Cruise Vacation Ideas That the Whole Family Will Love




Taking a vacation together is something that almost all families love to do. The parents work hard in their day jobs and then come home and take care of the kids, while the kids work for good grades in school and goals at soccer practice. Often times, family vacations are the only time that all family members can spend a significant period of time together.

Cruises are great vacations for the whole family for a multitude of reasons. For starters, they generally involve a variety of activities that can satisfy a multitude of ages and family members. Even better, they're generally all inclusive - so you pay one flat rate, and you get to eat, play and swim all you want.

Best of all, they offer the opportunity to travel to multiple places without switching hotels, flying all over the place and coordinating schedules. Cruises do all the planning for you, allowing you to maximize the relaxing time you spend with your family. Here are some great cruise options for you and your loved ones!

What to Expect on Your Cruise

Wondering what you're in for? Year round itineraries mean that you can go anywhere at any time. Kids are taken care of with a Kids Crew, which means that adults have plenty of time to soak up the sun and maybe even enjoy a drink in one of the many lounges offered by the ship.

It's easy to indulge yourself when you're on a cruise, as most ships offer spas that serve up exotic treatments custom designed to take you away from your daily stressors. Exercise freaks can seek solace in the fitness center on board, which allows you to work off all the calories you're eating at the buffet breakfast each morning. The Kids Crew on these types of ships are made up a variety of young staff - think of them like camp counselors, but out at sea! They'll keep your children entertained while you lounge.

Most cruise ships offer a bevy of restaurants, so you can eat a different style of food at every meal and at a different restaurant every night. Many cruise lines offer over six different restaurants, so you'll always be able to find something that satisfies your cravings.

Of course, no cruise ship is complete without a variety of entertainment options! Many cruise ships offer shopping areas, bars, movie theaters, nightclubs, cigar clubs, coffee shops - the list goes on and on! Anything that you like to do at home can be done at sea. You might spend your days sunning yourself, but come evening, after you've dined on a delicious meal and had a drink at the bar, you can treat yourself and your family to a show or a movie.

If you're not sure which kind of cruise is right for your family? Here are some popular options.

A Three Day Bahamas Cruise

"Aruba, Jamaica, oooh, they wanna take ya to Bermuda, Bahama, come on pretty mama!" Sing these words to yourself as you sign up for a three day cruise in the beautiful Bahamas. These types of cruises are short but just as sweet. They can easily be taken on a long weekend, so if you work a job that doesn't allow you take off a week at a time, this is the cruise option for you and your family. Bahamas cruises generally start in Miami, Florida, and head off to Nassau in the Bahamas, as well as several other smaller islands.

Seven Day Bermuda Cruises

Longer cruises are for families who really want to make the most of their time away from home. These trips mean seven days spent at sea, so they're not a great option for people who get seasick. Who they are great for, however, are people who love to travel. Week long cruises allow you to see a variety of different places without having to hotel hop or travel via plane. You get to keep all of your stuff on board and come back to a comfortable place to lay your head, but you also get to spend all day long exploring a new and exotic place. These cruises often stop at various islands around the Caribbean and also jet around Bermuda itself.

As you can see, there are lots of options to choose from! After all, this article has only highlighted two trip options, but cruises go all around the world, from the Panama Canal to Mexico and Turkey to Amsterdam. Pretty much anywhere you want to go can be accessed via cruise ship, so why not ditch the land and take your next vacation on water? Cruises provide a bevy of entertainment options for both adults and kids and they provide the opportunity to see new and different parts of the world in a fun and exciting way. What's not to like?

Donna Davis is a freelance writer who writes about several topics including cruise deals.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Donna_R_Davis

Read more

Cruise Vacations

Alluring Destinations Around the World




There has never been a better time to hit the high seas for a cruise vacation. An estimated 18.4 million passengers will be cruising the world's waters in 2010 in search of a remarkable vacation.

According to Cruise Market Watch, the worldwide cruise capacity is up almost 7 percent in 2010, as cruise lines add new ships to boost their lines. And with the additional space, some cruise lines are offering value pricing so the new space and the existing spaces are booked.

There are plenty of short-range cruises available for a quick getaway:

  • A three-night cruise to the Bahamas for just $199. You'll see Miami, Fla., Nassau and Norwegian Private Island.
  • Or maybe you would like a five-night cruise to the Western Caribbean, starting in Miami and traveling to Ocho Rios and the Grand Cayman - all for $359 per adult passenger.
  • Or for $489 per adult passenger, go the other direction toward the Eastern Caribbean for a seven-night cruise to Miami, Samana, St. Thomas, Tortola and Great Stirrup Cay.
  • Or, if you want to start on the West Coast, consider a seven-day cruise from Los Angeles, Calif., to Mexico. For $499 per adult passenger, you can enjoy stops in Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan, Cabo San Lucas and then back to Los Angeles.

These cruises offer just a taste of the quick-trips available from U.S. ports of call. There are plenty of other ventures on both sides of the coast to experience. But with cruising so hot this year, this may be the time to try a trip that's a bit more alluring - someplace off the Caribbean track.

  • How about a seven-night cruise to Australia and New Zealand for just $759 per adult passenger. You start in Sydney, Australia, and will continue on to Noumea and Isle of Pines, both islands making up New Caledonia.
  • Starting for around $1,000 per person, you can take a 12-day cruise to Latin America and see sites you've only heard about in an atlas. The trip starts in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and includes Montevideo, Urugyay; Falkland Islands; a sail by Cape Horn, a stop in Ushuaia, Argentina; a cruising tour of Romanche & Alemania glaciers and the Cockburn & Beagle Channels; a stop in Punta Arenas; passage through the Strait of Magellan; a cruise through the Amalia Glacier Canal and passage through the Darwin Channel Chilean Fjords. The trip concludes in Santiago, Chile.
  • Want to go the Far East? How about a five-night cruise of Asia, starting at $1,045 a person. You will start in Hong Kong, China; travel on to Sanya, China; and then head onto Hue and Hanoi, Vietnam; before ending back up in Hong Kong.
  • Got dreams of seeing the South Pacific? Consider the $1,595 10-day South Pacific cruise. It will take you to places most people only read about: Tahiti, Rangiroa and Bora Bora - all in French Polynesian.
  • Ever dreamed of seeing the Grecian Isles? What better way than on a seven-night European-Mediterranean cruise for just $659 a person. The adventure starts in Venice and onto Bari, Italy. From there, the ship sails on to the Greek isles of Katakolon, Santorini, Mykonos and Rhodes. Last stop is Dubrovnik, a hugely popular tourist city on the Adriatic Sea.
  • Want to get off the high seas? Consider a $999 per person, four-day cruise of the Avalon Waterways. You will start your river cruise in Vienna and follow on to Melk-Dürnstein in Austria; Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia; and finish the tour in Budapest, Hungary.
  • For a trip you'll never forget, spend 10 days exploring Egypt and the treasures of the Nile. Start by spending three days in Cairo, exploring the Kingdom of the Pharaohs, King Tutankhamen's treasures, the Sphinx and the Great Pyramids of Giza. From there, you will fly to Aswan where you will embark on a four-night cruise of the Nile River where you can experience temples dedicated to crocodiles and falcon gods and the Valley of the Kings and Valley of the Queens where 62 royal tombs have been unearthed, leaving many untouched. Conclude your adventure with a visit to Karnak, ancient Egypt's greatest city. You will wind up back in Cairo in time to take in an evening of modern entertainment or rest up for the flight home the next day. The cost for all this is $2,211 per passenger.

Now that you have an idea of the tame and the more adventurous offerings, you need to take these into consideration when selecting your cruise:

  • Is it an all-adult trip, or will you have to worry about little children? Older children will enjoy some of the historical sites more than their younger counterparts.
  • Does vacation time allow for a 12-day cruise? Or might a four-night quick getaway suffice for this year's getaway?
  • Is one of these trips on you bucket list? If so, start there. The others will have to wait.

Kim Hall is a freelance writer who writes about travel and leisure topics and options such as cruise vacations.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kim_K_Hall

Read more

Cruise TOUR Articals © 2013. All Rights Reserved | Powered by:Blogger

Designed by:Windroidclub