STOP LOSING SLEEP!
Seek the advice of a trusted cruise specialist to select a cruise line
Every day we make choices. Coke or Pepsi? Coffee or Tea? Chips or Fries? The list goes on. Sometimes making these decisions introduces stress into our lives. One of the benefits of taking a vacation is to get away from daily stress. We'll guide you through the selection process.
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| Look Under the Covers to Narrow Selection | ||
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You've seen their commercials; you've heard their slogans. Even though you've never sailed before, I bet you can name these top selling cruise lines.
In case you can't, they are Carnival Cruise Lines, Royal Caribbean International, and Norwegian Cruise Line (top to bottom).
Each cruise line has a different personality and appeals to different demographics. In most cases, any of these three lines would be an excellent choice for your first cruise.
However, you will definitely need to know differences to set proper expectations.
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| Determine What is Important to You | ||
As a cruise specialist, the majority of my time is spent asking questions and listening to your responses. Those answers in turn help to narrow the field of cruise sailings to a manageable short list. Example: If you don't want to go on a cruise where there are children, you probably won't want to book a cruise on Carnival during Spring Break. From there, factors outside our control may further narrow the selection (for example, a particular cabin type could be sold out).
Homework Assignment:
Read about these three cruise lines - "All Cruise Lines" page.
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Tell a friend about what you've learned and suggest that they read some of our articles as well
You may also be interested in our eSavers Newsletter
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Thursday, October 11, 2012
Stop Losing Sleep - Seek Advice of Specialist
Tropical Storm Patty in Atlantic
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| Click (here) for Interactive Map |
Tropical Storm Patty
Formed Near Bahamas
500 PM EDT THU OCT 11 2012 ...PATTY FORMS BUT IS EXPECTED TO BE SHORT LIVED...
Tropical Storm Patty is the 16th named storm for the 2012 Atlantic Hurricane season. It appears to be on borrowed time and isn't expected to be around long. A cold front and a shear are two factors that may contribute to Patty's demise.
SUMMARY OF 500 PM EDT...2100 UTC...INFORMATION ---------------------------------------------- LOCATION...25.8N 72.5W ABOUT 255 MI...415 KM NE OF THE CENTRAL BAHAMAS MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...40 MPH...65 KM/H PRESENT MOVEMENT...STATIONARY MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...1007 MB...29.74 INCHES WATCHES AND WARNINGS -------------------- THERE ARE NO COASTAL WATCHES OR WARNINGS IN EFFECT.
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS HAVE INCREASED TO NEAR 40 MPH...65 KM/H...WITH HIGHER GUSTS. LITTLE CHANGE IN STRENGTH IS FORECAST OVERNIGHT WITH SOME WEAKENING LIKELY ON FRIDAY.
HAZARDS AFFECTING LAND ---------------------- NONE
HISTORICAL DATA: Storm Archive Graphics Archive
1100 AM EDT THU OCT 11 2012 ...TROPICAL DEPRESSION FORMS EAST-NORTHEAST OF THE CENTRAL BAHAMAS...
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Should My First Cruise be 109 Days or Less
What's The Right Cruise Length for
First Time Cruiser
Most people start with a short cruise
We can safely assume that your first cruise will be substantially shorter than 109 days, unless you have your heart set on seeing the entire World on your first cruise. Typically, a first time cruiser wants to see if they like cruising before booking a longer cruise. That is a wise decision.
Let's explore some possibilities. |
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| You Don't Need to Figure This Out Alone | |
The typical first cruise is 3 to 5 nights in length. This is long enough to give you a taste of sea days as well as days in port. From the image above, you can see that there are still many choices in that range.
Itineraries include The Bahamas, Eastern and Western Caribbean from the east coast, with west coast destinations including Baja California and Pacific coastal cruises.
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The length of cruise will impact the departure city and the destinations that can be reached from there. You'll find that most of the 3-night East Coast cruises will depart from Florida and go to the Bahamas. As you increase the number of days, you'll open up more possible destinations and also departure ports.
Don't feel that you are restricted to 3-5 days in length. When we began cruising 30 years ago, our first big ship cruise was 7 nights in length.
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FACT - Cruises have a higher percentage of satisfied
customers than any other vacation experience. Ask your CLIA-affiliated
travel agent about cruising. Chances are, he or she will recommend a
cruise vacation from personal experience. SUGGESTION - Take their advice!
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| We Love Helping First Timers - Ask Us | |
 So far we have talked about several decisions that narrow the cruise sailing selection: type of cabin, departure ports, destinations, and length of the cruise. There are still more questions to be answered in order to determine the Best Cruise for You. We cannot emphasize enough that planning the first cruise properly will determine if this is your first and only cruise, or if you'll fall in love with the best vacation around and continue to plan many more cruises in the years to come.
Click This Link to See a Sample of 3-5 Night Cruises
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Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Disney Fans with Kids Mickey has a Great Offer
Kids Sail Free on Select Cruises from Galveston
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Disney Magic 6-Night
and 8-Night Sailings
Kids ages 17 and under can sail FREE on select 6-night and 8-night Disney Cruise Line®
sailings from Galveston, Texas. To take advantage of this offer, kids
must travel with two full-fare Guests in the same stateroom in
categories 4A - 11B on select cruises from January 4 - March 1, 2013.
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We seldom include cruise offers in our column, but when something like this crosses our desk, we would be remiss if we didn't share this with our readers. Our Facebook Fans learned about the offer yesterday shortly after we got the notification from Disney Travel.
Notice that if you take advantage of this and book the 8-night itinerary, you also get a 1-day Magic Your Way® Ticket with Park Hopper® Option for each Guest and complimentary round-trip transportation between the ship and the Resort. That alone is worth in excess of and additional $400 savings for a family of four.
Offer Details:
To take advantage of this offer, kids must travel with two full-fare Guests in the same stateroom in categories 4A - 11B on select cruises from Jan. 4 - March 1, 2013. Government Taxes and Fees are approximately $52 per person for 6-night Western Caribbean cruises, $66 per person for 8-night Western Caribbean cruises, and $84 per person for 8-night Bahamian cruises (all amounts subject to change).
To take advantage of this offer, kids must travel with two full-fare Guests in the same stateroom in categories 4A - 11B on select cruises from Jan. 4 - March 1, 2013. Government Taxes and Fees are approximately $52 per person for 6-night Western Caribbean cruises, $66 per person for 8-night Western Caribbean cruises, and $84 per person for 8-night Bahamian cruises (all amounts subject to change).
Travel Window:
- Most sail dates January 4 - March 1, 2013
Additional Details:
- Must mention booking code KFO at time of booking
- This offer is only available to residents of the U.S. and Canada
- Offer applies only to stateroom categories 4A - 11B
- Excludes suites, category 11C staterooms and GTY categories with restrictions (VGT, OGT, IGT)
- The number of staterooms allocated for this offer is limited
- Stateroom accommodations for four or more Guests are limited and based on availability at the time of booking
- This offer cannot be combined with any other special offers or discounts
- Additional Terms and Conditions apply
Have you Wanted to Take the Family on a Disney Cruise
Call Us Today to Book this Offer Before it is Sold Out
You may also be interested in:
Current Disney Offers
Monday, October 8, 2012
What Would Christopher Columbus Think
Columbus First Transatlantic
La Pinta (Spanish for The Painted One or The Spotted One) was the fastest of the three ships used by Christopher Columbus in his first transatlantic voyage in 1492
The Pinta was square rigged and smaller than the Santa MarÃa. the ship weighed approximately 60 tons with an estimated deck length of 17 meters (56 ft) and a width of 5.36 meters (17.6 ft). The crew size was 26 men under Captain MartÃn Alonso Pinzón.
On the evening of 3 August 1492, Columbus departed from Spain with three ships, including the Pinta. He first sailed to the Canary Islands where he stopped for repairs and provisions, staying there until 6 September 1492.
First Person to Sight Land
In the wee hours of 12 October 1492, Columbus claims to have seen the light of land. Columbus called the island (in what is now The Bahamas) San Salvador. He claimed the lifetime pension promised by Ferdinand and Isabella in connection with the sighting.
How Does Pinta Compare to Today's Cruise Ships
Oasis of the Seas is 47 meters wide and 360 meters long, i.e. 40 m
longer than the height of the Eiffel tower! Height over the water line
is 65 m. Building the vessel has been compared to a huge 3-dimensional
puzzle. The vessel consists of 180 grand blocks, the biggest with a size
of length 22 m, width 30 m and weight 600 tons! The vessel´s weight is
12 times the weight of the Eiffel tower.
Pinta Definitely Out-Sized
Here you see just one of the 180 grand blocks that comprised the Oasis of the Seas. Let's assume that it's the largest block. That would mean that the Pinta was 5m shorter and 1/10th the weight of just that one building block.
Oasis of the Seas First Transatlantic
Just like the Pinta, the Captain of the Oasis of the Seas set sail from Europe destined for Bahamas and points beyond. The Oasis made the journey from 31 October 2009 until 13 November 2009, arriving two days later than planned due to a tropical storm it encountered during the crossing. Columbus too had encountered tropical weather during his crossing.
Columbus would probably be amazed if he sailed his ship alongside the Oasis of the Seas. We'll take a look at more ships as we continue our special series for National Cruise Vacation Month.
Sunday, October 7, 2012
What Cruise Ports are on Your Bucket List
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SO MANY PLACES - SO LITTLE TIME!
Leave the Driving to the Ship's Captain
The world's waterways are your highways and the next stop on your journey is up to you.
When Christopher Columbus sailed the oceans blue in 1492, he wasn't sure where he would end up. Thanks to brave sailors like Columbus, we now have charts and maps that clearly show fabulous destinations that await you. Just for fun, close your eyes and think about a destination on your bucket list. Now open your eyes and tell me what you picked. |
| Let's Review Some Cruise Choices | |
Lose yourself in the pure perfection that is Alaska.
There is only one destination that can fill your soul with tremendous
warmth while simultaneously surrounding you with earth’s most arctic
element.
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The
Bahamas are known for their white sand beaches, duty free shopping at
the Straw Market, horse and carriage rides, and some of the most
exciting casinos and nightlife in the tropics.
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Bermuda is all about pink sand and iridescent waters, pastel-hued buildings, mornings of snorkeling and afternoons of sipping rum swizzles.It has always been considered a romantic destination for couples.
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Canada and New England is rich in history, breath taking natural beauty and maritime culture.It is a very popular destination during fall when the leaves are changing colors.
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Lose yourself in the tropical splendor of the islands on a
Caribbean cruise. Few places in the world exemplify the pure bliss of
being on vacation quite like the Caribbean.
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Experience what cruising is really about as you encounter the vast, enchanting lands of Europe. Explore the fjords of Norway, the waterways of Venice, or the ruins of
the Mediterranean.
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From palm-fringed beaches to tropical sunsets, Polynesian luaus
and glowing volcanoes... there's something for everyone in Hawaii.
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Venture South-of-the-Border to Mexico, a land full of vibrant colors, ancient ruins, authentic foods. It is a culturally rich country.
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Asia is just as much a land of superlatives in current times: the
largest continent, the tallest mountains, the longest coastline, and
three-fifth's the world's population.
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A world cruise offers the ultimate travel adventure! You will see
parts of the world you always dreamed about -- and all from the comfort
of your luxurious cruise ship.
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| Explore Your List of Destinations | |
 Select From Amongst the Fascinating Destinations and Click on the Image above or click here to get started. Next, Read More about your Selected Destination and scroll through the list of suggested sailings. Finally, Select a Ship & Sailing date from the list provided or refine your search, by using the Cruise Finder application.
Modify Your Search as Needed
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Saturday, October 6, 2012
Tropical Storm Olivia in Pacific
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| Click (here) for Interactive Map - Click (Image) for Updated Track |
Tropical Storm Olivia
Latest to Form in East Pacific
Latest to Form in East Pacific
200 AM PDT TUE OCT 09 2012 ...OLIVIA BECOMES A REMNANT LOW... ...THIS IS THE LAST ADVISORY...
Not the storm you are looking for? Click Image or Here
See where ships are relative to tropical storms
Interactive tracking map (real-time ship tracking)
A new tropical depression formed in the East Pacific on Saturday - it was no threat to land.
It has become Tropical Storm Olivia. There are currently no watches posted for this storm.
SUMMARY OF 800 AM PDT...1500 UTC...INFORMATION ---------------------------------------------- LOCATION...14.5N 121.0W ABOUT 930 MI...1495 KM SW OF THE SOUTHERN TIP OF BAJA CALIFORNIA MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...60 MPH...95 KM/H PRESENT MOVEMENT...NW OR 305 DEGREES AT 6 MPH...9 KM/H MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...998 MB...29.47 INCHES WATCHES AND WARNINGS -------------------- THERE ARE NO COASTAL WATCHES OR WARNINGS IN EFFECT.
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 60 MPH...95 KM/H...WITH HIGHER GUSTS. SOME STRENGTHENING IS FORECAST DURING THE NEXT DAY OR SO. HOWEVER...WEAKENING SHOULD BEGIN BY LATE MONDAY.
HAZARDS AFFECTING LAND ---------------------- NONE.
HISTORICAL DATA: Storm Archive Graphics Archive
800 AM PDT SAT OCT 06 2012 ...NEW TROPICAL DEPRESSION FORMS IN THE EASTERN PACIFIC... ...NO THREAT TO LAND..
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