family cruise vacation ideas

Seven Things You Must Know Before Your Next Cruise (to Have the Best Cruise Ever)

Filed under: cruise — Tags: activities, advantage, advice, air, allow, amp, ana, anywhere, around, art, available, Avoid, away, bars, base, beach, become, bed, before, best, board, boat, book, Border, bring, but, cabin, call, Casino, Certain, chances, Charge, Climate, clubs, come, consider, convenient, cooking, Cost, cruise, cruises, cruising, da, dancing, day, dining, direct, does, during, early, easy, eco, end, enjoy, eve, event, events, Every, Everybody, Everything, experience, experiences, Extend, facilities, fall, few, fill, find, food, forget, four, free, frequent, friends, fun, further, going, good, great, group, has, having, head, Help, here, Here's, high, hot, ice, inc, increase, information, Just, la, land, le, leave, Less, life, light, like, line, lines, long, lots, love, low, mad, made, many, may, Mean, means, Meeting, men, might, mild, minute, Minutes, must, need, next, night, not, ny, offer, offered, onboard, only, Order, pa, part, party, pass, passengers, Port, Product, protection, Proven, Purchase, put, rail, rate, Rates, real, really, recover, red, relax, relaxing, right, rise, roar, rooms, sail, sailing, same, see, self, serious, service, seven, ship, Shop, should, shows, Size, ski, skin, solo, spa, spend, Star, Start, Still, style, sun, sure, System, Tactics, ten, than, thing, things, those, through, time, tip, tips, top, tour, tours, travel, typically, up, vacation, vessel, Want, war, way, Well, where, while, why, will, win, wonderful, world — libertees @ 5:02 pm June 18, 2010

Cruising is fun, convenient, a good value … and easy. Right? Well, cruising is meant to be relaxing, but there are certain things passengers can do to get the very most out of their cruise vacation experience. Here are seven proven tips to maximize your cruise experience (and they don’t cost a thing!)

First – Travel with a like-minded partner or friends. Most cruise ships are like Noah’s Ark: people get on in pairs or in groups. While cruise lines will gladly allow you to cruise solo, it is not the best way to enjoy a cruise. Not only will you sometimes feel awkward during dining or cruise ship activities, you also get slapped with a surcharge since all cruising is based on double (or more) occupancy rates.

Furthermore, travel with compatible people. If you like to party, don’t decide to go on a cruise with a tee-totaler or a recovering drinker. Whether you are a sun bather or a casino denizen, you are going to have your best time if you travel with people who share your interests and values.

Second – Board your ship as early as you can and take any tours of the vessel or facilities that are offered. Most ships allow you to board many hours before the ship sets sail and during that time you may be offered free tours of the ship, the spa, and so on. Although they aren’t going to be the highlight of your vacation, these tours help you get oriented and can give you a glimpse of facilities on-board that you may have not known about.

If you can’t get an official tour, try to walk through the ship systematically. This will help you get your bearings plus you may find out about lounges, snack bars, clubs, meeting rooms, or other areas that you might not have known about.

On a recent cruise, I found out on the tour that the cruise ship had a guarantee program for purchases made in port. If you bought merchandise from certain recognized stores, the cruise line would guarantee them providing you filled out certain paperwork and turned it in to the onboard shopper. It was a great tip, and I never would have known about it had I not taken the pre-sailing tour of the ship.

Third – Do everything. This may sound counterintuitive to most cruise fanatics, who seek unstructured time and the opportunity to just lounge around and do nothing. Actually, most cruise directors will tell you the best cruises are those in which you really attempt to try and do everything offered.

This means you should extend yourself a bit. Sample the dancing, casinos, the pools, on-board games, art auctions, spa services, bingo, shows, and fine dining. Even if you don’t normally do those things, the more you try to take advantage of all that is offered, the more fun you’ll have.

Fourth – Don’t overeat. While some people do take cruises to gorge themselves, this is usually a rookie mistake. It may sound counter-intuitive to avoid overindulging on a cruise ship, since most cruises really emphasize the wonderful food they offer. But here’s how to handle it.

Do enjoy yourself. Order what you love. Chances are that cruise ships will offer it, whether it’s steak or lobster, ice cream or pizza, eggs benedict at sunrise, or chocolate decadence at midnight. Do, by all means, eat the foods you love.

But don’t stuff yourself. You’ll wind up feeling miserable during the cruise and fat after you get off the boat.

When in doubt, pass on food. Why? Because on a cruise ship, you’re never more than a few minutes away from the next opportunity to eat. Do try to sample what strikes your fancy, but don’t overeat and don’t be afraid to say no to many of the things that are offered to you to eat or drink. You really won’t be able to eat and drink everything on board, so don’t even try.

You’ll wind up feeling fitter and stronger and you’ll really enjoy what you do eat.

Fifth – Drink water. That’s good advice anywhere, but most of us forget about it on vacation, particularly on a cruise. Furthermore, if you drink alcohol or spend a lot of time in a hot climate, your need for water increases so you need even more water to avoid dehydration.

Even mild dehydration can cause headaches, aches and pains, and digestive disturbances. Why ruin your vacation? Drink lots and lots of water. It’s available just about anywhere beverages are offered on a cruise ship and bottled water is typically brought every morning to your cabin.

Sixth – Protect your skin. Even if you cruise to Antarctica, you will still need sunscreen. The sun’s intensity is amplified by the water’s reflection, so ramp up your sunscreen protection for a cruise. Put on sunscreen when you go to the pool or beach or even if you’re just sitting on deck in the shade.

If you do get burned, use some of the after-burn products on the market. They should be available on board ship if you don’t bring your own. Whatever you do, protect any burned skin from further sun exposure. If you get a burn on top of an existing sunburn, you can do serious damage to your skin and may even require medical intervention.

Seventh – Don’t be cruise-stupid. That’s a term I made up for a behavior I frequently observe on cruise ships. For some reason, being on a cruise makes some people act foolishly or recklessly and do things they would never normally do. Maybe it’s the unreal experience of being on a cruise ship.

On a cruise ship, people wait on you. Everything is nice and clean. You don’t have to do any work at all. Everybody seems happy. You never have to worry about pulling out your wallet, cooking a meal, or even picking up after yourself. It doesn’t take long before the cruise experience literally becomes “another world.”

Some folks take that as a cue to start behaving irresponsibly and sometimes they get hurt. While I do not want to trivialize bad experiences or say that all bad events are deserved, we should also recognize the fact. People who start acting recklessly sometimes get hurt.

If you decide to pretend you’re a gymnast and balance on the guard rail, you just might fall off. If you leave your purse or wallet unattended in a public area, you can get robbed. If you decide to get roaring drunk in some foreign port of call and act like an idiot, you can wind up in a mess of trouble.

Observe the same good, common sense tactics you use on land or in your everyday life.

For more information on cruising, pick up a copy of Ten Things to Consider Before You Book Your Cruise, available only at http://www.thecruise-shopper.com/sign_up.html . It’s free with our compliments. This article was written by Mandy Karlik, a frequent contributor to TheCruise-Shopper.

Beautiful Barcelona – Easy Travel Guide

Filed under: travel — Tags: accessories, Accident, action, advice, Afford, agra, air, airport, airports, allow, amazing, american, amp, ana, ancient, annual, apartment, architecture, around, art, aspects, attractions, Auto, Avoid, away, back, barcelona, bars, beach, beaches, beautiful, become, before, best, bog, Border, born, budget, Build, Building, built, bus, buses, but, call, camp, car, Cars, center, Century, Charge, cheap, Cheaper, chic, choice, choices, choose, christmas, cities, city, colorful, come, comfort, complete, Cost, costa, creation, cruise, cruises, cultural, culture, da, day, days, deal, Design, destination, die, dining, direct, discount, dive, does, drive, Drop, during, early, easy, Eating, eco, Egypt, end, europe, european, eve, event, Every, everyone, Everything, exciting, exclusive, Exotic, Extra, extraordinary, families, family, famous, fare, farm, features, february, festival, festivals, fill, final, find, fish, flight, Flow, fly, food, forms, fort, four, free, Freedom, friendly, friends, fun, galleries, gaudi, going, good, Grand, great, group, guide, Hall, harbour, has, head, here, high, historic, historical, history, home, hopping, hot, hotel, hotels, house, household, ice, idea, ideas, important, inc, Include, increase, information, inn, install, international, jewel, journey, Just, la, land, largest, las, last, le, lead, Leading, leads, Leisure, Less, life, light, line, lines, list, live, local, long, look, looking, lose, lottery, low, mad, magnificent, Major, mane, many, maps, markets, master, may, Mediterranean, men, million, mini, minute, modern, monument, mount, mountain, much, museum, museums, name, nation, new, night, not, ny, offer, offers, old, only, Option, Order, pa, pack, packed, palace, park, part, pass, passion, perfect, PERFORMER, person, plan, plane, popular, Port, ports, Price, progress, quality, quick, rain, rains, range, rate, red, rent, rental, rentals, resort, resorts, rica, ride, right, river, roman, rose, rover, safe, sale, san, sand, sea, seas, seaside, season, see, Sell, Selling, ship, Shop, shopping, Shore, sight, sights, sightseeing, site, sites, Size, sky, small, Source, south, Southwest, Souvenir, spa, space, Spain, spanish, special, spectacular, spring, Star, Start, Still, story, street, Streets, style, Stylish, success, summer, sun, sure, System, taking, target, Taxis, temple, ten, thai, than, thing, things, three, through, Ticket, tickets, time, tip, tips, top, tour, tourist, tours, town, Tradition, traditional, traditions, train, trains, transport, travel, traveling, travellers, trip, two, Under, unique, up, usa, Used, using, vacation, valid, villa, village, visit, visitor, visitors, waiting, war, way, ways, weather, weekend, weekends, welcome, Well, Western, where, will, win, winter, Wish, wonderland, Works, world, year, Years — libertees @ 5:00 pm June 17, 2010

.Beautiful city of Barcelona, capital of Catalonia (a Spain’s province), is situated on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea and bordered at either end by 2 river deltas. Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after its capital city Madrid. Barcelona has a population of 1.5 million, over 4 million including suburbs. The varied, eventful history of the city dates back 4,000 years to the first settlements by ancient farmers. Later it became a Roman colony, the Visigoth’s capital city, and then it came under Moorish rule. It went through sieges, destructions and occupations, finally to become an autonomous democracy 1975. The city has always played an important role in political and cultural life of Spain and it is well reflected in the variety and quality of historical buildings, museums, many other tourist attractions. Today Barcelona is one of the most diverse European cities with unique culture and rich traditions. You can find here a formidable balance of the traditional things and the avant-garde. A cosmopolitan metropolis, Barcelona affords visitors a warm and sincere welcome, being acknowledged worldwide as one of the best tourist-friendly cities in Europe. Barcelona’s organization of the 1992 Olympics provided regeneration of this dynamic city, gave a fresh start to its infrastructure development. WHAT TO SEE AND WHERE: POINTS OF INTEREST – La Ramble is a tree-lined pedestrian boulevard packed with buckers, living statues, mimes and itinerant salespeople selling everything from lottery tickets to jeweler. Pavement cafes and stands selling craftwork, street performers surrounded by curious onlookers, a noisy bird market, Palau de la Virreina, a grand 18th-century rococo mansion, the Gran Teeter del Liceu, the famous 19th-century opera house- these are all colorful parts of La Rambla’s mosaic. La Rambla ends at the lofty Monument a Colom (Monument to Columbus) and the harbour. Barri Gotic – also known as Gothic Quarter, it is the old part of the city. Picasso lived and worked in Barri Gotic from 1895 to 1904 and Joan Miro was born and lived here during his youth. Gothic Quarter is situated on the right hand side of the La Rambla, it contains a concentration of medieval tall Gothic buildings (14-15th century) on narrow cobbled streets and now is home to much of the city’s nightlife. La Sagrada Familia – La Sagrada Familia is one of the most famous and magnificent among Barcelona’s landmarks. The life’s work of Barcelona’s famous architect, Antoni Gaudi, the magnificent spires of the unfinished cathedral imprint themselves boldly against the sky with swelling outlines inspired by the holy mountain Montserrat. Above each facade there are four towers, 12 in total, which are dedicated to the Apostles. The tower in the center, the tallest of all at 170 m., is dedicated to Jesus Christ. Around these there are the towers of the four Evangelists, and the tower over the apse is dedicated to the Virgin. They are encrusted with a tangle of sculptures that seem to breathe life into the stone. Gaudi died in 1926 before his masterwork was completed, and since then, controversy has continually dogged the building program. Nevertheless, the southwestern (Passion) facade, is almost done, and the nave, begun in 1978, is progressing. La Pedrera – Casa Mila (Mila House) is an apartment building, the last example of Gaudi’s civil architecture.It is one of his finest and most ambitious creations, extraordinarily innovative in its functional, constructive, and ornamental aspects. Visitors can tour the building and go up to the roof, where they can see spectacular views of Barcelona. One floor below the roof is a modest museum dedicated to Gaudi’s work. Montjuic – the largest open space in the city, its main attractions are the Olympic installations, the Spanish Village and the hilltop fortress. Montjuic, the hill overlooking the city centre from the southwest, is home to some fine art galleries, leisure attractions, soothing parks and the main group of 1992 Olympic sites. Montjuic is covered in ornamental gardens with water features and is the most popular destination in Barcelona on Sundays. Tibidabo – is the highest hill in the wooded range that forms the backdrop to Barcelona. It has amazing views of the whole of Barcelona, a stunning cathedral, and a family fun park Parc d’Atraccions with old-style rides offering breathtaking views. A glass lift at the park goes 115m (383 ft) up to a visitors’ observation area at Torre de Collserola telecommunications tower. Modernisme – spectacular modernista architectural creations dotted around the city by famous Antoni Gaudi and his contemporaries. Camp Nou – home of F.C. Barcelona, one of Europe’s leading soccer teams, with capacity of almost 100,000 spectators. The Seu Cathedral – Built in medieval times on the site of a Roman temple, La Seu is one of the great Gothic buildings in Spain. Parc de la Ciutadella – Barcelona’s favorite park and a Sunday afternoon rendezvous for families, friends and ducks The Sardana – traditional Catalan dance, performed outside the cathedral and at national festivals, with everyone encouraged to join in.


MUSEUMS – The Barbier-Mueller Museum of Pre-Columbian Art -the only museum in Europe devoted exclusively to Pre-Columbian cultures. Housed in a gothic palace, its collection is one of the finest of its kind and gives visitors an insight into the rich world of the earliest cultures on the American continent. This tiny museum contains one hundred pieces, including wood and stone sculptures, ceramics, tapestries, jade, often found in international exhibitions and prestige publications. The exhibits represented the Olmec, Maya, Aztec, Chavin, Mochica and Inca civilisations. Palau de la Musica Catalana – one of the world’s most extraordinary music halls, it is a Barcelona landmark. From its polychrome ceramic ticket windows on the Carrer de Sant Pere Mes Alt side to its overhead busts of Palestrina, Bach, Beethoven, and Wagner, the Palau is the flagship of Barcelona’s Moderniste architecture. Museu Picasso – is Barcelona’s most visited museum. 3,500 exhibits make up the permanent collection. Picasso spent several years (1901-06) in Barcelona, and this collection, is particularly strong on his early work. Displays include childhood sketches, pictures from the beautiful Rose and Blue periods, and the famous 1950s Cubist variations on Velazquez’s Las Meninas (Ladies-in-Waiting). Gaudi Casa-Museu – Gaudi lived in this pink, Alice-in-Wonderland house from 1906 to 1926, which now houses a museum of Gaudi-designed furniture, decorations, drawings, and portraits and busts of the architect. Fundacio Miro – it was a gift from the famous artist Joan Miro to his native city. The museum opened in 1975, and now it is one of Barcelona’s most exciting showcases of contemporary art.


BEACHES – One of Barcelona’s greatest draws is undeniably its beautiful beaches. Beside world-famous Costa Brava and Costa Dorada which are within 1-hr drive time from Barcelona, there are also several nice beaches over 4 km long within the city boundaries, we will list just several of them here: Nova Icaria- Closest to the Olympic marina, always crowded, this wide swathe of rough golden sand is great for food goers. There are three perfect beach bars and two very popular restaurants on the promenade (Mango and Chiringuito de Moncho) and countless bars and restaurants are just a short stroll away. Bogatell- This beach is twice the length of adjoining Nova Icaria and fringed by a stretch of stone walkway perfect for jogging, roller blading and cycling. Three large informal restaurants on the promenade. Mar Bella (Metro Ciutadella Vila Olimpica, plus 20-minute walk)- Barcelona’s only naturist beach close to a peaceful park – good for a picnic or siesta under the trees. Barceloneta- wide and long, a traditional and popular stretch with locals, crowded, noisy and very jolly.


WHEN TO GO, WEATHER: The best times to visit Barcelona are late spring and early autumn, when the weather is still comfortably warm, around 21-25°C. Summers are usually hot and humid, with temperatures averaging +30 (+ 86 Fahrenheit). Especially avoid the “dead” month of August, when many shops, bars and restaurants close for the month as many local inhabitants head out of the city. Winters are cool with average daytime temperatures around +12 C (+59 Fahrenheit), occasionally rainy.


GETTING THERE AND AROUND: By a direct flight to Barcelona, or through Madrid or via another large European city from almost any major airports in the world. The highest fares are from May to September, the lowest in March-April, October-November and December to February (excluding Christmas and New Year when prices are hiked up). Note also that flying on weekends may increase your ticket cost. If traveling to Barcelona from within Europe you can also chose train, bus or car, though these take much longer than a plane and often work out no cheaper. Many Mediterranean cruises include Barcelona as a port of call.


ACCOMODATIONS: We can offer you a range of choices. You can choose vacation rentals in Barcelona starting from $ 125 USD for a double room in a 4-star apartment hotel. Or you can opt for hotels from $ 65 USD for a double room in a 3-star hotel. Accomodation prices do not change much throughout the year due to the steady all-season flow of visitors to this extremely popular tourist city and surrounding resorts.


DINING: Besides restaurants you can eat at bars where you would have a succession of tapas (small snacks- three or four chunks of fish, meat or vegetables, or salad, which traditionally used to be served up free with a drink) or raciones (larger ones). The bar option can be a lot more interesting, allowing you to do the rounds and sample local specialities. Generally, the average cost for a meal consisting of two dishes and dessert would come to about 25 Euros. Travellers on an extremely limited budget can do well for themselves by using the excellent markets, bakeries and delis and filling up on sandwiches and snacks. Decent restaurants and cafes are easily found all over the city, though you’ll probably do most of your eating where you do most of your sightseeing, in the old town, particularly around La Rambla and in the Barri Gotic. Look for the best and most authentic seafood restaurants in Barceloneta, a seaside neighbourhood. Gothic Quarter neighbourhood is home to some of the oldest and most traditional restaurants in the city. Gracia is a very popular area among young people during the weekend, it leads the way in terms of exotic restaurants (Lebanese, Egyptian, Thai etc.).


TRANSPORT: Barcelona has excellent transport system comprising the metro (subway), buses, trains and a network of funiculars and cable cars. You can find a link to transport maps at the end of our guide. On all the city’s public transport you can buy a single ticket every time you ride, but even over only a couple of days it’s cheaper to buy a targeta – a discount ticket strip. The T-10 targeta is valid for ten separate journeys on the metro, buses and trains. These tickets can be used by more than one person at a time. The metro is the quickest way of getting around Barcelona. For black-and-yellow taxis there is a minimum charge of $ 2 euro. You’ll obviously have a great deal more freedom if you rent a car . Major roads throughout the city are generally good, and traffic is generally well behaved, though Spain does have one of the highest incidences of traffic accidents in Europe. It also has some of the lowest fuel prices on the continent.


SHOPPING: Barcelona, one of the most stylish cities in Europe offers great shopping, from designer clothes and accessories to household items. You will find the city to be quite cheap for a lot of items, especially if you coincide with the annual sales ( rebaixes in Spanish) lasting from mid-January until the end of February, and throughout July and August. The best shopping areas in Barcelona are the old streets off the upper part of the Ramblas. Souvenirs include ceramics, which are widely sold in the streets around the cathedral; leather goods; city’s delicatessens, particularly cooked Catalan meats and sausages; a porron (the long-spouted glass drinking jar); CDs and tapes of Catalan rock and pop, sardana music, Spanish rock or flamenco. If you’re looking for original gift ideas, some of the best hunting can be found in the shops of any of the city’s museums, where you’ll find reasonably priced and unique examples of Catalan disseny (graphic), and other original items ranging from postcards to replica works of art. We wish you a nice and safe trip!


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Finding a Great hotel in Barcelona

Barcelona is known for its great nightlife and it offers some other great attractions. No matter what the reason for your visit to Barcelona, you need a good hotel in Barcelona. The following information on these top Barcelona hotels come from reviews by former guests who have stayed at a hotel in Barcelona. You will find that every hotel in Barcelona offers great hotel stays in addition to its other attractions. The hotels reviewed are Casa Camper Hotel, The Hotel Arts, Neri Hotel, and Hesperia Sarria.

Casa Camper Hotel received some nice comments from guests. It has 25 rooms that are decorated in creative fashions that match the amazing décor of the entire hotel. Extras, like minibar and room service, are included in the base cost so you do not end up with a huge bill at check out. It is a short walk to P. Catalvyna and close to the city. For those that like quiet nights , the Casa Camper Hotel is removed enough from the nightlife so it provides a quite sleeping environment. The Casa Camper hotel in Barcelona received great reviews and was listed as well worth checking out.

The Hotel Arts hotel in Barcelona has 402 rooms and is located on the beach. While not every hotel in Barcelona is not usually known for its beaches, the location does provide beautiful views. It is not quite near the city, so you must travel to get to attractions. The nearby restaurants provide wonderful cuisine that makes the location desirable. They are said to have some of the best beds a hotel in Barcelona can offer. The cost of The Hotel Arts does discourage some guests and extras are not included in this base price. Overall, it was reviewed as a great hotel, but not really worth the price.

The Neri Hotel in Barcelonahas artistic décor that draws you into their 22 room establishment. With the use of stone and wood, the décor is beautiful. The rooms are cozy and they offer you the choice of five different sheet types. It is advised that you get good directions to the hotel because it is hard to find. There are no scenic views, but the attention to detail in all the aspects of this hotel makes up for that. Overall, this hotel was said to have exceptional service and created an amazing experience for visitors, making it a must.

The Hesperia Sarria has 134 rooms and is located in a quiet area of Barcelona. It is within walking distance to the train station (Les Tres Torres) and many other attractions. There are locked minibars and safes provided in the modern and clean rooms. There is a restaurant on site, although guests say you may never try it because of the closeness of so many other great bars and restaurants. This was noted by gests to be a great buy.

These four hotels all received good and bad reviews. The descriptions above were taken from majority opinions. While all provided nice stays, some stuck out in the crowd. There are many, many alterntives for a hotel in Barcelona and these are only just a small sample of the great service you can receive.

Jay Moncliff is the founder of
http://www.hotelesfree.info
a website specialized on Hoteles, resources and articles. For more info visit his site: Hoteles

Travel Deals: “It’s a Garage Sale Out There!” Part II

Filed under: travel — Tags: activities, advantage, Afford, Affordable, air, airfare, Airline, airlines, airport, allow, amazing, american, Amount, amp, ana, around, art, ask, back, bars, beach, before, best, between, big, board, book, booking, Border, Bottom, break, budget, but, call, Cancun, car, caribbean, Charge, charges, charter, charters, cheap, Check, children, cities, compare, Cost, cruise, da, day, deal, deals, Design, die, different, dining, Dont, down, end, eve, Every, Extra, fall, families, family, fare, Fast, few, fill, five, fly, food, four, free, frequent, front, fun, going, Golf, good, growing, has, having, here, holiday, hot, hotel, ice, inc, Include, inclusive, increase, information, inn, Just, kids, kit, la, las, le, lead, life, like, line, lines, list, look, low, mad, made, Major, many, may, Mean, men, mini, modern, money, mount, must, my, need, needs, new, next, night, not, ny, offer, Option, options, Order, pa, palace, part, perfect, person, plan, plane, Port, Price, Profit, questions, rate, Rates, ready, real, really, red, rent, republic, resort, resorts, rica, right, rooms, Running, sale, saving, Savings, sea, seas, season, see, Seen, Sell, service, ship, Shop, site, sites, Size, spa, special, Specific, spend, spending, spring, Star, Start, stay, Still, style, Suit, suite, Suites, summer, sure, taking, target, than, thing, think, thinking, three, through, time, top, tour, tours, travel, traveling, Tremendous, Trend, trip, two, Under, up, Used, using, vacation, vacations, valid, Want, war, way, ways, Well, where, will, win, year, Years — libertees @ 5:00 pm

Just when I thought we had hit bottom (travel deals, I mean), the rates are getting lower!  I have outlined the best deals I have seen through out the Caribbean, airfare sale and a special Tahiti deal that will blow your mind!

This is a MUST READ if you are thinking of taking the family on vacation between now and next Fall.

There are more kids stay free deals than ever seen before. I also notice the additional costs for upgrading to suites or having connecting rooms are being cut up to 60%!

Another change I notice is the increase in resort and cruise credits.
Cruise ships always made their real profit by what they sell on the ship such as alcohol, clothes, tours, etc. Now more than ever before, the cruise lines are offering up to $300 on board ship credit.

The trend for resorts to also offer credits is growing tremendously. Resort credit used to be something I saw in the low season or an infrequent special. Resort credit can go towards spa, tours, golf, drinks and food if it is not an all inclusive, or simply fun nick knacks.

When you see these credits in the deal, always check what it is for and make sure it is valid on the dates you are going. Once verifies, just think of it like someone handed you cash towards spending money on your vacation.

Here are a few very new amazing deals for families this Spring, Summer & Fall!  Some of these deals have not even been published yet, so take advantage of them and happy traveling!

Caribbean Family Vacations:
I had to check this one a few times because it looked to good to be true, but it is correct:

CheapCaribbean’s 48 hour sale, all inclusive three star resorts for $48 per person, per night. Yes, all inclusive – meals, taxes, drinks, activities, kids activities, etc…many of these resorts allow children under 12 free, so all you have to pay is the airfare!  I would compare the resorts on sale to a nice Holiday Inn, this resort is midway between deluxe and moderate. The deal is for travel from May – June 30, a perfect family trip before summer activites begin.

Check out all of the $48 deals for families! This sale ends 11:59pm Friday, April 3.

Apple Vacations’ Spring Savings Sale! If you do not see your gateway, they may still have it, using the booking engine on the top of the page. It is really cool as you can specify your needs when you begin (airport, amount of people, budget, amount of nights, etc) and that will reflect every deal you click on. This eliminates the irritating task of having to fill out your information over and over to shop around. The lead pricing is $459+: 60% off: All-Inclusives w/Air.

Apple Vacations charters their own planes, so the airfare is very reasonable. The add-ons for different gateways are reasonable as well.  $499 per adult for 3 nights all inclusive five-star resort including airfare, two kids under 12 stay and fly for $199 per child!  Not interested in the all inclusive, ok, there are resort deals for $599.99 including 7 night resort stay and airfare!

Future Vacations is running my favorite kind of deal – up to $300 in Spa and/or Golf Credit! Ahhh, I would have no problem using up that Spa Credit! The resort is Cancun Palace, a Four-Star beachfront, all inclusive. I stayed here years ago and it was ok, a bit run down and a little big for my taste. Now the resort has had a fuill make over, ready to impress.

The make over includes a redesigned pool, modern spa, five fine dining restaurants, six bars including two swim up bars and a Kid’s Club. All rooms have a double Jacuzzi, balcony, first class amenities and 24 hr room service. 24hr room service at an all inclusive is the coolest – you can feed the midnight munchy attack without having to worry about exhorbanent hotel bills!

BookIt.com, one of the best web sites I have found for extra amenities and all sorts of goodies is running a Dominic Republic All Inclusive Sale. All Inclusive start from $59 per person, per night with tons of kids free deals, room upgrades and more.

Airfare sale:

American Airlines has a major sale domestic right now with travel through August 14. Airfares are starting at $49 each way. What is extra special about this sale is tround trip is not required. So if you want to fly somewhere and go back rfom a different gateway, you dont have to deal with all of the extra charges. For a listing of all the gateways and prices, click here.

The top value of the week (drum roll…)

Tahiti – the trip of a life time, suddenly became more affordable. Air Tahiti Nui is also offering slashed rates and free air from Los Angeles for kids! Add-ons from other cities are reasonable.  The feature sale is $1698/per adult+: Air, Breakfast & 5nts Manava Suite Resort Tahiti- there are other options, more nights – this is the lead rate (best deal) and it is specifically designed for family vacations!

Happy traveling!

You can view all of these deals by clicking here
If you have any questions regarding travel, email me

Cheap Scottsdale Hotels Near Clubs and Bars

Filed under: cruise — Tags: bars, cheap, clubs, hotels, near, scottsdale — libertees @ 8:21 am January 26, 2010

Scottsdale is famous for its buzzing nightlife. Many luxury and cheap Scottsdale hotels are near bars and clubs.

Scottsdale is one of the ideal holiday destinations of Arizona, United States, as it features hot sunny days during summer and even in the winter. Winter of this part is very pleasant as the temperature is very comfortable and you need not have to wear warm clothes making it one of most favorable tourist destinations.

Thousand of tourists are coming to this fascinating place all year round. To accommodate the tourists Scottsdale offers a range of budget hotels which are equipped with all the modern amenities and facilities.

Scottsdale lies in the eastern section of Arizona in the US. It is just opposite Phoenix. It has a booming nightlife and a thriving hotel scene. In fact, there is a wide range of luxury and cheap Scottsdale hotels you can choose from.

Even the New York Times branded Scottsdale as one of the United States’ hippest and most happening areas. It features high-end restaurants, nightclubs, bars, lounges and comfortable yet cheap Scottsdale hotels. Over the years, more establishments are being put up which are more focused on the young and fashion conscious crowd.

When it comes to accommodations, style conscious and trendy but cheap Scottsdale hotels have opened along downtown Scottsdale. These hotels are near many night clubs and bars in the area. These include Mondrian Hotel of Morgan Hotel Group, Kimpton Hotel of Firesky Resort and Spa, Hotel Valley Ho and Starwood Hotels’ W Hotel. Accommodations would range from cheap to luxury. There are various accommodation packages that can suit your style, taste and budget. The common feature would be furnished rooms with air conditioning units, wired/wireless Internet connectivity, phones and pools. To hold conventions, most hotels also have business facilities with meeting rooms for a large number of people. Whatever your purpose is for going to Scottsdale, it’s very easy to locate an accommodation near the airport, area attractions and even those that cater to pets. However, the most sought after are hotels near many bars and clubs in the city.

The wide selection of cheap Scottsdale hotels between Osborn and Camelback Roads is truly the best place to spend your vacation in this Arizona city. The area is known to have the most popular and active nightlife by the Phoenix Metro Area. Its popular exceeds South Beach, Miami and Buckhead, Atlanta.

The most vibrant scene for these clubs and bars in downtown Scottsdale are usually in the evenings of Thursdays through Sundays. This is where you’ll experience crowds of more than 40,000 locals and tourists. Though congested, many people still come here and party all night. Matter of fact, the city started hosting a yearly a yearly Scottsdale Ultimate Block Party. This is held every New Year’s Eve.

With this Scottsdale Ultimate Block Party, it raised the rate of tourists going to the city with an additional 25,000 people every New Year’s Eve. This number even continues to grow as occasional visitors invite their relatives and friends to experience this once-a-year event in Scottsdale, Arizona.

For more information on Scottsdale Cheap Hotels and The Performing Art please visit our website.Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/travel-articles/cheap-scottsdale-hotels-near-clubs-and-bars-1788308.html

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