Another not-so-fun thing is jet lag. They say you have to suffer from jet lag when going abroad, but you also have to suffer from jet lag when traveling extensively within the United States. As mentioned before, the United States is divided into 4 time zones from east to west.
For a time zone, you have to add one hour or subtract one hour. Like Hong
It doesn't matter to people like Tao and Irene who have nothing to do and drive around. If you are going to do errands or traveling by bus, this problem will be troublesome. If you change the time by the wrong time or forget to change it, your date will be
It will definitely be a waste. The shuttle bus you are waiting for will definitely not be available because the time is wrong.
There is also the issue of watching TV. Hong Tao has stayed in many kinds of hotels along the way, both ordinary hotels and motels. The TV stations that can be received in these places vary greatly. For example, ordinary hotels can often only receive 4
The major TV networks have programs, but The Motel has relatively more programs, some with more than 40 channels, and evening adult channels. This situation is related to the American cable TV network.
There are no national television networks in the United States, only private television networks. The national ones include ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox, known as the four major television networks. There are also dozens of professional or regional cable television networks, such as
Talk about n news network, espn sports network, etc. If you want to watch it, you have to go to this
Some TV networks sign contracts and pay, and some hotels may not have signed contracts to save money, so of course you won’t be able to watch them. From this point of view, China is better. There is only one company. If you sign, you can watch everything. If you don’t sign, you can’t watch it. And watch those
Sports games, the World Cup, etc. are all free to watch, unlike here in the United States, where you have to pay extra.
The last thing I want to say is to buy things. If you want to shop in the United States, most products are tax-included and you cannot enjoy tax refunds. Moreover, tax rates vary from state to state. The higher ones include Los Angeles at 8.25%, Seattle at 8.8%, and San Francisco.
8.5%, etc., and lower ones like Washington 5.75%, Boston 5%, and Orlando 6.5%.
So if you want to go shopping, it’s best to first calculate where the tax rate is low, and then choose a discount promotion period to buy. This can save a lot of money, really a lot, and you can save more than half in time. American stores basically open every week
There are discounts every week, but these discounts are not too big. The discounts are only available during a few fixed time periods.
Very ruthless. For example, New Year in early January, Easter in March, Independence Day in July, Thanksgiving in November, and Christmas in December. During these festivals, stores have tearful sales. Like Ai
Americans like Lin want to buy something good. They will wait until these times come and then go shopping.
Hong Tao and Irene rested in Seattle for a few days and planned to fly back to New York. Irene's second-hand Ma 6 finally came to an end. The water temperature would not drop when driving on the highway, and even the air conditioner could not be turned on. Finally, it was sold to a local junkyard.
car yard, harvested more than 300 US dollars
Selling one's life for money. As for buying a new car, the tax rate in the west is higher than that in the east. And if you buy it, you have to drive it back. In more than half a month, Hong Tao has completed half of his life's mileage, and he has become addicted to driving. Really
I don’t want to drive back again, so I plan to buy it again when I return to New York.
But just the night before they left, a bartender in the hotel bar recommended another fun project to them, taking a boat trip to Alaska!
Alaska! Ice and snow! Inuit (the name Eskimo has a slightly derogatory meaning, so it is best to say Inuit in North America)! Whaling! These are Hong Tao's original impressions of Alaska.
"How about we go take a look?" Hong Tao was a little excited.
"How much does it cost?" Eileen did not object, but directly asked the price. This is the difference between men and women.
"My sister works for the cruise company. This is their promotional material. It is the off-season now, so the price is very favorable. You can take a closer look first. If you are satisfied, I will ask my sister to give you a small discount."
The bartender is quite good at business, neither humble nor overbearing, neither impatient nor impatient, which can dispel some of the customers' concerns.
The cruise company introduced in the information given by the bartender is called Norwegian. Hong Tao knows this company. He and Irene went to the Caribbean for vacation and took this company's cruise ship. At that time, it was represented by a wedding company, and it was said that North America
It is an old brand cruise company with very good ship quality and service. This is indeed the case. The hardware and software of that cruise ship are quite satisfactory to Hong Tao. Since it is such a coincidence that I caught up with this company again, I will patronize it again.
Well, this is all fate.
After confirming the cruise company, it became a question of price. The bartender was unambiguous and directly called his sister. His sister was considered a beauty, at least in Hong Tao's eyes. Irene usually looked pretty in front of outsiders.
Let Hong Tao make the decision, because in American tradition, men are the ones in charge, which is exactly the opposite of Chinese habits.
Although Hong Tao was not a man who could not move away from a woman, he would not be too cruel when discussing business with a beautiful woman, so the price was quickly negotiated. He and Irene spent a total of US$3,100 on the order.
Got a small double suite with an unobstructed balcony facing the coast.
Taking a cruise ship is a little different from taking a plane or taking a train, and there are also differences between a coastal cruise ship and an ocean cruise ship. This requires Hong Tao to have a clear family background, because in his previous life, he worked for a travel company. Not only did he take the cruise himself, but he also took over the customers on weekdays.
a lot of.
The cabin of the cruise ship is very important, which is related to the comfort level of your trip and the service you enjoy. Generally speaking, professional luxury cruise ships will be more than 10 stories high, with a living deck more than 100 meters long, and cabins for tourists.
There are hundreds to thousands of cabins. These cabins are divided into many levels according to their location and room type, and the prices vary greatly.
Generally speaking, according to the room types, there are standard double rooms in the inner cabin, sea view rooms, standard rooms with balcony, small suites and large suites. As for the names such as admiral suite, Caribbean suite, VIP suite, etc., they are all named by the steamship company itself.
The name was chosen just to make people sound high-end and classy, and has no actual meaning.
The inner cabin means that this room is in the middle of the hull and does not lean on either side, so there are no windows. It feels the same during the day and night, so it is the cheapest.
Sea view rooms have one more window than inner cabins, but this window cannot be opened and is closed. It is slightly more expensive than inner cabins. Moreover, sea view rooms are also subdivided. For example, the windows of some sea view rooms are exactly where the lifeboats are hung, and they have a full line of sight.
It is blocked and you can't see anything. This kind of room will be specially marked and the price will be discounted.
Standard rooms with balconies generally have higher floors and a small balcony outside the room, so the scenery is very good and the price is naturally higher. This type of balcony room also has the problem of being blocked by lifeboats, so you should look carefully and explain clearly when choosing.
.
As the names suggest, junior suites and large suites are just like hotel suites. They have a bedroom, a living room, and even a small bar. They usually have a balcony, are larger in size, and have the best location. They are the most expensive rooms on the entire cruise ship.
In addition to different room types, it is also critical to choose the location and floor of the room. Generally, a room at the bow of the ship will have less shaking, but the wind will be stronger; then a room at the stern will have a larger shake, but the wind will be lighter.
, the view is wider; the room in the middle has good wind
Generally large, the view is also average; these all depend on personal preference. In addition, the higher the floor, the more obvious the feeling of rocking. Generally, the best rooms are concentrated under the top deck near the stern, while the lower deck is near the stern.
There may be engine noise, which is worst.
The small suite Hong Tao chose is at the stern of the ship. He is not afraid of shaking, and neither is Irene. In fact, as long as there is no extreme weather, this large luxury cruise ship will not have an obvious shaking feeling. If there is bad weather, you can stay at the bottom.
The deck of the cabin must be swayed when it needs to be, it doesn't make any difference.
Since it is the off-season, the price of the room is relatively cheap. If it comes to the months of May, June, July and August, especially during the summer vacation, this kind of suite will cost more than 5,000 US dollars. In fact, it is not suitable to go to Alaska in November.
, because it is the coldest season there now, many ports are closed, and many places cannot be visited. But Hong Tao doesn’t care about this. He thinks that when going to Alaska, he should go in winter, so that he can see the purest ice and snow. This belongs to carrots.
Cabbage, everyone has their own preferences.
This trip lasted seven days, and it was a long-distance trip, so it was not enough to just have the ferry ticket, but also to prepare some daily necessities. In this regard, the bartender’s sister gave Hong Tao and Irene very pertinent and detailed advice. According to
Her suggestion, Hong Tao and Irene did not
I went to buy winter clothes, because they are sold in the shops on the ship, and they are tax-free. In addition to winter clothes, you also need to prepare swimming suits, formal dresses, hiking shoes, goggles, binoculars, high-power lenses, high-fat body oil, and toothbrushes.
Toothpaste and personal hygiene products etc.
Swimming suits are not meant for you to swim in the sea. They will freeze into popsicles. There are heated swimming pools on cruise ships. If you don’t care about the style of your swimsuit, you can buy it after boarding the ship. It’s cheaper.
Formal dresses are mainly used for formal dinners on ships. Westerners like to do this kind of thing and do as the Romans do. Hong Tao wore a suit, leather shoes and tie, and Irene wore an evening dress. Anyway, women don’t mind themselves.
Lots of clothes.
Goggles are to prevent snow blindness, because there are still activities ashore, and the same goes for hiking boots. As for telescopes and high-power lenses, they are not necessary, but they are definitely better. Those whales, polar bears, and seals will not get too close.
With a high-power telescope and a high-power lens, you can see more clearly and illuminate more clearly.
High-fat moisturizing oil and sunscreen are must-haves for women. Although it is winter, the air in Alaska is too clean, so ultraviolet rays are very strong, and the sea breeze is very damaging to the skin. Only high-fat moisturizing oil can resist it. But Hong Tao
Neither Irene nor Irene are afraid of tanning, so we don’t need sunscreen. We can buy moisturizing oil on board the ship. (To be continued...)
