Getting Married? Don't Let the Flu Ruin Your Honeymoon Cruise!

Life is good! You've just got married and had your fairytale wedding.  You can't wait to get to the airport to start your honeymoon.  This is what you have been planning for years.  Your reservations are confirmed. Passports are in hand.

Even now that the bags are packed and by the door, rest and relaxation is not certain:

Many things beyond your control can happen.

• the airline industry may go on strike,
• your travel agent may have booked you to Birmingham, Alabama, NOT Birmingham, England, or
• you may catch the flu.

The flu can ruin your trip…but only if you let it!

Each year millions of U.S. citizens enjoy cruise vacations. In 2006, approximately 8.3 million passengers embarked from North American ports for their cruise vacation (from Cruise Lines International Association). Traveling on cruise ships exposes people to new environments and high volumes of people, including other travelers. Although an infrequent occurrence, this exposure creates the risk for illness, either from contaminated food, water or more commonly through person to person contact.

 

Most seasoned travelers know that when they travel outside the United States, they may be required (or urged) to get vaccinations to help protect them from diseases found in specific destinations. Vaccines are available for a wide-range of diseases, including Hepatitis A and B, meningococcal (meningitis), typhoid fever and yellow fever.

In the midst of ensuring that travelers have the vaccinations they need, the influenza vaccine is often overlooked.

Prepare Wisely for Your Trip

Preparing well for a vacation involves more than making hotel reservations and getting the AAA guide to local sights and attractions. Those are worthwhile chores, but they fail to take into account all of your travel needs. To fully enjoy your trip, you need to be healthy throughout it. And staying healthy requires preparation BEFORE you leave home.

Two critical issues to consider are:

1. Where are you going, and when?
2. How are you traveling?

As any good microphobe will tell you, the world is full of things that make you sick. These things are just lying in wait for the unsuspecting. People on vacation certainly fit this bill. By traveling, you put yourself at risk for catching diseases common to your destination's corner of the world. Because you are not from this area, your immune system is not calibrated to protect you from the local bacteria, viruses and other nasties that you may encounter. Your immune system is tuned to typical conditions at home.

Flu Seasons Differ Around the World

In North America the flu season peaks between November and March. In other parts of the world, the flu season get cranked up just as ours ends. In the temperate regions of the Southern Hemisphere (e.g., Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Australia, etc.) peak influenza season runs from April to September. In tropical regions (the Caribbean basin, equatorial areas, etc.), every day of the year is peak flu season. Depending on your travel plans, you may need to get the flu vaccine before you leave for your trip. Round-the-world travelers can follow the flu season around the world.

Traveling in groups increases your risk of infection!

Although it can be fun to travel with a group, doing so increases your risk of catching the flu. As many travelers can attest, viruses, including influenza, spread with lightening speed throughout tour buses and cruise ships. Tour buses and cruise ships confine large numbers of people in relatively small spaces. Sharing small spaces for long periods means being exposed to other travelers' illnesses. Often these illnesses are highly contagious.

Any time you are traveling in large groups regardless of your destination you should consider the flu vaccine.

Who should get the influenza vaccine before traveling?

People at high risk for complications of the flu who were not vaccinated during the most recent fall or winter should receive the vaccine at least 2 weeks prior to traveling regardless of your destination.

Even if you are not considered high risk, you can reduce your chance of getting the flu. Consider receiving the vaccine if you are:

• Traveling to the tropics during any time of the year.
  
  Destinations located in the tropics are those located between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn including the Caribbean, Central America, northern Australia, southern Asia and parts of South America and Africa (click to view map).
  
   
• Traveling to the temperate regions of the Southern Hemisphere from April to September.
  
  Destinations located in temperate regions of the Southern Hemisphere are those between The Tropic of Capricorn and Antarctica including southern regions of South America, South Pacific, southern Africa and southern Australia (click to view map).

If I received the vaccine during the last flu season, do I need to get the vaccine again this year?

Before traveling, get the most recent flu vaccine. Doing so helps to ensure that you are protected against current virus strains. Unlike other vaccines, the influenza vaccine is formulated to provide protection for one flu season. It is important that you receive the vaccine for the current influenza season.

What can I do to avoid getting the flu while on my trip?

The best protection from the flu and its complications is to receive the influenza vaccine. If someone on your trip is suspected of having the flu, avoid or limit contact with that person. People suspect of having the flu should cover their nose and mouth while sneezing or coughing to prevent further infections. Frequent hand washing can also reduce your risk of getting infected.

If you develop flu symptoms, contact your doctor as soon as possible. If you can't reach your personal doctor, the hotel, cruise staff or your tour director should have local medical care information.

Final Thoughts

Don't let the flu ruin your trip. Plan ahead. Ask your doctor about travel immunizations at least 3 months before you leave for your trip. And, don't forget to remind your provider that you probably should receive the flu vaccine just to be safe.

If you need some decorating ideas for your beach theme or cruise ship wedding visit our beach theme wedding favor section of our ebay store.

Do you find yourself rushing every morning, stampeding to the door, making your way through traffic only to arrive 10 minutes late for work?

Because you had to wait for the train?

 

How does the rest of your day go?

 

Once you get yourself into work do you need to take a few moments to compose yourself? Perhaps you get a coffee and relax by chatting with a co-worker on your way to your desk. When you sit down you see five items that need immediate attention (some left over from yesterday) and the phone starts ringing.

 

You forgot the morning meeting! So you start rifling through your papers….

 

Is this sounding all too familiar by now?

 

Regardless of whether you work at home, an office or a factory or if you work for a boss or yourself, getting a grip on time seems like a daily struggle for millions of people.

 

  Are You Overbooked?

 

It’s true that many of us have heaped our daily schedule full of activities. Despite cell phones, internet and microwaves it seems we never have enough time to take care of business, ourselves, our friends and family.

 

So many of the activities we do everyday are demanding our attention that it can be difficult to make plans for the future. Even if the plans will ease our burdens down the road. We are busy but are we productive with our time? This is where time management has become important.

  

What Will Time Management Do For Me?

 

Time management isn’t a physics course, but it is worth making the effort to review and apply in your busy life. Why?

 

Because time management isn’t just about having time – it’s about making certain our time is well spent. There will always be times in our life when we get extra busy (back to school, taxes, holidays, important projects) but learning the skills to manage the time we have wisely will alleviate much of the stress and frustration that can lead to burn out and fatigue...

 

 Read Full Details in our Time Management Wedding eBook

 A wedding is probably going to be the biggest event that you will ever plan in your lifetime. When you are making such a commitment to the person that you love and plan to spend the rest of your life with, you will want everything to go just perfectly.   Weddings are always a welcome addition to everyone’s circle and they can a great source of joy to all people involved.   

Nothing can be as fulfilling and as overwhelming than planning the wedding of your dreams. Most people assume that the most difficult part of having a wedding is getting the groom to propose.   But happens after that has been accomplished? What happens is the wedding has to be planned right down to last flower and place setting.  

It really doesn’t matter what type of wedding that you are planning to have or how many guests that you are planning to invite. You can plan a beautiful wedding that can suit any and every budget.   These days, most couples would prefer to spend the majority of their money on a great honeymoon, but still they want to have a memorable wedding. This will be your comprehensive guide to having the best and nicest wedding on a budget. 

Just because you don’t have the money to be able to afford the fanciest of everything, you can still host the wedding of your dreams. People throw weddings on a budget every day, and with this book handy, you will be able to do it too.    Why should something small like money put a stop to your dream wedding when it doesn’t have to? 

These days, just about every wedding that you will see (unless the couple is rich) is going to be held on a budget.   Some weddings are even held on a budget as little as $1000. Just because you can’t afford to pay thousands and thousands of dollars...

 Read Full Details in our Shoestring Wedding eBook

Whose Day Is It?
Remember this is your wedding so the day should be about what you and your partner want. You can't please everyone when organizing a wedding so don't try. Please the two most important people, yourself and your partner. If you really want to avoid upsetting people try compromising with them over some details of the wedding.
 

Budget
Work out a budget for your wedding and once set try not to exceed it by more than the smallest of margins. Wedding costs have a habit of blowing out of proportion. If you find it hard to keep under budget look for areas where you can economize. Could you borrow a friend's car instead of hiring one? A wedding doesn't need to expensive to be wonderful.
 

Planning
Start planning right away. Use a folder/exercise book/index cards or a computer program to list everything you can think of relative to your wedding -and don't forget the honeymoon. List dates when jobs need to be completed by and check them off once done. Keep a record of everything -deposits, receipts, phone calls and written confirmation of any bookings.


Share the Workload
Once you have a list of everything that needs to be done before the wedding day, enlist all the help and support you can. Ask your attendants, family and close friends to help with various tasks. People love a wedding and love to be involved so let them.


Enjoy the lead up
The time leading up to your wedding is a very special time but it will go very quickly. Don't spend it going crazy over wedding preparations or arguing with everyone within your radius. Don't say things you may later regret. If you feel yourself losing your cool walk away for a while and calm down.
 

Problems
Keep problems in proportion. It is not worth upsetting yourself, and everyone else, over minor details. If the bridesmaids' shoes are one shade lighter in color than you wanted it isn't the end of the world. Learn some relaxation techniques or have a soothing massage if it all gets too much.
 

Take Time Out
Each week take time out with your partner and agree not to mention the word 'wedding' or anything related to weddings. Chill out with a good bottle of wine, a tasty meal and each other's company.

The Big Day
Finally enjoy every moment of your wedding day. It may come along but once in your lifetime so savor every moment of it.

We put together an eBook that will make planning your wedding a little bit easier.  You can find it in our eBay store
 

You are searching for a non-traditional wedding gift... You want something different that will elicit the oohs and aahs of everyone.

Of course, you could go to the couple's registry and pick something from there, but then your gift wouldn't be unique.

Here are some tips to help you come up with some great, unique wedding gift ideas.

Ask yourself these questions:

-what do you know about the couple?
-what do they like?
-where are they planning to spend their honeymoon?
-what's their personality?
-what is their lifestyle?

The answers to these questions can give you ideas for a gift that displays your thoughtfulness and care.

Here are just a few gift ideas to ponder:

1. Gift Certificates to a spa for the bride and groom are great before or after the wedding. The wedding day is often stressful, so you could offer a day at the spa to prepare them for the wedding day. Or, they could use it just after their honeymoon, as they prepare to resume their regular activities.

2. As an alternative for the day at the spa, you could give them a spa in a basket, including monogrammed robes, towels, and a few other relaxing items, like candles, bath and body lotions, some romantic music, and even engraved wine glasses accompanied by a bottle of wine for a special evening at home.

3. Keepsake Box - As time goes by, memories begin to fade, and what better and more unique gift than a special box where they can safely store all those precious mementos that become more cherished as the years go by? This box is perfect for things like: marriage license, special photos, place cards, vows, and all those other special keepsakes that often get lost as time passes.

4. Silver-Plated Picture Frames - the perfect way to display favorite photos of their special day. Have them engraved with the couple's names and the wedding date for a treasured memory.

5. Etched Glass Wedding Invitation - Have their wedding invitation, or other special verse engraved on a glass sculpture. This will be treasured for years to come, and definitely unique. Or, for a little variation, get the actual invitation, and mount it on a glass plate and finish it with matching colored paint.

6. Honeymoon Photo Album - this could be made out of wood, with something like "A Honeymoon to Remember" engraved on the cover: a perfect place to capture those wonderful honeymoon memories.

You are now ready to give the perfect wedding gift to your friends and family.   Wedding favors and gifts