LET'S GO CRUISING

What is the best last-minute travel deals? Right now it is to go on a cruiise. I have been on eleven cruises and in my opinion cruising is one of the best travel bargains around. There are so many big cruise ships that have flooded this market that there is an oversupply of cabins that one can get for at a ridiculously low price. Remember for the the cruise lines are generous when it comes to filling up their cabins when they have too many empty ones. They prefer to see more passeengers on board at cut-rate fares than to have empty staterooms.

You don’t need to go far to check out the bargains. It is easy enough on the internet. You can easily get on cruises to Mexico and the Caribbean for less than $100.00 per day. I like Carnival, Disney and Celebrity cruises when I travel with my children. For older folks Holland America offers a slower pace and relaxed atmosphere. The Princess and Norwegian cruise lines are higher end cruise ships and Royal Caribbean is more of a middle ground with a good mixture of passenger ages and their dining experience are one of their highlights. Talking about food, Princess and Norwegian are now offering alternative dining rooms, where you just show up whenever you’re ready to eat and you are ushered to a table where other are similarly seated. This gives you the opportunity to meet a lot more people than in the traditional dining room where you always seat with the same folks.

Cruising to me makes a lot of sense, the ship is constantly traveling during the night time, and during the day you are usually at a port where you can go sightseeing on your own or as part of an organized ship tour. In the cruise ship, there is always plenty to do. One can go to the casino, to the swimming pool, to the gym, or to the so many organized activities that the ship provides from bingo to dancing lessons. With the abundance of food be prepared to gain a few pounds.

Remember when you go on a cruise you are not going to an expensive hotel or resort. When it comes to your accomodations unless you've booked the Penthouse or Owner's suite, when you enter your cabin you'll see an area smaller than most standard hotel rooms. In fact, many cabins I've had wouldn't have room for the TV set I have in my own home. No! You you are not paying hundreds or thousands of your vacation dollars for a room to sleep in, you are paying to feel pampered outside of your room and to travel to several locations for a very reasonable price. Don’t forget you will spent little time in your room.

But, oddly, as you look around you're likely to find that these accommodations are quite comfortable, and quite complete. There's normally plenty of well-thought-out storage space, and after you have a few minutes to adjust to the size, the cabins do begin to feel comfortable enough as long as you can get use to the small shower space.

Don't expect many cruise lines to offer five-star dinners in their dining room. You are sure to have some meals you'll think are excellent, and some you may rate very good. But keep in mind this is a big operation that feeds up to 1,000 people per seating. The food is prepared banquet style, and cruisers must take that into consideration. You do, however, have a right to expect good food, excellent service and good friends--a combination that makes for a wonderful dining experience!

When you leave the dining room, you'll normally find a variety of activities from which to choose: showrooms with large-scale entertainment, lounges with cabaret acts or ballroom dancing, piano bars where you can sing along, discos for the late-night crowd, and casinos for games of chance. There's nothing quite as romantic as a stroll on the promenade deck, watching the glistening stars and moon with your loved one by your side. On the flip side, many relationships have started just this way.

After an evening of fun in the lounges or the casino, there's always another opportunity to eat again. Depending on the ship, this can vary from 24-hour restaurants, to midnight buffets, to finger foods passed around in the public rooms, to 24-hour room service. So far, no one is charging extra for these services.

It's hard to believe that so much can happen in just one day, but it does. And when you return to your cabin each evening, the bed is turned down, a chocolate or a bunny shaped towel is left on your pillow and a copy of the ship's newsletter listing all the possibilities for tomorrow is waiting for you. Cruising can be lot’s of fun and a collection of photos can be purchased from the several photographers that are always at the right place at the right time to take your picture. So what are you waiting for? Check out the cruises out there and take a well deserved vacation. Feel free to email me if you need a special price on a cruise, I have the hook up.

Domingo Ivan Casañas