Tours And Travel – Beachchannel.net

If you have never been on a cruise before, you are in for the time of your life. There are cruises going anywhere and everywhere that there is water.

Destinations are as exotic as the Caribbean, Alaska and Europe. No driving. No packing and repacking from place to place. All the food you care to eat. Gambling, dancing and all kinds of night life. And best of all, no phones!

I am told it is a shopper’s paradise. I don’t know as I could care less about shopping, but don’t tell my wife and daughters. There are “discounts” and items you wouldn’t find at home. Something for everyone.

I go for the adventure. Snorkeling, sightseeing and visiting places that I have only dreamed about. It gives real images to my thoughts of how I dare to escape the rat race.

You can plan for many months for such a vacation or you can go at the last minute. Real savings are found in the last minute deals. You should never, ever pay rack prices on a cruise. Those prices are only for the uninitiated.

Once on board, you will have access to 24 hour free food including international cuisine. There are three scheduled meals a day and many opportunities to eat in between. I would recommend everyone go to the scheduled dinner. It usually has a different theme for each night of the cruise. The wait staff is superb, they perform a show (based on the theme) for you and you get to meet people from other parts of the world. Hint: Dress up at night and don’t go too casual. That is part of the experience. Read the rest of this entry »

Cruise Industry at a Glance.

-The choice of taking a cruise vaction is the fastest growing choice of the travel industry – reaching more than 1,800% growth since 1970, when an estimated 1/2 million travelers took a cruise. Today more than 11 million people took a cruise vacation in 2005.

-The cruise sectors growth is also shown in its expanding guest capacity. About 40 new ships were assemblyed in the 1980s and during the 1990s, nearly 80 new ships have been introduced. By the end of 2005, about 69 new ships have been introduced since 2000.

-This fast growth has ignited the continuing trend of the cruise vacation experience. Over the years, cruise liners have modified itineraries to include more diverse ports of call and convenient embarkation ports and have also introduced many onboard amenities and facilities, including Internet cafes, ice-skating rinks, multiple themed restaurants and expansive spas, health and fitness facilities.

-The cruise industry’s commitment to adding new capacity is based in part on cruising’s promising growth potential. Because majority of U.S. adults have never taken a cruise vacation, there remains a virtually untapped sector of the travel industry.
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People love to hop on a large boat and cruise to an exotic location (often times more than one exotic location) as their vacation or getaway. This is probably because cruises offer many different opportunities that resorts or hotels do not.

Food is one attractant for people. A cruise offers breakfast, lunch and dinner but they also have midnight buffets, afternoon snack buffets, ice cream bars and 24-hour room service available. Food is basically available round the clock. There are casual and formal meals. Large or private meals. Of course depending on the cruise line you choose will determine the quality of the food. You must keep in mind that many of the cruise ships are feeding approximately 2000 people 10 meals per day!

Other people like the entertainment that is available. Most cruise lines run full scale production shows, have bands play, incorporate other special shows like magic or puppet for the children. The Disney Cruise line offers meals with Disney characters and special entertainment geared directly for the younger crowd. Most cruise ships even have floating casinos. Many adults love this, and use this as their evening entertainment. Many cruise lines are like a floating day camp. There are activities planned throughout the day for all ages. If you choose to participate you can, but if you choose to just lay by the pool and read a book or lounge lazily all day you can. You can be as busy or as inactive as you choose.
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It’s less than one month away before many kids and students will be out of school for the 2006 summer season, and if you don’t know exactly where to take your family this year for vacation, consider taking a cheap cruise holiday!

With gas prices going through the roof, many families may be reconsidering their vacation plans, and when you have been budgeting for your family trip, taking a cruise may be your best value for your buck.

Holidays are something we all look forward to, whether they’re for winter or summer, and when you finally have the time to take the entire family on a holiday, you want to have the best overall experience.

Finding A Cheap Holiday Is Easy If You Change Your Holiday!

Consider getting away from the traditional vehicle trip to the Theme Parks, or traditional annual camping trip! If you’re looking to do something different this year, and you live in a cruise port city that offers many exciting cruises on select cruise ships to the Caribbean or Mexico, you may be pleasantly surprised on the cruise prices and the incredible discounts they offer for the summer season.
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