Tide and Tan Travel

01/05/2025

Big Announcement! The new website is now active. You are welcome to book directly through this link, but you can still have me search and book for you. The convenience is that you can search for deals on the dates and places you want to go. I will still function as your travel agent, whichever way you book.

23/04/2025

🚢 Deals of the Week – Cruise in Style & Save Big!

🌴 Oasis of the Seas – November 29, 2025
8-Night Southern Caribbean Cruise
Round trip from Fort Lauderdale to Aruba, Curacao, Dominican Republic & Perfect Day at CocoCay
• Oceanview: $1,219.14 PP (Online: $1,561.32)
• Balcony: $1,369.14 PP (Online: $1,923.32)
💰 $250 deposit per person – Book by July 31, 2025
Ref: 9484258

🛳 Norwegian Viva – June 2026
Explore the best of the Mediterranean with this exclusive itinerary:
Istanbul, Greece, Croatia, Montenegro & end in Italy
• Interior: $2,242 PP (Only 3 left!)
• Balcony: $3,142 PP (Only 1 left!)
💸 Save over $400 per person – Limited space!
Ref: A2847401

18/04/2025

Have you ever considered traveling with points and miles? Basically making the flights and accommodations free on your vacations? I haven’t paid cash for a plane ticket or hotel in years. I find it such a fascinating hobby that I’m happy to share my knowledge with anyone.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred Card is the one that can really get things started. The best part is that they have an elevated offer right now for 100k points. When I open a new card, I shift all of my spending to that card until I hit the minimum spend. This one requires spending $5k in 90 days. That’s less than $2k per month. Gas, groceries, Amazon, insurance and utilities may cover that for you.

This card is $95 per year, but you can get $50 back as a hotel credit, so it drops it to $45 pretty quick. There are credits and other things that can recoup that cost. The game changer is the 100,000 points! You can use them to book hotels and flights through Chase or transfer them to parters like Air France or Hyatt. I took a business class flight to Paris for 40,000 points, but economy can be much lower. Hyatt hotels have properties for only 8,000 per night. There is a lot you can do with just this card.

Once you have this card, there are several others that earn the same points and don’t have the annual fee, so you can get one million miles in no time. You just need this card to allow the transfers to partners.

Seriously! Check it out and enjoy a huge increase in your travel budget.

Message me for a link or use my link in my profile. It works best to copy the link and apply in Chrome. I earn points and you can do the same as you refer others.

21/02/2025

5 of us took a quick trip to Maine last weekend. One of our layovers was long enough to find an airport lounge. Do you have a credit card with lounge benefits? The Capital One Venture X comes with Priority Pass. The cool perk with this card is that you can add 5 additional users and they each get Priority Pass. So 2 of us had the pass and we could each bring 2 extra guests with us.

The Club MDW was a pretty small lounge. We only waited 3 or 4 minutes and they had space for all 5 of us. The buffet was simple, but we found enough options to satisfy our lunch needs. The private bathrooms were much nicer than the public ones at Chicago Midway.

Some love lounges for the quiet atmosphere. I go for the comfortable seating and free meals.

If you’re interested in getting the Capital One Venture X Card, use my link in the comments. There are so many perks besides lounge access, including a $300 travel credit that helps offset the annual fee.

What do you love about lounges?

03/02/2025

2025 & 2026 promotional materials have arrived! Well, most of them. I have Disney, Norwegian, Holland America, Royal Caribbean, Princess and Carnival so far. If you’d prefer to explore actual books to plan your vacation, they are available to borrow.

15/01/2025

Wave season continues. Best time of year to book a cruise…Contact me for a quote before prices increase and inventory is depleted.

03/01/2025

Just a few of today’s deals. Great time to book a cruise for this year or next.

02/01/2025

Wave season is upon us. I’m going to try to post 3-5 times a week with the exclusive rates I have access to. Please know that inventory does fill fast so they can be available today and gone tomorrow.

13/06/2024

Let's create a perfect day for you and your family on Coco Cay!

Send a message to learn more

29/05/2024

Memorial Day pricing is still going on for most cruise lines. Message me for a quote!

29/05/2024

Just a reminder on how to start the casino matching game. You need the Wyndham Business Earner credit card. It’s $95 a year and comes with a decent amount of Wyndham points after your minimum spend. The crazy benefit is you get 8 points per dollar on gas! Great gas card to have. Each year, after February 1st, you can match your Wyndham status to Caesars online. It can take a couple of weeks to update on your caesars account. Once you verify your Diamond status, it’s time to head to Vegas to a Caesars property.

Since we were already going to Vegas to cash in on our free rooms at Resorts World, I looked into what promos were going on with status matching. I went to Harrah’s to pick up my new Diamond card. This gives you no resort fees, free parking, a few free nights at Atlantis Resorts in the Bahamas and $100 dining credit. The trick with their dining credit is that it has to be used all at once, so if you don’t spend the full $100 you lose the balance. We ventured to Guy’s Vegas Kitchen and I enjoyed a massive burger and cheesecake. No complaints from me besides my calorie intake.

Wynn Resorts is having a great match to Caesar Diamond now through May 31st. I matched to Wynn and got spa credit and dining credit, but the dining is only good in my birth month. The real reason I wanted to match to Wynn was for a free cruise with Holland America. The trick here is that it’s not completely free, you do have to stay 2 times during the year to have that perk kick in. We extended our trip and stayed 1 of those nights now. This is another expensive resort with rooms in the $5-700 range on a holiday weekend. Fortunately, I had Chase points and used those for a great redemption. Wynn status does come with free parking, but you do have to pay the resort fees. You also get 20% off their show Awakening. It was top notch and I would see it again!

Another short term status match going on is at Fontainebleau. If you have Wynn status, you can match over there. It also comes with $150 dining and $150 spa credits. I got my card, but we’ll redeem when we go back for our other stay at Wynn. Just a tip on the spa redemptions. They seem to be booked several days out, so if you are going book them before your trip so you can cash in on the perk.

So, we’ll return for another stay at Wynn to get the free cruise. Haven’t sailed with Holland America before, so I’m excited for a new adventure.

29/05/2024

My next piece of casino status matching.

One of the benefits of getting Prime status with Oceans is 2 free nights at Resorts World in Vegas. Yep, I called them up and there were no blackout dates, so they let me book over Memorial Day weekend when the rooms were going for $500+ per night. They matched me to their Genting Rewards program, which waived resort fees, gave me free parking, $100 dining credit and $100 free play.

The resort was great! The cool thing with their dining credit was that it could be used in small amounts until you spend the full $100. They have a food court with reasonably priced food, so we didn’t even use it all up. 5 star resort for free! See my previous post for the path to get Ocean status in Atlantic City.