gina asked:


1) It must be in the U.S.
2) Family consists of: Dad (46), Mom (40), Me (19), and Sister (16)
3) Can’t be a cruise (We did that a couple of years ago.)
4) Not Washington D.C. (boringgggggg - did that too 5) Not Carlsbad Caverns (done it)

Any ideas would be GREATLY appreciated! It just doesn’t seem like there is much to do here in the United States for some reason!

Monica

steph_pete1329 asked:


Where will DJ Tiesto be during May? Im taking a cruise vacation during that time and I want to know if he is going to be where im at. Please let me know.

Jean

kincaid1 asked:


A few years back we went on a 7-day Disney cruise and had a wonderful vacation. We loved Castaway Cay and want to go on the 4-day which hits the island twice. We were thinking of a land and sea package but had heard from someone else that it was exhausting and they wished they had just done the cruise for 7-days. Has anyone enjoyed doing the land & sea package?
Smiley, that’s what I always hear. The cruise will be longer next time…

Wanda

Spanky Monkey asked:


After withdrawing from college for medical reasons a year ago, i began working full time and no longer was a “dependant” on my parents, but now that my job is burning me out, i am much more motivated (”do or die”) to hit my classes hard this coming semester (i had to fight through alot of red tape to get back in). Unfortunately my parents no longer wish to pay for my college because i became non-dependent, but I will have to quit my night shift job in order to go to my classes non-zombie. So without a job, or health insurance, and with parents that earn in the $150k income bracket yet won’t pay for my college, how am i supposed to get any student loans or pay for college? Since i was earning $65k a year myself (working 84 hours a week!!) and my parents make sooo much but cant pay for my college because they are strapped so thin with the cruises and vacations they have to pay for, and now there’s NO money without my job or their help, how can i get any sort of student loans?

Randall

Julie Palmer asked:


Shortly before midnight on April 14th, 1912, the largest, most luxurious passenger ship in the world, the Titanic, struck an iceberg and sank on her maiden voyage. The Titanic was built by England’s great White Star Line and was heralded as being “unsinkable.” What’s difference between the Titanic and today’s cruise ships? Everything! Unlike the Titanic, modern cruise ships are unsurpassed in design, safety features and emergency operations. Not only are they beautiful and luxurious, these ships have come a long way since 1912!

Cruise vacations have steadily risen in popularity since the 1960’s. Early ships carried between 600-700 passengers; today’s cruise ships carry as many as 5,000 passengers. They typically contain swimming pools, movie theaters, restaurants, live music and dancing entertainment, five-star cuisine, casinos, an ice rink, nine-hole miniature golf courses, beauty salons with spas, barber shops, and retail clothing and accessories stores. For the duration of your cruise you’ll find every luxury accommodation and service that you’d ever want!

In addition to elegant and safe designs, cruise ships today can take you to ports of call never imagined in 1912. World travel aboard these seafaring cities can take you to Europe, Africa, the Caribbean, South America, the Bahamas, the Virgin Islands, Barbados, Costa Rica, Jamaica, South America, Mexico, Alaska, Central America and even Antarctica. Such excursions are not as costly as one might think; many cruise lines offer discount travel packages that are very affordable.

The best way to book a cruise is through a travel agent. The agent will describe cruise lines like Princess, Carnival, Royal Caribbean and others, plus all the amenities available to you on these lines. For example, the U.S. liner Queen Mary 2 is the largest of all cruise ships in length, width and height. In addition to other luxuries, this stunning ship has four outdoor swimming pools, an indoor pool, a 20,000 square-foot spa, and a six-story high atrium! Your travel agent will also explain pricing options, passport requirements, all ports of call, currency exchange, travel insurance, and many other details of your selected vacation.

When you think of the cruise of your dreams, imagine relaxing on an outdoor deck watching the azure sea roll by as the playful dolphins and the majestic whales surface alongside you. Imagine luxury accommodations, exquisite cuisine, all sorts of sports, entertainment and self-pampering. Most of all imagine the exotic and beautiful ports of call your cruise ship will visit. If ever there will be the premiere vacation of your lifetime, this is the one!



Heidi

two5nine1 asked:


what are fun not to expensive cruises, or vacations that teenagers will have fun?

Norma

Mary Hanna asked:


The first day of your Caribbean cruise vacation is here. Most of the day will be spent getting to know your cruise ship, making spa appointments, booking tours on the Caribbean Islands and trying to get cruise tips from your fellow passengers.

The first night of your Caribbean cruise vacation is always a casual night since most people have traveled a good portion of the day. It’s also the night you meet your table mates. Here is another cruise tip, be a few minutes late on the first night (only on the first night-be prompt from then on). There is usually a crush of people when the dinner bell rings and everyone is trying to find their table.

If you are eating in the traditional cruise style, always ask for a large table for several reasons. You have a better chance of meeting a mix of people, and the more people you meet during your cruise travel, the merrier. One thing to do is change seats every night at the table so everyone gets to talk to everyone else during the course of your cruise vacation. It’s much more fun. And a round table is ideal since rectangular ones make it difficult to talk to the guy at the other end. However, if you find that you are unhappy with your table, absolutely go to the maitre d’ and asked to be moved. He or she will accommodate you as best they can. There are people who chose to dine alone and the ships have tables for two but they fill up fast.

Freestyle Dining and Choice Dining are available on some Cruise Lines for those who want to eat on their own or don’t want to be delegated to a specific dining time. Your travel agent will be able to set this up when booking your Caribbean cruise vacation.

Now you are on day two, and usually that means it’s a day at sea. You are just itching to put into your bathing suit and get out in the sun. Listen to this, it is the most valuable of all the cruises tips here, do not try to get a tan on your first day of your Caribbean cruise vacation. You will spend days of your precious cruise trying to recover from very bad sunburn. The Caribbean sun is very intense and is even more so in the summer months.

Get waterproof sun block and use it liberally if you are swimming or snorkeling. Don’t forget the tops of your feet, your ears and lips, this can be extremely painful. Wear a hat so you don’t burn your scalp.

To avoid injury follow these tips. Be careful if the decks are wet, they become very slippery. Watch for the raised lips in some doorways especially between your cabins sleeping area and the bathroom. Never sit on the railings as you may fall. Wearing high heels could be hazardous in bumpy weather. When tendering to shore keep your arms and legs within the tender. These are all very good cruise tips

All of the newer cruise ships have an internet café; some even have an internet connection in your room. So if you want to bring your lap top with you, by all means do. There are some small luxury cruise ships that have lap tops available for your use. Check with your cruise travel agent, he or she will know. Most people won’t want to be bothered with their computers, but it is nice to check your email if you are going to be away for awhile, and ship to shore phone calls are very expensive on the cruise lines.

The last evening will also be a casual night since you have packed your bags and put them outside your cruise cabin. Tomorrow will be an early morning and the end of your enchanting Caribbean cruise vacation.

There always seem to be many questions about tipping while taking a Caribbean cruise vacation. These questions come up on European cruise vacations too, but we’ll stick to the Caribbean. Some cruise lines will absolutely not let you tip. These are the very high end cruise lines. Some automatically add it to your bill. If you do not like this arrangement tell the purser that you will tip on your own. Tipping on a cruise ship is very important since the room steward, waiter and busboy all make their living on tips. They work very hard to keep you happy during your Caribbean cruise vacation so please tip them. You may want to figure out the amount of tips you will be paying at the beginning of the cruise vacation and separate that from your spending money. You won’t get caught short.

If a Maitre d’ does something special, like crepe suzettes at your table, you should tip him. When you order wine or drinks there is already a 15% tip on the charge, so it is not necessary to tip here. If you find a special bar and frequent it, give the bartender a bit extra on the last night. As I said tipping policies are different on all ships so find out ahead of time. Holland American has changed their tipping policy. It used to be “no tipping necessary”. That policy is no longer in place. On NCL Hawaii a $10.00 per day per person is added to your bill and it is not optional.

A nice gesture on a two week cruise is to give half the tip after the first week, the cruise staff will appreciate this. On almost all of the cruise ships, the general rule for tipping is $3.00 per day, per person for the waiter and the room steward and $1.50 per person per day for the bus boy. If you’re not sure the Cruise Line will usually give you guidelines. If your room steward or waiter showed you excellent services tip them more.

Alcoholic beverages on board are expensive. All cruise ships have there own policy if you bring your own, some confiscate it and return at the end of the cruise, others allow you to buy bottles on board, and others will allow you to purchase it but won’t deliver it until the end of the cruise. Each cruise line has different policies so check with your cruise travel agent. In many cases you can bring wine and champagne on board.

Here’s just a small note about seasickness. On the really huge ships it should not be a problem. If you are prone to it and are taking a smaller ship, there are over the counter remedies. Dramamine and Bonine are in tablet forms and can make some people drowsy. Because of the size and the stability of the current fleet of cruise ships only 3% of cruise passengers are affected by this.

There are wrist bands that you can purchase that act on the theory of acupuncture. Then there is also the Patch that you wear behind your ear. If you do not purchase one of these before the cruise and find yourself getting a little green, the purser’s office will provide you with them. Go out on the open decks, eat saltines, green apples and drink ginger ale. Do not do anything that requires you to look down, like reading or writing.

In health food stores you can buy powdered ginger caplets which are the natural remedy. That should take care of it. Stay away from greasy foods. This is no longer a huge problem since most ships today have stabilizers that keep the ship from pitching to and fro. If you do have a problem with “mal de mar”, it is not wise to take a sailing cruise or a small ship in notoriously rough seas like the South China Sea. It is so shallow it is always a little rough. The waves bounce off the seabed and come back up making it a bit choppy. Here again the size of the ship matters and having a little information will be helpful. This is where a really knowledgeable cruise travel agent comes in.

All cruise ships have a policy on smoking. On one ship they had an absolutely no smoking policy anywhere, they have since changed that rule. There is never any smoking allowed in the showrooms or the dining rooms. In many cases they designate one side of the ship in the bars as the smoking section while the other side is smoke free.

You can smoke in the bars and in the casino. Never, ever, toss a lit cigarette overboard, it can blow back on deck and start a fire. Please be considerate of the other passengers and follow the rules. And be aware that you will encounter many more smokers on a European cruise vacation and on European cruise ships that winter in the USA.

These are just some sensible cruise tips for you to follow on you Caribbean cruise vacation.

Happy Cruising!

Copyright © Mary Hanna, All Rights Reserved.

This article may be distributed freely on your website and in your ezines, as long as this entire article, copyright notice, links and the resource box are unchanged.



Alvin

Mom’s Taxi asked:


I am looking into booking a Caribbean cruise for next year, we are looking to go in April or May, I have done alot of researach and Royal Caribbean and Princess keep coming up for the time of year and where we want to go. Any input if one out shines the other? they both seem about the same price, they go to the same stops.

We are a couple that is in our late 30’s, early 40’s we aren’t party animals but we also aren’t old folks either. We like good food, a nice drinks, some dancing, we do like casinos, if there is one onboard. We were told to definitely get a balcony room this will be our first cruise. And our first vacation with no kids. One thing we really aren’t in to, is the whole formal dinning, tuxedo’s and evening gowns, we don’t mind dressing up, skirts, dress pants, shirts, we just aren’t the formal wear kind of people.

Is one cruise line better than another?

Dana

Paul Hata asked:


Situated largely on the Caribbean Plate, the region comprises more than 7,000 islands, islets, reefs, and cays. Also called the West Indies,the region consists of the Antilles, divided into the larger Greater Antilles which bound the sea on the north and the Lesser Antilles on the south and east (including the Leeward Antilles), and the Bahamas.

With a population of nearly 40 million people,the Caribbean islands are an island chain 4,020 kilometres (2,500 miles) long and no more than 257 kilometres (160 mi) wide at any given point. They enclose the Caribbean Sea. The Caribbean islands are classified as one of Conservation International’s biodiversity hotspots because they support exceptionally diverse ecosystems, ranging from montane cloud forests to cactus scrublands.

Caribbean cruise vacations are very popular especially during the winter. This is perhaps because people want to feel warm when the weather back home is cold.

But cruise lines sail along the Caribbean waters all year round. If you don t want to go during the peak season, try booking during the summer because this is the best time to go bargain hunting.

There are a lot of cruise lines to choose from. Some of them include the Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise Line, and Crystal Cruises. For those who find this to be way out of their budget, they can inquire at Seabourn Cruise Lines.

Let’s talk a little bit about these companies.

The Royal Caribbean’s fleet offers to the Eastern, Southern and Western Caribbean. You could be away for a few days to a couple of weeks. The Radiance of the Seas for instance sails round trip from Ft. Lauderdale to San Juan, Philipsburg, St. Thomas and Nassau.

Apart from the good food on board, there are activities that you can do once you reach port like snorkeling, nature trekking, scuba diving and Catamaran sailing.

If you happen to book a trip in January, February, November or December, there are festivals that you shouldn’t afford to miss such as the Aruba Carnival Celebration, the Barbados Jazz Festival, Mustique Blues Festival, Bob Marley Week in Jamaica, Valentines Day, Tranquility Jazz Festival, Anguilla, St. Patrick’s Day, Bahamas International Film Festival and St. Nicholas Day in the Dutch Caribbean.

The Norwegian Cruise line offers almost the same itinerary as the Royal Caribbean. You can choose the three day , seven day or fifteen day package to the Western Caribbean, Eastern Caribbean and Southern Caribbean aboard its large ships.

Crystal Cruises only has 1 package and this voyage lasts for 12 days. You depart from New York, then move on to Bermuda/Hamilton, then to St. Maarten or Phillipsburg, Antigua, St. John, Curacao or Willemstad, Grand Cayman or Georgetown before heading home to Miami.

The Seabourn Cruise has only 2 packages. You can choose to go on a Caribbean vacation that could last 7 or 13 days. Apart from Fort Lauderdale, you can also catch a ride in New York City and visit Charlotte Amalie (St Thomas), and Bridgetown, Barbados. The best part about being in a yacht compared to a big ship is that it is not very crowded.

You can find out more about these shipping companies by letting your travel agent do the research or browsing online yourself.

By doing so, you will be able to know when are the scheduled their trips, compare their prices and find out what is inclusive in their packages. Once you have confirmed your trip, all you have to do now is pack your bags and leave.

For those coming from the west coast or mid-west, don’t forget to also plan your air travel so you don’t miss the ship before it leaves port. Some of these companies already have air fare and transfers inclusive so there is nothing to worry about.

The Caribbean cruise vacation is one of the best places to go if you are on your honeymoon, celebrating your anniversary or simply need time away from the real world. Once you come back, you will feel refreshed and ready to continue what you were doing before that.



Oscar

sweetheart asked:


A cruise that goes from ft lauderdale, to key west fl and to cozumel or a 3/4 day vacation in San Juan Puerto Rico?

I’m undecided because the cruise which goes to key west will only be there from 7am to 2pm(which to me sucks) because that isn’t long enough to spend in key west, Florida.

So which one i better? Help me out!

Rachel