However, if you like a good game of blackjack or Texas Hold ‘Em, you should be sure to set a limit for your gambling and stick to it at all costs. Even if you were “that close” to hitting a royal flush, don’t spend all your cruise money on the tables.

If you must gamble, make a side bet for the dealer. They want you to win. If you are not as skilled at Blackjack, they will be more inclined to tell you when to hit or stand if you have attempted to place a side bet. Yes sometimes you both will lose, but that is why they call it gambling.

Technorati Tags: casinos on cruise ships, cruise vacation

“Baby let me take you on a sea cruise”
The lyrics to Frankie Ford’s song “Sea Cruise” seem to echo the sentiments of many people when planning a vacation. Some think it’s out of the realm of possibilities when considering a vacation on a budget, but not anymore!
Many people, including myself, think that cruising the open seas on a luxury ship is a vacation we can’t even dream of. However, with some careful planning and saving, a cruise is definitely within the realm of possibilities!
The cost of cruising has dropped dramatically over the last few years, and it’s become affordable for almost
everyone as a vacation alternative. But many of us could afford to cruise even more often if we could just cut down on all the extra onboard and on-shore costs, above and beyond the actual cruise fare.
There are hundreds of tips out there on how to save money on your cruise. Whether you get advice from family and friends, the Internet, or your local travel agent, they all are valuable. The only problem is how do you remember them all? This book has taken the best tips from several sources and put them in one convenient place – HERE!
Almost anyone can take a cruise vacation that’s everything depicted in the movies and on television. You can enjoy The Bahamas, Hawaii, Mexico, and even Alaska aboard luxury cruise ships with all the amenities of a resort on land.
The key to making the most of your cruise vacation is to know where you can save money without sacrificing fun or rest and relaxation. Many cruises are all-inclusive, but that doesn’t necessarily mean “ALL inclusive”. There are
extra charges for items on board as well as activities and shore trips.
You deserve to enjoy your vacation and all that comes with it, and you can do it on a budget! What could be better than that?
So sit back and read up on the best ways to save money on your cruise. Gopher, Julie, and Doc from “The Love Boat” won’t be there, but YOU will be!

Technorati Tags: cruise vacations

Going on vacation can be very costly if you don’t do your research before you go. There’s the transportation, the lodging, where to eat, and what to do. Today we’ll discuss free things to do when visiting Orlando.

If you are staying close to Disney World but not in a Disney hotel, you can still enjoy the Disney amenities for yourself for free. You can park at any of the Disney hotels and use the free transportation to travel to and from the individual resorts. The themed resorts like the Royal Pacific, The Wilderness Lodge, and the Grand Floridian are enjoyable to walk through. You can take the monorail to and from the Grand Floridian and Wilderness Lodge. The hotels also have different decorations depending on the time of year.

Down Town Disney is free and offers a lot to enjoy. There are the Disney stores, other fun shops and the river area. You can take a boat ride through the river and see the beautifully landscaped Disney hotels as you pass. The boat from Down Town Disney to Port Orleans takes an average of 30 minutes and is free top ride. Port Orleans is also very beautiful and looks like houses from the late 1800’s in Gone With The Wind.

Old Town in Kissimmee is only 10 minutes from Disney and is a lot of fun. They have lots of stores, rides like bumper cars, go carts, and thrill rides. It is free to park and walk around. There is Crusin on Saturday nights. They average 400 entries of classic hot rod and crusin cars. Grab a spot on Main Street and watch the cars cruise by.

Celebration is right next to old town and is not just a town but an experience. Enter the most perfect place on Earth. The houses are well manicured and all sit perfectly inline going down the street. Walk around the down town area and enjoy the stores, music, and the movies if you have time. It’s free to park and walk around.

If you are staying close to Universal Studios and Orlando, there are lots of free things to do here as well. Universal City Walk is always free to walk around and parking is free after 6pm. There are plenty of shops to keep you busy for a couple of hours. Visit the Hard Rock Hotel, The Pacific Island Resort, and The Portofino Hotel while you are there. They are all well designed and are a great way to have casual conversation with your friends. Universal also has a free boat service that will take you from City Walk to the different hotels.

The Gaylord Hotel is a great place to visit. Parking is not always free but if you have a group of people it definitely pays for it self. Designed after the famous Gaylord Hotel in Nashville but with a Floridian flare. It’s a great place to enjoy the outdoors inside year round. The entire center area of the hotel is covered by a giant glass ceiling. There are lots of tress, waterfalls, and a ship that sits on the water and doubles as a restaurant. You can easily walk around for 2 to 3 hours with out getting bored.

If you like to shop, there’s the Mall at Millennia, The Florida Mall, and The Fashion Square Mall all close by. It’s only free if you don’t buy anything.

Park Avenue in Winter Park is just north of down town Orlando and is a beautiful place to slow down and enjoy the atmosphere. Visit the unique shopping and high end stores as you take in beauty of the tree lined streets. It’s free to look.

Harry P.Leu Gardens isn’t free but I thought I would let you know about it. It is only around $4 a person and is worth the small investment. Located just north of down town Orlando off of Virginia Drive, it takes you right out of the city while still being in the city. Walk the path of beautiful native Florida landscape and stop to smell the roses in one of Central Florida’s largest Rose gardens. Take the tour of Leu Gardens house that is included in admission.

There are lots of state parks in Florida and many are free, the ones that aren’t don’t cost very much though. Visit Big Tree Park in Longwood which is 15 minutes north of downtown Orlando if you want to see the oldest Cypress Tree on record at over 2,000 years old.

Lake Eola in down town Orlando is a great place to walk as you can walk around the entire lake in less than an hour. Take in the natural beauty of the historic trees along with the skyscrapers that circle the lake.

Cranes Roost in Altamonte Springs Uptown Park is a free enjoyable experience. It is located about 20 minutes north of down town Orlando but is worth the visit. It is a well decorated park that circles Cranes Roost Lake. Walk across the long boardwalk that crosses the lake while you listen to contemporary music playing in the back ground.

There are many other free things to do in Orlando just get creative. You might have the experience of a life time.

Shawn Hickman
http://www.articlesbase.com/travel-tips-articles/free-things-to-do-when-visiting-orlando-florida-106736.html

Hawaiian cruises can be joyous, peaceful, and splendid. As soon as you step on board, you will find an amazing range of activities to do and see.

You can sample exceptional dining, exciting entertainment, and new activities each and every minute of your holiday.

To learn more about your vacation of a lifetime to these wonderful islands, keep reading.

Some of the friendliest of the 137 Hawaiian Islands now have more and more cruise ships scheduling frequent stays there. you’ll find destinations to the major Hawaiian ports such as Kauai, Maui, Kona, and Hilo commonplace.

From water activities; to sunbathing; to snowboarding, these Islands have everything. The climate is excellent and calm almost year round and you can even catch some excellent, cool snow in the mountains of Maui!

Although definitely a part of the U.S., the Hawaiian islands all have their own very unique and varied culture. It’s cosmopolitan history has led to a curious mixture of almost the whole world’s cultures and ways of life.

Those who know, believe the first permanent inhabitants of this fascinating area sailed from far away, in the middle of the first millennia and their descendents are generous peoples, known for their kindness and friendliness.

Cruises generally stop at a number of the popular locations. The different Hawaiian Islands all have their fans for their variety.

Hawaii has it’s mountains and the Kilauea Crater, which some think is home to a fire goddess! Maui is popular for it’s wonderful waterside facilities and natural beauty, whilst Honolulu is a nature lover’s paradise, with beautiful cliffs and waterfalls. Each of the islands shares a natural character of welcoming.

A vacation on a cruise here will without question give you heaps to remember. For a vacation on a Hawaiian cruise in the near future, remember to consider the following.

*Kids vacationing without their parents, need the right paperwork to travel with friends. Because if problems arise, this will be vital.

*In most cases, you will need proof of citizenship and identity to board ship, wherever you are from.

*Prepare ahead of time to choose carefully your Hawaiian cruise.

*Get yourself a cruise ships that offers you the best value, of course, as well as being high standards.

However you decide to choose, get exactly what you want by picking a cruise that suits your idea of that dream vacation.

For more information, don’t forget all the forums and blogs about Hawaiian vacations telling you all you need to know about what things to take, when to go, and what are ‘must do’ activities. Online is a great resource for finding out about your vacation and the possibilities.

Whilst each island has much to offer, your cruise liner itself offers exquisite arrangements! So, make sure you appreciate the value of this amazing vacation.

Plan well, seek out the information you need and remember the incredible joy you found on your on your Hawaiian cruise for years ahead.

Martin Haworth
http://www.articlesbase.com/travel-articles/your-hawaiian-cruise-vacation-remembered-for-a-lifetime-121200.html

You really want to take a cruise but you also really want to go to a spa for physical fitness and maybe a little pampering. In the world today you can do both. Years ago you were lucky to find a spa on a cruise ship. If there was one, it was in a really remote area of the ship. As for physical fitness there was very little equipment and most of it was tired. When people started to become more conscious of their looks and health the cruise lines revised their way of thinking. Cruise travel now can double as a spa vacation as well as learning a new physical fitness program.

The newer cruise ships have gone to great lengths to accommodate the cruise passenger who also wants to beautify and tone up. The cruise lines have installed state of the art equipment, added numerous exercise classes, and offer the newest beauty treatments available. Many of the cruise lines have relocated their fitness centers to the top decks of the ships with lots of windows so you can have a view while you are on the treadmill, bike, or lifting weights. Tucked up into the corner is a big TV so you can watch the news from back home. The cruise ships now have three distinct areas, one for fitness, one for spa treatments and one for the beauty salon.

As mentioned, the fitness centers on cruise ships are now a thing to behold. They all will definitely have treadmills, Stairmasters, free weights rowing machines and bikes. Some cruise lines even have complete Nautilus machines. Popular exercise machines, especially on sea days, may require you to sign up for a particular time of day and will limit the amount of time you can use the machine.

If you want to use your cruise travel as a vehicle to start an exercise regime there are physical trainers onboard. Their services, however, will cost you extra. The trainer will ask you lots of questions about your health and diet and then will come up with a personal regime for you. He or she will then book times through the week for you to work together.

All cruise lines offer exercise classes, yoga, aerobics, dance, water aerobics, even Pilates and kickboxing. Some of these may require a slight fee. To find out when these classes are held consult your daily bulletin for times and fees, if any.

Now, you’re thinking why would I start a physical fitness regime while on a cruise ship, especially since they serve all that food, 24 hours a day? Well along with the newer, shinier and better facilities the cruise lines have also instituted what they call spa cuisine. Everyday they will offer a “lighter side” menu if you are really serious about you new physical fitness regime.

Don’t assume that if the ship is older, it won’t have a decent fitness and spa area. Check with your cruise travel agent to find out what facilities are onboard the cruise ship you have chosen. For instance, the QE2 is an older ship but it has a beautifully outfitted spa with a large staff. Celebrity’s slight older Century has a Thalassotherapy pool for their passenger’s enjoyment and it has become quite popular among their cruisers.

When you board your cruise ship go to the spa area. Usually on the first day the staff will be explaining their treatments and occasionally demonstrate how it is done. Sometimes they will raffle off treatments, so go to the demonstration just for that reason. If you have definitely decided that you will be doing some treatments, book them on day one to get the best times. Any beauty salon appointments should be made then too, hair appointments for formal night go very quickly.

Many times the spa and beauty staff will discount their services on days when the ship is in port. If you are going to a few cruise destinations that you have previously visited, take advantage of these offers. You will find that you can pick your time of day to get these treatments done with little or no competition. If you are an early riser, choose an appointment in the morning and then get off the ship to enjoy that port. Or, conversely, disembark early to explore your new port, and then return to the ship in the early afternoon to take advantage of a discounted treatment.

When you go to your spa appointment, do not wear jewelry or fancy clothes. Most treatments are a bit messy and you don’t want to ruin any of your belongings. It is best just to wear a robe. When you get there an attendant will give you a towel and a private locker to put away your things. You may then be asked to wait in a room. Your technician will come out to take you to the room designated for that particular application. You will also fill out a form on your health and any surgeries that you have had. The room you are in will most likely have a shower. It will definitely have a sound system to play soothing music and there will be an array of exotic oils and creams.

The cruise ship spas have gotten quite creative. They now offer couples massages where you and your partner are in the same room with different massage therapists. Then there are four hand massages where two people work on you at the same time. Some of the cruise lines offer in suite massages and some even have massages on the deck.

By far the highest percentage of staff are women but there a few men. If you have a preference between male or female spa technicians, state it when you make your appointment. Some people are uncomfortable lying naked on a table with a therapist of the opposite sex. Check the cruise ships policy on tipping. Some cruise lines automatically tack on a 15% charge to your bill while on others you may have to pay in cash. To save embarrassment, check at the time you make your appointments.

There are three lines that allow you to make your spa appoints before boarding the ship. Princess, Windstar and Celebrity all offer this option. In some cases they even have packages that you can book in advance. Be careful here though, they may give you some very early morning appointments which means you have to go and change them on the very first day. This is not the best policy since they should be giving you prime appointments for booking ahead.

Beauty salons will offer a full array of services. You can have your nails done, your hair colored or hand and foot treatments aside from just a trim. Most of the beauty salons have Europeans staffs. That is not necessarily a bad thing. Places like Austria require their beauty students to go to the equivalent of our college.

See, it is possible to turn your cruise into a spa vacation or physical fitness week. Just follow what your trainer or your beauty technicians tell you and eat the spa cuisine. You’ve just achieved three goals, a little bit of pampering, a fitness regime, and a light and healthy diet. This may be a new way for you to view cruise travel.

Happy Cruising!

Copyright © Mary Hanna, All Rights Reserved.

This article may be distributed freely on your website and in your ezines, as long as this entire article, copyright notice, links and the resource box are unchanged.

Mary Hanna
http://www.articlesbase.com/travel-articles/cruise-travel-for-physical-fitness-or-a-spa-vacation-54475.html