Plan for a Vacation Day

click images to enlarge

"Where do you want to go? I don't know. What do you have a taste for? I don’t know. How about going to … No, we went there last time.” 

Sound familiar? The last time you went out for dinner, did you have a conversation somewhat like that? I wouldn't be surprised if you did, since I've had several of these conversations myself.

Planning a vacation often sounds like that too. That's not a bad thing. It's actually very good to ask questions and get a consensus before planking down your hard-earned money on a vacation. You do want to involve everyone in your decision process, so that you will all be happy with the final plan. I also encourage you to get some professional advice.

Planning a dinner outing isn't that much different than planning a vacation. The questions are pretty similar: “Where do you want to go? What do you want to see and do there? Do you want to dress up for dinner? Do you want to relax at the beach? Do you want to go somewhere you haven’t been to before or go back to the same destination you went to last year? Where can we get good value for our money?”

Let me help you answer some of these questions. The last question is probably the easiest to answer. A cruise gives you excellent value. You are able to pay one price for all your lodging, food, and entertainment. From the time you board the ship, you are treated to a resort experience that you will talk about for years to come. Even in the most expensive ports of call, you have an option to keep your costs down by eating your meals onboard the ship instead of at some local restaurant. You don’t have to worry about the exchange rate if you don’t want to. You’ve already paid for your cruise in your local currency and all optional onboard expenses can be charged to your account in your local currency.

So, that brings us to the harder question – where to go. If you have cruised before, you have most likely been to some part of the Caribbean Islands and/or the Bahamas. The majority of first-time cruisers go there, so I think my odds are pretty good on guessing where you’ve been to before. There’s good reason why most cruisers go to the Caribbean – it’s a great destination, the weather is great, it’s a year-round destination with many cruise ships going there. Due to the supply, the cruise lines have no problem keeping up with the demand.

On the other hand, if you’ve been to the Caribbean several times before, you might be looking for something new this year. I’d like to let you in on some inside information which may surprise you. Europe is an excellent cruise value, especially in 2008. This may come as a shock to you. It seems that we are either in a recession or heading for one, so how could Europe be a good value? Isn’t the cost of fuel going up, so won’t it be expensive to get to Europe from the States? Yes, times are tough, fuel costs are rising, and there is a good chance that the airline ticket will be the largest portion of your vacation price. Repeat that you say. Airfare may be more than your cruise fare. There is a possibility that you can get a great deal from the cruise lines this year. Why is that? The cruise lines are over-deployed in Europe this year. There was such an increase in demand for Europe the past few years, the cruise line reacted and moved many of their ships to the European market.

Cruise ship schedules are done well in advance, so it takes quite some time to react to changing times. With all the ships in Europe, the cruise lines need to fill them up this summer. In order to do that, many of the lines are offering special pricing which combats the price of the airfare. In some cases, they even have special airfare if you book that through them. If you haven’t been to Europe before, or if you’ve been yearning to go back, this might be the best time in the next few years to do so.

It wouldn’t surprise me if the airlines also react by offering special airfares during the summer months. It is very costly to fly long-distance trips and the airlines want to have their planes as full as possible. So, the savvy cruise traveler can actually reap great rewards by taking advantage of special pricing. If Europe isn’t your “cup of tea”, I would encourage you to check other destinations beyond the Caribbean on our blog and website.

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Where have you explored? 

Gather your travel and food pics and join us every Wednesday night for the latest installment of #FoodTravelChat 

#FriFotos Takes to the Roads - Stockholm

#FriFotos Theme: #ROADS

Our next stop on our Baltic Cruise features modern roads.  Gone are the overhead wires of the trolleys.  Our tour started with a bus ride from the port to the heart of the city and then we took to the waters for most of the day.

Fourth in a Series of Posts

We continue our reflections of our Celebrity Constellation Baltic Cruise with a series of articles showing the countries we visited featuring their #Roads in order to share tweets on the weekly #FriFotos photo forum.  For those of you not familiar with the forum, it is hosted by @EpsteinTravels @TravelDesigned @CharlesYap. The theme is revealed every Tuesday 12pm ET.    Recently, @spencerspellman joined the team as a permanent co-host.  We  co-hosted one week late last year and continue to contribute with images from our archives whenever possible.

 On the Road - Stockholm

Stockholm is the capital of Sweden as well as the cultural, media, political, and economic center.

One of the city's most prized museums, the Vasa Museum, is the most visited non-art museum in Scandinavia. That was the highlight of our tour following the "Under the Bridges of Stockholm" boat tour.

Following our ferry ride to the museum, we walked along the main road back to the bus.

If you like Travel & Photography join us each Friday!

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What #Roads have you traveled? 

There is still time to share your pictures on #FriFotos.  If you don't have any to share at this time, check out what others are posting.   This forum is a great way to explore the world from the comforts of your chair.

Other Posts in the Series

#FriFotos Takes to the Roads - Tallinn
#FriFotos Takes to the Roads - Helsingborg 
#FriFotos Takes to the Roads - Helsinki

Vision of the Seas 2011 Mediterranean

Ship Profile | Itineraries & Pricing | Deck Plans Dining Menus | Wine Lists | Kids Programs | Ship Reviews | 360 Tours | Photos

Vision of the Seas®

2011 MEDITERRANEAN DEPLOYMENT

14-Night Eastbound Transatlantic
Sao Paulo (Santos), Brazil • Rio De Janeiro, Brazil • Salvador De Bahia, Brazil • Tenerife, Canary Islands • Lanzarote, Canary Islands • Seville (Cadiz), Spain • Lisbon, Portugal

11-Night Lisbon to England
Lisbon, Portugal • La Coruña, Spain • Gijón, Spain • Bilbao, Spain • La Rochelle, France • Brest, France • St. Peter Port, Channel Isl • Paris/Normandy (Le Havre), France • Southampton, England

4-Night Amsterdam

Southampton, England • Amsterdam, Netherlands • Copenhagen, Denmark

5-Night Norwegian Fjords
Copenhagen, Denmark • Bergen, Norway • Geiranger, Norway • Copenhagen, Denmark

7-Night St. Petersburg & Baltics
Copenhagen, Denmark • Tallinn, Estonia • St. Petersburg, Russia • Helsinki, Finland • Stockholm, Sweden • Copenhagen, Denmark

3-Night Berlin

Copenhagen, Denmark • Berlin (Warnemunde), Germany • Oslo, Norway

5-Night Amsterdam & Brugges

Oslo, Norway • Brugges (Zeebrugge), Belgium • Amsterdam, Netherlands • Oslo, Norway

9-Night British Isles & Normandy

Oslo, Norway • Paris/ Normandy (Le Havre), France • Cherbourg, France • Dublin, Ireland • Liverpool, England • Edinburgh (S.Queensferry), Scotland • Oslo, Norway

7-Night St. Petersburg & Tallinn
Oslo, Norway • St. Petersburg, Russia • Helsinki, Finland • Copenhagen, Denmark • Oslo, Norway

7-Night St. Petersburg & Tallinn

Oslo, Norway • St. Petersburg, Russia • Tallinn, Estonia • Copenhagen, Denmark • Oslo, Norway

7-Night Oslo to Stockholm 

Oslo, Norway • Copenhagen, Denmark • Riga, Latvia • St. Petersburg, Russia • Helsinki, Finland • Stockholm, Sweden

RSSC Voyager Baltic Offers

Photos courtesy Regent Seven Seas Cruises

Regent Seven Seas Cruises
Free Business Class Air
on Scandinavia & Russia Cruises

2-for-1 Fares Plus an Additional Savings of up to $1,000 Per Person

Included Air and Complimentary Shore Excursions

Regent Seven Seas takes you to the Baltic this year aboard the 700-guest, all-suite, all-balcony Seven Seas Voyager. Take advantage of special savings now through March 31, 2010 on one of the most enjoyable European destinations.

Enjoy a picturesque funicular ride and hiking tour to the top of Mount Floyen with magnificent views and photo opportunities of surrounding Bergen and beyond.

Relive Estonia's turbulent past and fight for freedom from Soviet oppression. Spend two days in St. Petersburg, Russia, viewing the ancient city's top attractions including opulent rooms and galleries covered in gilt and carved plaster.

Explore the many bridges of Stockholm or take a ferry to Vasa Museum to learn more about the Vikings and their ships. See magnificent waterfalls as your ship sails through the Norwegian Fjords.

These are just a sampling of the European adventures that await you on the Seven Seas Voyager. <more details>

Oceania 2010 European Collection

Oceania Cruises

Announces the 2010 European Collection

Oceania Cruises announced the launch of its new 2010 European Collection of Sailings in conjunction with its offer of $2,000 Price Reduction off 2 for 1 Cruise Fares with Free Airfare per stateroom on all 2010 sailings to Europe. The 2010 European Collection features 34 unique itineraries sailing to more than 130 ports ranging from 10 to 36 days in length. In addition to offering guests extraordinary value, guests sailing on 2010 European Collection voyages will receive free unlimited soft drinks and bottled water.

Select from sailings on Regatta, Insignia, or Nautica.
Oceania has three intimate and luxurious 684 passenger ships, the Regatta, Insignia and Nautica. All three are formerly Renaissance R class ships, these mid-size ships afford incomparable luxury, including cuisine that is simply the finest at sea. With only 684 guests to pamper, the 400 staff members cater to your every whim, with highly personalized service. There's a sense of warmth and intimacy throughout, so the ambiance resembles that of a private country club - casual, yet elegant.

Your European adventure can begin in one of several enchanting cities like London, Rome, Barcelona, Venice, Athens, Monte Carlo, Stockholm, Istanbul, Amsterdam, or Copenhagen.

Regardless of whether you want to depart in April or December, 2010, Oceania has a European cruise vacation that you will remember for quite some time.

More details about Oceania Cruises itineraries (on my Web site)

More details about the European Collection Promotion (on my Facebook Pages)

This is Luxury you can Afford! Take advantage of this offer before cabins are gone. Just this evening I booked the last inside cabin for a client on one of the sailings aboard Regatta. Contact me for more details - I'd love to help you plan a cruise vacation to Europe.

Cruising Beyond the Caribbean

"Where do you want to go? I don't know. What do you have a taste for? I don’t know. How about going to … No, we went there last time.” Sound familiar? The last time you went out for dinner, did you have a conversation somewhat like that? I wouldn't be surprised if you did, since I've had several of these conversations myself.

Planning a vacation often sounds like that too. That's not a bad thing. It's actually very good to ask questions and get a consensus before planking down your hard-earned money on a vacation. You do want to involve everyone in your decision process, so that you will all be happy with the final plan. I also encourage you to get some professional advice.

Planning a dinner outing isn't that much different than planning a vacation. The questions are pretty similar: “Where do you want to go? What do you want to see and do there? Do you want to dress up for dinner? Do you want to relax at the beach? Do you want to go somewhere you haven’t been to before or go back to the same destination you went to last year? Where can we get good value for our money?”

Let me help you answer some of these questions. The last question is probably the easiest to answer. A cruise gives you excellent value. You are able to pay one price for all your lodging, food, and entertainment. From the time you board the ship, you are treated to a resort experience that you will talk about for years to come. Even in the most expensive ports of call, you have an option to keep your costs down by eating your meals onboard the ship instead of at some local restaurant. You don’t have to worry about the exchange rate if you don’t want to. You’ve already paid for your cruise in your local currency and all optional onboard expenses can be charged to your account in your local currency.

So, that brings us to the harder question – where to go. If you have cruised before, you have most likely been to some part of the Caribbean Islands and/or the Bahamas. The majority of first-time cruisers go there, so I think my odds are pretty good on guessing where you’ve been to before. There’s good reason why most cruisers go to the Caribbean – it’s a great destination, the weather is great, it’s a year-round destination with many cruise ships going there. Due to the supply, the cruise lines have no problem keeping up with the demand.

On the other hand, if you’ve been to the Caribbean several times before, you might be looking for something new this year. I’d like to let you in on some inside information which may surprise you. Europe is an excellent cruise value, especially in 2008. This may come as a shock to you. It seems that we are either in a recession or heading for one, so how could Europe be a good value? Isn’t the cost of fuel going up, so won’t it be expensive to get to Europe from the States? Yes, times are tough, fuel costs are rising, and there is a good chance that the airline ticket will be the largest portion of your vacation price. Repeat that you say. Airfare may be more than your cruise fare. There is a possibility that you can get a great deal from the cruise lines this year. Why is that? The cruise lines are over-deployed in Europe this year. There was such an increase in demand for Europe the past few years, the cruise line reacted and moved many of their ships to the European market.

Cruise ship schedules are done well in advance, so it takes quite some time to react to changing times. With all the ships in Europe, the cruise lines need to fill them up this summer. In order to do that, many of the lines are offering special pricing which combats the price of the airfare. In some cases, they even have special airfare if you book that through them. If you haven’t been to Europe before, or if you’ve been yearning to go back, this might be the best time in the next few years to do so.

It wouldn’t surprise me if the airlines also react by offering special airfares during the summer months. It is very costly to fly long-distance trips and the airlines want to have their planes as full as possible. So, the savvy cruise traveler can actually reap great rewards by taking advantage of special pricing.If Europe isn’t your “cup of tea”, I would encourage you to check other destinations beyond the Caribbean. My websites should give you some more ideas. I’ll share some additional ideas with you next time.