Everyone knows that the economy is down but that doesn’t mean that you have to cancel your vacation trips. Rather, a dip in the economy may only require you to be more economical when drawing up your vacation plans. If you have been thinking of taking the family to Orlando to see Disney World and the other theme parks and attractions then read this article to get some tips on how you can save money but still enjoy yourself.
The first tip is to schedule your vacation in an off-peak period. If you have flexibility about when you are going to take leave from work, then choose a period that is outside the normal vacation months of July and August and outside the peak holiday periods of Christmas, New Year and Thanksgiving. An off-peak vacation can give you great savings in transportation especially if you are thinking about flying and even in accommodations and attractions too.
Speaking of accommodations, perhaps the most important thing you can do to save money when vacationing in Orlando is to opt for a vacation rental home rather than trying to put your family in hotel rooms.
Whether you are vacationing in the peak periods or the off-peak months, it is always cheaper in Orlando to get a rental home. Let me give you an example. You can rent a three bedroom fully equipped vacation home located 15 minutes from Disney World for only $130 per night in the off-peak months or a three bedroom condo for $99 per night.
If you have a big family or are travelling with relatives or friends then the per person costs of these rental homes and accommodations is very affordable. And, you don’t lose out on luxury or comfort. Rather you gain because most of the rental homes have private swimming pools and all kinds of amenities included in the deal. The condos usually have community pools and recreational facilities too and many other amenities as well. So, avoid the hotels and get a rental condo or home and you will save big-time on your accommodations in Orlando.
Another area where you can also make some savings, without missing out on any fun, is to choose your attractions carefully. Some of the theme parks and other famous spots can be quite costly but they are unavoidable. However you can balance the budget by spending some days visiting free and low-cost scenic spots.
For example there are state parks in the vicinity of Orlando where you can enjoy water sports, scenic hiking, view exotic wildlife and really enjoy yourself without spending much money. The Tibet-Butler Nature Preserve located in Orlando not far from Disney World is absolutely free and has hiking and environmental education programs that are sure to be hits with your family. Museums in the area also offer other affordable yet rewarding outing possibilities. When it comes to entertainment, be ready to think outside the box, and then you can enjoy yourself while saving money in the process.
So, don’t cancel your vacation but use some of these tips so that you can enjoy Orlando and still remain within your budget
Mark Whichard is an Orlando tourism expert and writes frequently about attractions in and around Orlando. He is the proprietor of DisneyRents.com You can get great deals on at this website
Carnival is the biggest cruise line company. There are great ways that you can save when booking a trip on this cruise. You must be aware of were to find hidden deals so that you can enjoy your next vacation at a reduced rate. Cruising is your best value for a vacation.
Find the Best:
First you want to search online and see which sites gives you the lowest price for the cruise you want to take. You can save money when you go during non peak times of the year. In the early fall and early spring the cruise companies are typically slower and they offer better deals.
Get a:
Next you want to always call the cruise line direct to compare prices. In many cases they will be able to give you the lowest price possible. Also you can in many cases get a better room or room location when you talk directly with a cruise agent. There phone numb er can be found on the carnival website.
Saving money is easy when you know what to look for. There are discount such as senior traveling and frequent guest that will help you save money as well. You can get a better rate if you live in the state where to cruise is leaving from so make sure that you ask about this with the agent before booking a cruise.
Remember that saving money on Carnival Cruise is easy to do when you plan ahead and know what to look for. Going on a cruise vacation is going to be your best value vacation that you will find. There is no where else you have have room, food and entertainment for such a low price.
Bryan Burbank is an expert in the field of Cruising.
What makes a lasting memory? Think back over past vacation experiences. What kinds of things stand out? Most likely it is the emotional highs, the relationships, the personalities encountered, the laughter and unexpected events, no?
Ok, before you start congratulating me on my tremendous grasp of the obvious…let me point out the most perplexing disconnect from my 25 years as a travel agency owner and cruise specialist. What leaves me scratching my head is this – things that are so important to the client prior to choosing a vacation package are almost entirely forgotten once the experience is complete!
Can’t get enough of what really doesn’t matter?
During the planning stage clients will spend hours, days, weeks, months tediously pouring over brochures, visiting cruise line websites, comparing prices, measuring the square footage of cabins, scouring online reviews totaling up the number of superlatives used to describe the food on this ship versus the food on that one – doing so as if the very success or failure of their cruise vacation was riding on these ultra-fine, hair splitting distinctions.
Then post vacation – in describing their experience – a whole new set of standards are called into play. As irrational as it may seem, there is value in understanding and adjusting for this bit of odd behavior. Whether a leisure travel professional or simply planning a vacation for your self – keep in mind from the very beginning that success depends on the ratio of fun memories to the monotonous or prosaic. Too often we lose sight of the fact that our most precious commodity is time. So, do you really want to invest time (and money) in any experience where opportunities for magical moments are not maximized?
A closer look: the cruise industry -
The chatter overheard in most post-cruise gatherings tends to be about the colorful characters met at dinner…the waiter who was also an accomplished close-up magician…the friendliness and caring attitude of staff who seemed to truly enjoy their work, the accessible entertainers who mingled with the hoi polloi. But, by comparison, comments about food, service or cabin size often seem to be little more than brief asides – almost mundane.
Savvy cruise marketers understand this peculiarity and have had great success leveraging this dynamic into their advertising and marketing – as well as the on board experience itself. Within the industry there is one standout in this respect.
But first, a little background –
As you would expect, the “mass market’ segment of the cruise industry is by far the largest in terms of dollars spent, capitalization, passengers carried, etc. Within this segment, traditional standards of measurement for choosing one cruise over another have always been highly subjective, but lately with the advent of the new, state-of-art mega-ships distinctions are blurred even more. For instance the Big Three players – Carnival, Norwegian & Royal Caribbean – all tend to have similar itineraries, about the same prices, the same level of service and food – plus a constantly growing list of mind boggling activities and pimped up cabins, suites, penthouses, spas, showrooms and other “I-never-knew-they-had-that-on-a-ship” offerings.
And the winner is…
Of those three, Carnival Cruise Lines is the one that has gotten it right from the very beginning. It is no coincidence that CCL is the most financially successful cruise company to date. Via aggressive acquisition Carnival now is the parent company of a growing number of brands, eleven to date – including Princess, Holland America, Cunard, Aida, P&O, Costa and Seabourn. Of these, the Carnival brand itself remains the most successful – still the Cash Cow of Cruising.
The Chairman and CEO of Carnival Cruise Lines is Mickey Arison – son of founder Ted Arison. His particular genius is relentlessly focusing on the real differentiator in the biggest market segment – fun. The perennial ‘Fun Ships’ branding strategy has been wildly successful – planting seeds for effective post vacation word of mouth marketing for decades. The “fun” theme starts with their advertising and marketing and continues with the on board experience – one that rarely fails to deliver to its target audience. To paraphrase bank robber Willie Sutton, Carnival knows that fun “is where the money is”.
The Fun Ships –
Out of necessity Carnival Cruise Lines is highly competitive in food, service and on board activities but returning Carnival guests – more than any other brand – will inevitably regale their friends with tall tales about all the fun that was had…along with painfully unflattering photos of low brow events such as the Hairy Chest or Beer Drinking contests. Thirty seven years ago, when he founded the company, the senior Mr. Arison knew instinctively that post cruise chatter about fun was money in the bank.
‘Back to the Future’ Marketing -
Could we as vacation planners, whether selling via traditional retail outlets, a virtual online presence – or some hybrid thereof – exert more influence over these critical post trip conversations? I’m not suggesting that we all become stage hypnotists or Hollywood script writers, but William Turner was on to something when he said “You may have heard that the world is made up of atoms and molecules, but it is really made up of stories.”
Never under estimate the power of a great story -
The modern day nomenclature for this little bit of marketing strategy is called “branding” – something the senior Mr. Arison understood long ago. As a vacation planner, the question to ask yourself is – do you habitually look for ways to make customer contact more stimulating, interesting, or entertaining? Or, do you view yourself as primarily an order taker? Is the client left with a feeling of affinity – looking forward to future communication – in other words was the interaction memorable?
The power of FUN -
What can you do proactively to make client communications more interesting? Do you ask questions designed to focus on what truly counts – the memory – versus temporary obsessions? (See paragraph 3)
A little creative guidance can go a long way to motivate – to make interesting and fun what is normally be perceived to be a tedious bother. Here is a wonderful, real life illustration of my point. Pause for a moment to take a look at the videos.
Branding yourself -
No one can write the script but you – you must be authentic. Take a look at subtle but creative ways for making client interactions more fun. Maybe only a slight shift in attitude is required and the script writes itself. The game changing strategy could be as simple as reminding yourself as you pick up the phone, “Hey, the fun starts now!” Like the people in The Fun Theory videos, whether motivating to take the stairs verses the escalator, to pick up trash and throw it into the proper receptacle – or reveal what really matters most in a vacation experience – training yourself to plant seeds for fun at first contact could mean a new level of success – even launch you on your way to becoming the next billionaire cruise line owner. – LEC
Lyn Edwin Cathey – Network Travel Services, LLC A veteran of 25 years in the travel industry – holding positions within the industry such as trainer, educator, agent, consultant, agency owner/manager and product specialist. For 15 years prior to joining the travel industry Lyn worked as a full time entertainer/comedian, performing on banjo & guitar – often as a featured act on cruise ships- He created and currently maintains several websites, including -
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Traveling at the last minute used to be a stressful and expensive enterprise.
These days, there are so many deals that you can get, it almost seems better to wait until the last minute to leave. You might even be able to save as much as three fourths of the cost of pre-planning your travel.
If you are on a budget and plan on taking a trip, you may be able to save a considerable amount of money by reading tips on how to get a cheap last minute travel deal.
One of the reasons why you can save on things like hotels, and air fare is because many people cancel their travel plans at the last minute or simply fail to show up on time.
This common phenomenon means that hotels and airports are forced to make last minute cancellations that can lose them thousands of dollars. Companies would much rather book rooms and fare at cheaper prices than lose out all together.
Since leisurely travel has decreased tremendously in the past few years, companies are forced to offer implement deals just fill the seats. Offering cheap last minute travel deals helps them to make up for the loss in frequent travel revenue.
The downside is that these cheap prices don’t last long so you should try to act as quickly as you can. Here are 5 quick tips to getting your travel costs cheap when you are working at the last minute.
1. Think of buying your travel package in a bundle as well since travel agents often purchase packages that way and if there are last minute cancellations, they will be eager to unload them. Take advantage of it. Call around and see what you can find.
2. Do your research. Calling airports or looking up deals online can save you a lot of time and money. Check various deals before deciding on one.
3. Be willing to fly standby or take a smaller rooms in exchange for your last minute planning because some companies are willing to work out a deal just to make a booking as opposed to losing their money all together.
4. If possible, look to travel to places that are off season. You can always find a cheaper rate when you travel somewhere during an off season because travel to that destination is generally undesirable to most travelers.
5. Take full advantage of any and all prepackaged deals. Usually when you are travelling you can find prepackaged deals that can save you hundreds of dollars. These packages usually include: hotel rooms, travel expenses and some amenities.
In the end, if you are willing to do your research, you can find excellent discounts when you just do a little bit of research. You don’t want to miss a potential savings bonanza just because you didn’t feel like sitting in front of your computer or making a few phone calls to inquire.
Sometimes bundles are cheaper and sometimes booking things separately will save you more. That is why shopping around and doing a bit of research is really worth the time.
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