Archive for October, 2009
Powered by Max Banner Ads
So, you want to go on a cruise! It’s exciting, it’s fun and it’s your way of enjoying the great life. But how do you make the choice of where to go, when and with whom? There are so many choices with respect to cruising nowadays that it can be very confusing. Here are a few tips to consider helping you decide which cruise is right for you.
Listed below are few examples of the types of cruise you may wish to take:
1. Mediterranean cruise
2. Caribbean cruise
3. an Alaskan cruise,
4. a cruise down the Amazon or Panama Canal
5. a Transatlantic ocean crossing
6. South Pacific or Hawaiian Island cruise
7. River cruises (the fjords in Norway, the Danube in Europe, the Nile in Egypt, the Mississippi in United States)
8. Polar cruises to see the penguins in the Antarctic
9. Russian waterways cruises
10. Galapagos Island cruises
11. New Zealand or Australia
Each can be very appealing but are also very different.
1. The first thing to consider in taking one of these cruises is when you want to go—the time of the year can dictate the type of cruise. Some cruise ship lines do not offer cruises to the Mediterranean in the winter months, but transfer their ships to the warmer waters of the Caribbean. Alaskan cruises only run in certain months also due to weather conditions. Ocean crossing cruises (Transatlantic) take place only as the seasons change so that cruise ship companies can reposition their ships to match the high seasons’ tourist industry.
2. You also have to decide on the length of your cruise. A typical choice is a 7-night cruise, but you can take cruises from 3-4 nights to over a month in length, or more. The length of your vacation time available may limit you, but taking a cruise for the first time may also be a consideration. Limiting your cruise to a manageable shorter cruise may help you decide whether a longer cruise at another time may be more advisable. In other words, do you get seasick? Do you like the variety of visiting different ports? Do you wish to simply stay at one destination and relax? Do you like the busy atmosphere of the many activities on a ship?
3. Next, the ports that you wish to visit can be a great part of which cruise is the right choice for you. Have you always wanted to visit Tortugas, the Bahamas or Cayman Islands? Here is your chance to get a taste of it. Make sure that one of your chosen destinations is on your cruise itinerary, and there are endless choices of various itineraries available. Cruises are great ways to experience various places. Then you can decide which destination you would like to see more of on a future vacation.
4. Another consideration in choosing a cruise is the amount of time you wish to be “At Sea”. For a Transatlantic voyage you are at sea for many days at a time, which limits you to being within the confines of the ship at all times. This can be a bonus if you don’t want the hustle and bustle of visiting different ports, but it can also be a downside if you want a lot of variety on your vacation. Some cruises offer very little time at sea, being in a different port every day, and this flurry of activity can be too overwhelming for some vacationers. I would recommend a bit of both—for a 7-night cruise a good happy medium would be 2 days at sea with the other days stopping at various ports of call.
5. Once you have narrowed down your choice of cruise to when and where you wish to visit, the next hardest choice is the cruise line and size of ship you want to use. The size of ship can dictate the cruise line, as some cruise lines offer significantly larger ships than others. Some cruise lines only use smaller, more intimate ships for smaller groups of people. Other cruise lines offer huge ships with passengers in the thousands. You must decide whether you like a small personal touch or like the larger groups. (We found that even on a larger ship, there were still areas where we could go to get away from the crowds. Crowding on the huge ships was not a problem at all.)
6. Fitting the cruise line to your individual personality is perhaps the most important factor in determining your cruise enjoyment. There are many different types of ship lines that cater to varying personalities. Of course, the Disney Cruise Line caters to families, but others such as Carnival Cruises cater to more of a party atmosphere for adults, or Norwegian focuses on a more conservative group. Discuss with your travel agent which cruise line fits you best. Cruise lines also offer themed or special interest cruises, such as an art collectors cruise, golfer’s cruises or culinary class cruises. These may be great to fit in with the interests in your life-style.
7. Once you have found the best itinerary for you on the cruise line that suits your personality, at the best time of year for you, there are still other choices you need to make. Some cruise lines offer “freestyle cruising”, which simply put means that you don’t have a set dinner time at a set table, but you can choose to eat whenever you wish. On most cruises, however, you have a preset dinner time at an assigned table. You can choose an early dinner (usually around 6-6:30) or a later dinner time (7:30-8:00). In choosing your dinner time, take into consideration your off-ship excursions. You don’t want to have to rush back from your shore excursion just to get back in time for dinner. You also usually have a choice of how many people you wish to sit with (usually from 4 to 8 -10 people at a table.) Our travel agent suggested a table of 8 on our cruise—she stated that if you were at a table for 4 and you didn’t get along with the other couple you were stuck, but a table for 8 offered more chance of finding congenial soul-mates.
8. Shore excursions can also be a major part of your cruise experience. There are many different shore excursion packages available, from visiting butterfly farms, swimming with dolphins, exploring ancient ruins, to snorkelling or scuba diving. Of course, if you wish you do not need to go on any shore excursions. You can simply choose to stay on-board and take advantage of the ship’s amenities, or you can simply walk around and visit or shop in the port-of-call.
Choosing a cruise can seem overwhelming, but the main point is to suit the cruise to what you want to get out of the experience. If you want a whirlwind of activity choose a party cruise line with that in mind. If you want a more relaxed atmosphere, choose more time at sea. If you want to sample various cultures, choose a destination-rich cruise. Different types of cruises offer at of those things, and more. Hopefully the above has given you an idea in the choices you need to make to get the most enjoyment out of your cruise. Happy cruising!
Denny Phillips
http://www.articlesbase.com/cruising-articles/choosing-a-cruise-183063.html
Going to Maui on vacation? Since you will be visiting one of the best and most popular areas for underwater sightseeing, you will want to make sure you bring your snorkeling gear. The warm Pacific waters of Maui offer a view of over seven hundred types of the most colorful fish in the world. You will swim among beautiful coral, large sea turtles, and even catch a view of some underwater lava formations.
If you do not intend to snorkel a lot on your vacation or in the future, you may choose not to spend money on your own mask and snorkel. However, there are a wide variety of snorkel and dive shops in Maui that can provide you with everything you will need for a wonderful and memorable underwater experience. Rentals for snorkeling gear start out at as little as $20 dollars a day. And many times if you are staying at a resort on the beach the resort may provide the equipment at no extra cost.
Another service that many dive shops in Maui offer is a tour of their beautiful waters. Tour guides will help you get acquainted with the water and advise you on good and bad conditions for snorkeling. If you are not used to the large waves of the Maui waters, snorkeling may be a bit more challenging. Listening to a marine forecast will also give you an idea if the ocean’s conditions are suitable for snorkeling or not. Another tip of advice dive shops may offer are to go on a sunny day when the water is most clear and the sun will enhance the colors of the coral and fish.
Dive shops can also provide you with a fish identifying guide so you can put a name with all of the beautiful sea life you will experience. Before going on your own snorkeling excursion you will probably want to consider visiting a dive shop and becoming more informed. Depending on the size of your group, tours can be as little as $90 a day. Going with a larger group tends to be more cost efficient. You can usually be grouped with other enthusiastic snorkelers who are ready for a day underwater as well.
Snorkeling is just one of the many exciting activities that you should consider trying on your Maui vacation. It is a great way to experience, up close and personal, some of the most beautiful sights that the island of Maui has to offer.
After snorkeling the beautiful waters and Maui Hawaii and seeing everything this island has to offer underwater you may be left with the desire to see the under water landscape and fish even closer. If this sounds like you then you might want to try scuba diving. Scuba diving will require extra equipment and training which in turn will cost more but the experience will be remember for years to come. The things you can see were scuba diving in Maui Hawaii are simply unbelievable. So start out with snorkeling and if you enjoy the experience give scuba diving a thought. You will not regret it!
Jeremy Thompson
http://www.articlesbase.com/travel-articles/take-a-maui-snorkeling-trip-54469.html
Using The Services Of A Concert Ticket Broker
Normally, when one thinks of New York, one thinks of theater and Broadway. As it has been said, “New York is Broadway, and Broadway is New York” (Susan Stroman, choreographer/director). However, New York is much more than Broadway. It is the center of live entertainment, a city that has more live performances each night than any other city. For people who want to take in a live concert, whether Pop, Rock Pop, or Country Pop concert, or an evening of live Jazz concert, this is the place. Procuring tickets for live concerts of your favorite stars, or for your favorite events, is not going to be easy, without the services of a concert ticket broker.
Whether it is the height of the tourist season, or whether tourism has taken a dip southwards, it is never easy procuring live concert tickets. As a local resident of New York, you have the wherewithal to book your concert tickets well in advance, but the problem starts when you are on a sudden short visit, on business or on a vacation, or . . . if you have important out of town clients clamoring to see a live concert performance. Using the services of a reputed concert ticket broker will be an excellent idea.
Licensed Concert Ticket Broker
When seeking the services of a concert ticket broker, ensure that he is licensed and is a member of the National Association of Ticket Brokers. Such brokers have a reputation to consider, and have to adhere to the code of conduct of the association. They are duty bound to offer the best deals to their patrons, and through the association, all your complaints can be redressed.
A reputed concert ticket broker is duty bound to ensure that all his patrons are satisfied. He will attend to all your ticketing needs, and deal with you professionally and courteously.
The advantage of using a concert ticket broker is that you can lay all your ticketing problems at his door. All you need to do is to tell him your requirements, and he will ensure that you get the seats of your choice. The advantage of using a concert ticket broker is that it is a one stop shop, as far as your concert tickets are concerned. It does not matter whether you are looking for a single concert ticket, or a bunch of them.
A concert ticket broker will charge you more than the original value of the ticket. The charge will be reasonably higher, but then it has to be, to cover the extra cost for procuring your concert tickets for you. The more difficult it is to procure your ticket, the higher the price you will have to dish out.
A concert ticket broker will also offer group discounts, and discounts for special categories, such as for students and for disabled people, etc.
Make your requirements known to the concert ticket broker clearly, and he will go all the way out to get you the best deal possible.
Al Terry
http://www.articlesbase.com/art-and-entertainment-articles/using-the-services-of-a-concert-ticket-broker-96383.html
Willie appears in largest show ever
More than 120,000 Davaoenos showed up at Wowowee host Willie Revillames first public appearance last night with the ASF Dancers at the Kadayawan Festival in Davao held at the Tionko Field after his so-called vacation leave. This outnumbered the 90,000 Iglesia ni Cristo members, the largest gathering in the history of said venue before Willie broke the record.
Willie and the ASF Dancers checked in at Mandaya Hotel where a large group of Davaoenos waited for him.
Chokoleit frontacted before Willie went on stage. Wearing an all-white outfit, Willie cried when he saw the overwhelming love and support of Davaoenos especially it was raining and they decided not to leave. They showed their concern for Willie as he performed while it rained.
Lining up as early as 8am, the gathered throng did not diminish despite the heavy rains and thunderstorm. Willie showed professionalism by continuing to perform including a medley of his hit songs such as Giling Giling, Ikaw Na Nga, etc. despite being drenched The show, however, was cut short when the sound system, including the microphone, got grounded.
Seventy-one-year-old Labiana Eredania from Sandawa, Davao went to the show alone because she did not tell her children as they would have not permitted her. She went very happy because she saw Willie in person for the first time and even home with a Wowowee jacket which she won. She summarizes why Willie is well loved by the elderly, Priority niya kaming matatanda.
This was Willies second appearance in Davao. The first time was when he held the Wowowee show there in 2006 attended by close to 100,000 Davaoenos.
Willie promised to go back to Davao for another show.
Duration : 0:0:59
VENADO POLO SCHOOL & VACATION
BY FEDERICO CENDOYA
WWW.POLODAYS.COM
FACEBOOK GROUP POLO PLAYERS & FANS BY SU COSABB AND MARIANO DEL CARRIL
A POLO PLAYERS & FANS PRODUCTION
Duration : 0:6:55