time (not during holidays or high season).

Know how full your flight is by “choosing a seat.” If you are booking your flight on an airline with reserved seats, the seat map can be an indicator of how full the flight is at the time you are trying to book. If the flight has many available seats and the price seems high, then you may want to keep shopping.

If you are traveling during the high season or holidays you should try to book your airfare about 3 months in advance.

Arrive the day before your cruise. Airfare is often cheaper a day or two before the cruise than the day of departure, although you have to consider the added hotel cost. However, flights can always be canceled or delayed and the ship is not likely to wait. If you are buying your airfare on your own, be sure to protect yourself and your cruise vacation with insurance that protects you against travel delays.

What travel tips have you discovered when booking your cruise or flight? Be sure to share your thoughts below in comments.

A native of Stilwell, Kansas, Danielle plans to return to the Kansas City area upon graduation.

Danielle is currently working as a social media intern with VentureTime Travel. When she isn’t working or in classes, Danielle enjoys traveling the world with her fiancée Will.

Learn more about Danielle here.

Like to cruise as much as we do? You may also enjoy reading these posts……

Follow us on Twitter or interact with us on Facebook.

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