7 Guest Room Must Haves

7 Guest Room Must Haves

Blog, EJtheTravelDiva Blog, Lifestyle
My dad lives in California and when he comes to his hometown, Nashville, TN, he stays at my house with his wife. The tables turned in July and I stayed with my dad for 2 weeks and then we returned back to my house and he stayed with me for 2 weeks. Now, I believe staying at his house and then having him stay at my house opened my eyes to the things that I did not have in my guest bedroom and guest bathroom. It made me realize that my guest room should have certain amenities to make my guest feel comfortable. As a travel blogger, I want to share with you the mindset of how to incorporate what you see, learn, and perform while always traveling in your…
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My Flotation Therapy Review

My Flotation Therapy Review

Blog, EJtheTravelDiva Blog, Lifestyle
My mother often says to me, “You will try anything!” And I am proud to say that she is right!  I try a lot of new things because I like to have different experiences. Plus, since I started blogging, I really like to try the latest trends not only to see if I like it but also to help my travel clients and followers gain knowledge. With that said, I recently tried floatation therapy.  Floatation therapy is exactly what it sounds like--floating in warm salt water in a float tank. Before my experience, I learned that floating in a pod puts you in a relaxed state by shutting you off from sight and sound. This helps you to do away with not only stress and anxiety but pain, swelling, insomnia,…
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9 Steps to a Self-Care Bath Experience

9 Steps to a Self-Care Bath Experience

Blog, EJtheTravelDiva Blog, Lifestyle
I recently took a trip to Jamaica and stayed at the Iberostar Grande Rose Hall, which was a very nice and relaxing stay.  When I am on vacation, there are so many nice luxuries that I get to enjoy and experience. As part of my stay at Iberostar Grande, there was a butler who helped make my stay even more comfortable.  One day I was having dinner and the butler stopped by to ask if there was anything he could do for me.  I requested that he draw me a bath so when I returned from dinner I could take a soak. This is one of those simple things that I do not take the time to do for myself at home.  At least, it used to be one of…
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Flying During the Pandemic:  What it was like.

Flying During the Pandemic: What it was like.

Blog, EJtheTravelDiva Blog
When I decided to break free from my house after three months of hard-core quarantine, I didn't take the decision lightly—especially since I had planned to visit my 68-year-old dad in Riverside, California.  Deciding to fly from Nashville to California was a serious choice that I couldn’t take lightly. My dad was 100% supportive and wanted me to stay with him for a while, which made the decision a little easier. However, getting on a plane not only put me at risk but it was putting my dad and his wife at risk as well. Going from my airplane travel straight to their house could not allow me to be 100% sure that I would not bring the virus into their home, their bodies. I booked my one-way flight with…
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Travel Insurance Provides Emergency Medical Benefits, Too

Travel Insurance Provides Emergency Medical Benefits, Too

Blog, EJtheTravelDiva Blog, Travel Learning Lessons
Many people truly believe that the purpose of travel insurance is to be able to cancel your vacation and receive a full refund of any monies paid. This belief causes many people to decline travel insurance because they are confident they will be going on vacation and have no reason to cancel.  Therefore, they think spending the extra money to purchase travel insurance is not beneficial. Although being able to cancel and receive a refund is important, it is not the only benefit of travel insurance.  Another very important benefit is Medical Emergency and Evacuation for when covered parties become ill or are injured while traveling. When planning a vacation, we focus on how much fun we are going to have and don’t think about what could go wrong with…
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What You Need to Know to Cancel Your Vacation & Receive a Refund

What You Need to Know to Cancel Your Vacation & Receive a Refund

Blog, EJtheTravelDiva Blog, Travel Learning Lessons
As a travel agent, I understand the importance of traveling with travel insurance.  I also know how risky it is to travel without it.  That is why I consistently offer travel insurance to my clients, multiple times, to encourage them to protect their investment as well as themselves. I’ve heard so many times, “I know I am going on this trip, so I don’t need travel insurance.” The basis of that statement is not knowing the many benefits that travel insurance provides.  Many people have the mentality that travel insurance is just for canceling your vacation.  But it is for so much more.  Travelers are often surprised to find out that travel insurance not only covers trip cancellation, but also: Trip InterruptionTrip DelayMissed ConnectionBaggage LossBaggage DelayMedical ExpensesEmergency Evacuation Since trip…
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IS FEAR HOLDING YOU BACK?

IS FEAR HOLDING YOU BACK?

Blog, EJtheTravelDiva Blog, Travel Learning Lessons
Just recently, in March 2020, I took a weekend trip to New York City to attend a conference called the Women’s Travel Fest. Leading up to this weekend were reports of the first confirmed Coronavirus cases in the United States. I had several reasons not to attend – Coronavirus was just beginning to spread, I had never attended this conference before, I didn’t know anyone else attending, and I had no one in my inner circle that would be interested in this event.  I kept going back and forth on whether I would go or not.  Finally, I told myself if I can use my travel points for a free weekend in New York, then I should attend.  https://www.instagram.com/p/B9ewWvAlU3f/ Everything worked out well with redeeming my travel points, and I…
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Benefits of Using a Travel Agency

Benefits of Using a Travel Agency

Blog, EJtheTravelDiva Blog, Travel Tips
There are so many benefits of using a travel agency. Have you ever heard of "net lag" or "scroll fatigue"? Perhaps you have experienced this many times while spending countless hours searching the internet looking for information to assist you when planning your upcoming vacation. Hotels.com recently did some research and discovered that travelers are spending countless hours researching their vacation and they find this process to be extremely stressful. So why stress yourself out and spend countless hours planning your vacation when you can have a travel agent do it for you?  Don't risk having net lag or scroll fatigue when you can quickly and easily reach out to a travel agent.  Here are 6 benefits of using a travel agent for your next trip: More bang for your…
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Reasons to Choose a Balcony Stateroom on a Cruise

Reasons to Choose a Balcony Stateroom on a Cruise

Blog, Cruising, EJtheTravelDiva Blog, Ocean Cruises
My goal, as a travel agent is not only to inspire people to travel, but to also help people to travel well and be smart travelers, and to book their vacations based on what they want to experience and not cost.  When it comes to cruising, my goal is to encourage people to select a balcony stateroom, or higher, on a cruise rather than any other room.  It is my pet peeve when travelers recite the cliché statement, "I am not going to be in the room that much anyway.  I don't need to pay for that type of room." If you had that type of room, you would enjoy it while you were in it.  I don't think anyone would be disappointed with booking a balcony stateroom or higher…
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Cruising with a CPAP Machine

Cruising with a CPAP Machine

Blog, EJtheTravelDiva Blog, Travel Tips
This post contains some links affiliate links.  I may receive compensation when you click on the links. Keep in mind that I link these companies and their products because of their quality and I believe the reference may be helpful to you.  I am an independent blogger and the reviews are done based on my own opinions. A couple of years ago, I became the "not-so" proud owner of a CPAP machine.  A CPAP machine is used for treating sleep apnea and stands for Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP).  After years of waking up feeling like I didn't get enough sleep and my travel roommates complaining about my snoring, I finally visited a sleep physician and received a CPAP machine. Shortly after receiving my CPAP machine, I was set to…
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