Vacations For Teens - Five Affordable Destinations

Five Affordable World Travel Destinations

Locations That Offer More But Cost Less

So you want to travel the world but you have a tight budget? Are you tired of reading about everyone else's exotic adventures and ready to have some of your own? Have you always wanted to take an international vacation but thought you couldn't afford it? There are numerous travel destinations across the world that are both exciting and affordable. Five of them are described here to give you ideas and get you started planning your own getaway.

There are two ways to approach affordable vacations to distant destinations. Either you will save money getting there or the savings will occur once you arrive at your selected spot. If you want the trip there to be affordable, many travel consolidators recommend choosing well-known destinations that are served by numerous airlines and receive millions of travelers each year. The competition for customers usually drives costs down for everything from lodging to tour packages. Airfares between major hubs tend to be more affordable and there are often plenty of discounts and last minute travel deals.

London

In Europe, London is a top pick for affordable vacation destinations, for these exact reasons. Not only do you have more flights to choose from, they are cheaper than if you flew to a more remote location. On average, staying in London may be a bit more expensive than other European destinations, but the seemingly endless choices in hotels, restaurants, transportation, tours, and other travel essentials gives travels opportunities to mold their vacation to fit their budgets. And you can use London as your home base to set out on day trips to other more exotic locations or buy a Eurorail pass and see those more remote countries without the expense of flying there.

Playa del Carmen, Mexico

This theory also works well for traveling in the Caribbean. Belize is an appealing destination, with wonderful Caribbean beaches and a lush tropic setting, but since it has only recently emerged as a popular travel destination, it is more expensive than Cancun, Jamaica or other well-traveled locations along the Mayan Riviera. With fewer flights, getting there is more expensive, and there are few moderate lodging options. Development of larger luxury resorts have begun to boom, but the only real alternative for those on a budget is staying in local facilities that may be hard to locate from home and may be more rustic than most travelers are willing to try.

Although there are many options for affordable vacations in the Caribbean, an excellent pick is Playa del Carmen, Mexico. Accessible via flights to Cancun, which are often some of the cheapest in the region, Playa is just a half hour away. It is filled with a multitude of lodging choices, from expansive luxury resorts on the ocean to quaint but clean hotels downtown. From Playa, travelers can branch out and visit Tulum and other locations on the Mayan Riviera or take the ferry across to the island of Cozumel where snorkeling is prime and the attractions are many.

For Asian destinations, travelers often do better to focus on saving money once they get to their destination. Depending on your country of origin, getting to just about any spot in Asia is going to be a sizable chunk of your travel budget. The difference will come from the cost of lodging, food, entertainment and other travel expenditures once you arrive. By choosing destinations where you get the most for your money, you can save a great deal on your international vacation. A drink or dinner in Tokyo will costs you many times more than what it would in Saigon. The key here is to go where you dollars buy you more and where the local cost of living is low.

Tioman Island

An affordable yet exotic choice for Asia is Malaysia and specifically Tioman Island, knows as the mythical 'Bali Hai' from the film 'South Pacific.' Tioman Island is located at the southern end of the east coast of Malaysia on the South China Sea. It's sandy beaches, bordered by lush jungles and stunning mountains make it a relaxing yet intriguing destination, ideal for sun lovers, snorkelers and divers. The island also has many villages for exploring and shopping. English is widely spoken and the rates are amazingly affordable, with a two night lodging package for a suite at a lovely oceanside resort averaging around 100 U.S. dollars. Typically visitors reach the island via the speed ferry from the mainland. Although the trip can take over two hours, it is enjoyable and provides opportunities for dolphin watching along the way.

Buenos Aires

South American also has many destinations that are affordable because of the savings once you arrive. Locales like Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, the areas top destination, are coming down in price but are still more expensive than cities such as Buenos Aires in Argentina, where the rates are lower and the U.S. dollar goes further.

A huge metropolis that is more European than South American, the city has much to offer including cultural events, thriving nightlife, shopping, local sports, and a host of tours and excursions. La Boca, with its street performers, shops, and unique architecture is a big tourist draw. The large number of choices for lodging, restaurants, and activities provides opportunities for budget travel and savings. Airfare to the city is relatively reasonable for an international destination, with discount fares from the U.S. averaging around $500 round trip. Buenos Aires might not be one of the most exotic or inspiring destinations in South America, but it is a city that everyone should see at least once, and with some of the most affordable rates and fares around, it makes the list as a top South American destination.

Las Vegas

The list would not be complete without a North American destination, and the champ of all affordable locales is Las Vegas. It too is a city that should be seen at least once, and many world travelers return again and again for the gaming, art, shows and people watching that just can't be found anywhere else. Close enough to other top U.S. attractions like the Grand Canyon, Vegas provides other options for those who have had their fill of casinos.

The city has long been known for its cheap vacation packages with hotels and resorts that offer discount rates for rooms, meals and entertainment in hopes of attracting people to their gaming tables. Airfare rates into Vegas are some of the most reasonable in the United States, no matter the origination destination. And with more than 100,000 hotel rooms to choose from, there is sure to be a lodging choice that fits your budget.

The world provides hundreds of affordable travel destinations. With all the options available, there is no excuse to put off that life-long desire to travel to exotic places at the far ends of the earth. Destinations can be researched on the Internet or your travel consolidator can make recommendations and help with locating discount flights and hotel deals that fit your budget. So what are you waiting for? Get out there and explore the world.

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Discount Airfares

Many major airlines offer various discount airfare rates to motivate travelers to fly with them. Travelers can usually garner a fare deal from these offers. Many websites like [http://www.marcopolo.com], http://www.bestfares.com provide information about special fares, and discounts of various airlines. It is best to visit the airlines exclusive website to gain such information. Major airlines provide discount fares most often for their frequent flyers.

Often, booking in advance is a sure way to receive a decent discount fare on a flight. United Airlines, for example, offers 10% off mid-week couch fares when tickets are booked seven days in advance. Advance booking of 30 days or more qualify for discounted rates on most 'no frills' flights. There are many zone-based discount rates on airfares as, and various travel and entertainment magazines also offer discount code coupons for air travel. http://www.entertainment.com provides information relating these special deals. Senior citizens often get special rates, and children under two travel for free. Many airlines also offer student discount as a symbol of good will for future high fliers and frequent travelers.

It is often a stupendous task to keep rack of the various discounts that you can take advantage of. You have to constantly search the many airline travel sites on the Internet or keep in close contact with your travel agent. Sometimes, going with a travel agent is the best idea, as they have easy access to all available airlines and the discounts they are offering. They also have access to offers that may not be advertised to the general public.

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Cell Phones - Some Considerations of the Cell Phone of the Future

Cell phone technology has been moving forward at break neck speed, and sometimes we may not notice it, but think back to just a few years ago and you can see all the new feature integration and race in the marketplace - a race to "wow" consumers and get them to choose a specific device. But before we talk about the current trends in cell phones and smart phones, let's discuss the past evolution of these devices.

Since, I had one of the first mobile "cell" phones - I'd like to tell you a quick story to start out this discussion.

My first cell phones were state-of-the-art at the time, but if you saw them today, you'd laugh. One of them I actually kept; a Mitsubishi Transportable. This phone is about the size of a six pack cooler that you might take to your child's soccer game, and it was quite heavy, as I recall it is well over 10 pounds. This of course included the battery pack to power up to 3 Watt phone.

Remember that Ion-lithium batteries at the time were just coming off the assembly lines and were quite expensive - they did not exist in this size for anything but NASA and military usage. These original cell phones I had were nickel hydride powered, quite an inferior battery technology for modern cell phones.

The Mitsubishi Cell Phone has a strap on it so you can carry it like a purse, and I often felt really stupid carrying it, until of course it rang, and I unzipped the top, pulled out the handset on the phone and began talking. I can recall that everyone stared as if I was a secret CIA agent, was working for MI6, and my name wasn't Lance, it was really James Bond. You see, at that time not very many people had the cell phones and they were very expensive.

Another one of my first phones was a Audiovox 1000 model, which was quite large and it was mounted in my car, a car phone - cell phone. The box that ran the Cell Phone was mounted under the seat, and there was a cradle that held the headset. The headset had a cord on it just like a phone at home, before the cordless phones that is. Under the seat the box was about 3 1/2 inches high and the size of a laptop with a 17.1 inch screen.

This Cell Phone or car cell phone was wired directly to the battery with a couple of fuses. When I turned on the vehicle, the Cell Phone would automatically turn on. If I turned off the vehicle, I had to leave it on accessory with the key in the right position, unless I left the phone on which by-passed the ignition. When the phone rang and actually honked the horn, which got me into trouble a couple of times when the horn went off while I was driving behind a police car stopped at an intersection. I have a lot of stories to tell you about all those early days with the first cell phones, and you may e-mail me if you are ever interested in such experiences.

Folks today take all this for granted, as they don't realize how cumbersome the original cell phones were, or how stupid they were compared to modern day smart cell phones. Today they give you a free cell phone when you sign up for service - back then you had to pay $1000 for a car cell phone, and as much as a couple hundred dollars to have it installed. It was quite a procedure, if you have a stereo system, and an XM radio put in your car at the same time, that is about how much work it took to do this. Therefore, at today's labor rates you could easily pay three or $400. That's definitely something to think about.

If I was talking to someone on the phone while the engine was running, if I turned off the car and moved the key to the accessory position I would dump the phone call, as I cut it out during that transition. However, having a cell phone in my car helped me increase my business. At the time I was only 17 years old - I had an aircraft brokerage firm and aircraft finder's service and I would work off of fees whenever an aircraft that I represented sold. I also had a small aircraft cleaning service and was able to contact customers from my vehicle on the flight line, and my crews could call me when they were done with the job as they would use the local payphone to call me.

Thus, this mobile technology allowed me to make more money, and remain more efficient than the competition. Remember at the time this was leading edge technology, it was state-of-the-art, and I had it - the competition did not. No longer was I stuck in an office, I could run my business from anywhere and it allowed me much freedom. Often people today do not realize what it was like before mobile cell phones. Anyone who is in business now over the age of 50 certainly realizes, because they remember a time when there were no cell phones.

This was a period in our nation's history where there were pay phones in every shopping center, every gas station, outside of every fast food restaurant, and people used them all the time. Business People who didn't smoke filled their ashtrays with coins so they can stop and use the pay phone. Thus, allowing them to call clients, customers, vendors, and maintain their operations in the office. When cell phones first came into play they displaced the old Motorola technology of push to talk phones, which worked off a mountaintop repeaters, these phones were very big in the military, construction industry, and all the executives with large corporations had them.

Since this was radio technology, they worked farther than the first cell phones which had to be within 10 to 15 miles of a cell tower. Today, the cell phones are less wattage than they were back then, so the average cell tower is 6 miles or less apart. Back then the cell phones worked off three Watts, and now with 3G technology the wattage is under 1 W. This is probably good for the human biosystem, as it is putting less microwave frequency radiation into your brain, there will be fewer brain tumors, brain cancer, and other issues. There have been many studies including several with the Swiss researchers which seemed to indicate that the 3 W phones were quite unacceptable for human health, and they would slowly cook your brain as one researcher said.

Luckily, for the cell phone industry they were able to bury most of these problems and objections, as well as the studies that the Swiss did. Although, there were studies here in the United States, you would be hard-pressed to find those research studies and data on brain tumors, brain cancer, and their relation to the cell phones that people used. In fact, if you go to Google Scholar today you will be hard-pressed to find anything that would suggest that the cell phones could cause such horrible conditions. This of course is all still up for debate, but we try not to talk about it.

Perhaps, by going to 3G wireless, and lower wattage the mobile cell phone industry dodged a bullet of huge class-action lawsuits, and we may never know the damage we had caused. Nevertheless, as we talk about Six Sigma efficiency in corporations, or using modern management techniques in small businesses, no one can deny that increasing communication speed and reliability is by far a factor in the increase productivity in the 80s and 90s due to cell phones.

At the time I was literally running 1000 to 1200 minutes per month and although that service was much cheaper than the other choices such as the Iridium Satellite Phones, non-cell phone mobile units, as they did not use cell towers, rather satellites - you can imagine the costs of the original cells. They did not have an unlimited plan and once over your minutes, you paid the premium for each minute on that cell phone, my bill was usually $500 to 800 or more.

The other mobile phones at the time were not cell tower-based phones, they were push-to-talk and came in a brief case - it was considered quite James Bond at the time. And this was back in the 1970s, and I remember this, because I started my business when I was 12 years old washing airplanes at the local airport. Many of the businessmen who owned corporate jets had these types of phones. They were basically for the rich and famous, and business person. They didn't work everywhere and you had to have pretty much line of sight to the nearest tall mountain, and that mountain had to have a repeater on top of it, which was hardwired into telephone lines, and the rest of the system worked with ground lines.

All this is very interesting, and we must consider that many folks today have never been alive when there were no cell phones. They have no clue how hard it was to run a business back in the days when there really was no mobile communication. The same repeater systems on top of the mountains that Motorola owned or which used Motorola hardware, also controlled the pagers. These pager systems were quite popular with people on call, such as doctors, and service personnel. Two-way radios, which work basically the same as the two-way push to talk briefcase phones, were used through a dispatcher for companies very often.

Later, just as cell phones came into play, someone came up with the idea of 1.5 way and two-way pagers. Instead of a one-way pager, someone who had what they call an "alpha mate" device could page someone and ask them a question (using a text message) on that page and the recipient could press a button for yes or no, Y. or N. and that information would be relayed to the dispatcher. People actually got pretty good at communicating this way. And you could send text type messages for the user of the pager to read. In reality these were the first text type messages, so the concept of having a mobile device and using text messaging is not all that new.

Two-way text messaging via cell phones is merely a re-introduction of that similar technology. Once people had cell phones they didn't need to use the text pagers anymore, and that technology was leapfrogged as the price of the cell phone services was lower, as competition increased between companies like Sprint and AT&T. There were many other regional smaller players, but they eventually got bought up by the big boys.

The cell phone industry grew so fast in the late 80s and early 90s, that eventually there was coverage everywhere. Then something really weird happened, the promise of 3G wireless came into play, and folks started switching to that new system. I can tell you this - my first cell phones were much more powerful and worked much better than the cell phones of today.

Occasionally, I had a call dropped and there were not as many service areas, yes there were more dead zones, but the signal was much more powerful because it was 3 W, and since it ran off my car battery or a large battery pack in a small carry case, it had ample power to maintain that strong signal.

Today, when I use my AT&T cell phone, I am often cursing because the service is so bad, I wonder why I am even paying for it. In fact, the loss of productivity from dead zones, and the cell phone calls dropping, I feel as if AT&T should be paying me. Apparently, I am not alone many people feel the same way. Nevertheless, the 4G wireless is on the way and everyone will be switching to that so that they will have Internet access allowing them to do e-mails, twitter, video, and real-time text messaging without the use of ground lines

A good many folks do not know of a time when there was no email or internet. And most people who are in business today, who are under 50 years old do not remember a time when we didn't have fax machines, the reality is that fax machines came into play about the time of the first cell phones. Mind you, there was still no Internet, no e-mail, and although ARPANET was being used by the military, and by think tanks, research centers, and top universities, it wasn't really available to the public in the way we have it now.

Fast forward to today and now no one goes anywhere without a cell phone. Social researchers have noted fewer people wearing wrist watches. They don't need a wristwatch because that is a standard feature on all cell phones now. Of course, this doesn't help companies like Rolex who are catering to the young up-and-coming BMW crowd, if you look around you will see that most young executives don't even wear a watch and most of our younger generation doesn't wear a watch either.

It seems that the wrist-watch replaced the pocket watch, and the cell phones seem to be replacing just about everything. These days people use their cell phone or smart phones to do their e-mails, and these same phones act like a PDA, no one carries day planners anymore, although a few people do, myself included perhaps out of habit from using a day planner from the time I was 12 years old in my business until I was in my mid-40s. Perhaps, I am giving away my age, but sometimes old habits die hard.

Today with many laptop notebooks, PDAs, and smart phones, it seems none of that other stuff is needed. Including your human memory say many psychologists, who argue that this technology is causing the human brain to rewire itself differently because there are different needs to get along in the world. After all, all your best friends are on the speed dial and you don't have to remember phone numbers anymore. And all your contacts and information is on your smart phone, in your e-mail program, or on your laptop.

Cyber security analysts worry that if the system crashes or God forbid an electro-magnetic pulse, neutron bomb, or nuclear device is set off high in the atmosphere it could destroy all the electronic equipment, including all the cell towers, your laptop, your television, your refrigerator, and your smart phone. Where will you be then, and can you rely on your memory and the brain you are born with to carry on your daily endeavors - scary thinking, but perhaps we need to address this as we consider the evolution of cell phones.

Today, our cell phones have changed the entire dynamics of our society. There are unspoken etiquette issues of cell phone use in public. There are rules when we can use our cell phones and when we can't. Issues such as driving with a cell phone and the number of auto deaths which occur while people are driving and talking on the phone at the same time. There have been major disasters caused by texting while driving a bus or conducting a train.

The reality is that as our technology has evolved, it is evolving much faster than the human brain can to take it all in. Due to the multitasking required in our society to get along and the high pace and productivity that jobs require, many brains cannot cope or adapt fast enough. And this seems to be a problem, if some people are not able to make the switch, but they attempt to, sometimes while driving with disastrous results.

Our smart phones are becoming super cell phones that have more and more features, such as the ability to store music like the iPod, and vast amounts of data like our electronic PDAs. These devices are getting more high-tech each and every year and they are feature rich. Many have five to ten gigabytes of information storage now. One recent study in the cell phone industry noted that 90% of the people who own cell phones have never used all the features, and do not know how to program them, or even that they exist on their cell phone. Most people don't even care, they use the features they want and none of the others.

This is a common problem with new technologies, and it is something that happened with that Beta and VHS recorders. What's that old joke, there are tons of features on your video recorder at home, but no one knows how to use them, and before we all learned that we need to learn to use these features, the VHS video recorder is out in the new DVDs are here. Now cable companies offer boxes which can record multiple shows so you can watch later or pause a live TV program while you go to the bathroom, or go to the kitchen to get something to eat. Some allow you to use your cell phone to do remote programming too.

These are all things common challenges which are encountered and similar problems with any new personal tech devices which become mass consumer products. Cell phones and our current smart phones are no exception. It's hard to say the future what types of new features in our cell phones will have. The sky is the limit, and the imagination and demand for more features and greater technology is readily apparent. The early adopters of such cell phone and smart phone technologies are willing to spend big bucks to have all-in-one devices. Therefore, these trends will continue.

Just to give you an example of some of the crazy ideas people come up with for future smart phones let me tell you a little quick story.

Our on-line Think Tank came up with a plan to produce a PhD or Personal Health Device, which tracks your diet - on your cell phone. How it worked was quite simple, when you are at the grocery store, you would scan all the items that you bought, and they would go into storage inside your smart phone. Each time you ate one of those items you would simply select what you ate, and punch in the number of servings and you would calculate and keep track of your calories, fat content, and recommended daily allowances in the major five food groups.

The smart phone would have a scanner system on it, later subsequent versions of this smart phone and personal health device would be able to scan products via RFID tags. Your phone could tabulate and even recommend what you should eat, how many more miles you should jog, and what you would need to maintain your diet to meet your personal health goals, and weight loss program. Sounds crazy doesn't it, yes, it does, but the venture capitalists like the idea. So too, do companies that produce high tech smart phones today, as everyone is looking to get a jump on the competition.

GPS systems by way of smart phones or cellular high-tech phones is quite possible (now available), and you don't even need satellites to do it. If you are within the realm of several cell towers your location can be triangulated quite quickly, which pinpoints your exact location within 10 feet. Ah ha, you see the problem in this too; What about privacy you ask? That's a good point and that is another issue that people are quite concerned about with all this new high-tech personal smart phone innovations.

Google Phone and social networking connections appear to be on horizon. That is to say, linking your smart phone with all of your social networking friends, but apparently Google got into a little bit of a problem and noted that many people are not ready for that just yet. In fact, many people who are friends on social networks and make connections, have no intention of ever meeting these people in real life, and therefore they aren't really friends. And since you don't really know anything about those connections or friends on your social networking site, the last thing you want them to do is know exactly where you are within 10 feet.

That should appear to be obvious, and in the future it may not be such a big deal, but people are still a little paranoid and they like to have their privacy. Meanwhile, we read more and more articles about social networking gone bad. That is to say people using social networks to stalk other people, and this also concerns parents who have teenagers, who use social networks on a daily basis, and some that use them on an hourly basis, and a good many who seem to be texting every few minutes.

One recent study of cell phone users was able to have a 93% predictability of where a person might be based on the patterns determined by their cell phone, and when it was connected to any given local cell tower. The study found that most people stay within 6 miles of their homes. These patterns of predictability are a reality in our society and how we operate as individuals - nevertheless this brings up all types of issues that have attracted the attention of the Electronic Freedom Foundation, and it also touches on the issue of privacy and paranoia, it catches people off guard.

Then there is the new trend with smart mobs using their smart phones, and having fun with and meeting up in various places all at the same time. Although these schemes are used for fun, entertainment, and socializing, these same types of smart mobs have the power to destabilize a society or civilization. Consider if you will the use of technology in Tiananmen Square - should governments be worried about your smart phone technology, or the future of 4G wireless cell phones? They probably should be concerned with it, especially if it is used by a foreign government to provide mass protests against what would be a normal stabile government.

In other words it has uses in warfare, the CIA, in bringing down corrupt regimes which are enemies to United States. But rest assured - the same thing could happen in the United States where perhaps a communist rogue nation state decided to have protests in the United States in our major cities on Mayday. It could easily happen especially with our own technology being used against us, due to all the interconnectivity that it offers.

Does this mean that our government has to find a way to turn off all the cell phones in case of something like this happening?
Do they need a device to turn off certain cell phones from the system, while leaving first responders cell phones activated for communication?
And what about hackers, which might be able to send out tens of thousands of bogus text messages, or call masses of people into a trap, or stage a riot?

These are all questions we need to answer and we need to understand that the same technology we create to improve our productivity, our society, and help us in our daily lives with our families and friends can also be used against us.

And what happens when our smart phones become smarter than us? Some believe, as I do, that they already have. Most of the smart phones today have artificial intelligence systems within them, for instance a text messaging program which guesstimates which keys you are going to press next or what you are trying to say and it offers you suggest is so you can fill in the blank. Making your texting very quick. This is very similar technology that Google uses when doing a search and offer suggestions as you are typing to save you time. This is just one form of artificial intelligence in our smart phones and cell phones today.

There are many cell phones that allow you to use speech recognition to dial phone numbers, search your databases, or navigate the screens on your cell phone. The newest smart phones will be able to tell you when you are in proximity to a Starbucks and then give you GPS directions to find that location. This has big implications for retailers, advertisers, and consumers alike. They will begin to know your patterns and habits. All these technologies are available now and we will see them in the near future. Your cell phone will even become a payment device, hooked to your credit card information. All this technology exists today.

But what about the technologies which are just over the horizon?

We've recently seen at Comdex and CES shows the first generations of projection cell phones, that is to say video conference enabled cell phones which allow you to project to the other party onto the nearest wall or onto a table so you can watch. This will obviously be followed by the Holographic cell phones, which were similar to those that we saw in the Star Wars trilogy.

All these things will be available in the next five years, and you will most likely have them if you buy one of the high-tech cell phones in the near future. At first these technologies will cost a lot extra, but those prices will come down as the number of units built goes up and as more Chinese also purchase their first cell phone, adding another billion people who own such devices, therefore bringing the cost down for everyone - significantly!

By the year 2025 your cell phone will be a brain chip inside of your head, and you can think that you'd like to contact someone and it will dial the number and contact them. By 2050 you will be able to do thought transfer via the small devices, brain implant - perhaps smaller than a dime. And people born after that will never know what time were "thought transfer" did not exist, just like right now there are many people who have never known a time when mobile phones didn't exist. And since Moore's law also seems to apply to the cell phone and smart phone industries we can expect a size reduction as well as a power reduction to run this technology.

In other words, your biosystem will be able to power up your brain cell phone chip, just as it does your current human brain which works on about a maximum of 20 W. of energy, and you will be able to have an eyelid screen, so you can close one eye, and surf the Internet. It's hard to say what the Comdex and CES Show in Las Vegas in the year 2025 will look like, it is probably impossible to pinpoint what these shows will look like in the year 2050. In fact, there may not be shows at all, you may be able to experience these trade shows in your holographic living room, video gaming center.

Walking the virtual halls of the trade show using your avatar and talking to other avatars explaining all the new technologies that are available for you might be the new reality albeit an Augmented or fully Virtual Reality. That appears to be where we are going, although it's hard to imagine considering where we are today. Nevertheless, I can assure you people in the 1950s could not really have imagined the way in which our smart cell phones have evolved in the present period.

Currently, there seems to be a very big push in the larger cities like Atlanta and Dallas, Los Angeles and Seattle, Boston and New York, Miami and Houston towards the 4G wireless, obviously this will continue. That is the full broadband Internet surfing on your smart phone, the ability to watch TV while driving in a car on your cell phone. And next comes the ability to project that TV onto any screen or flat surface that is nearby or available. The technology is getting more robust, it's getting smaller, it's getting smarter, and you have to decide how far you want to go with it.

Perhaps, I should write a quick eBook on this topic and explain chapter by chapter, the evolution of this ominous communication technology, and the future of smart phone personal tech devices. Let me know if you know any interested potential co-authors.

At the current pace we are moving, and at the speed in which we are interfacing with the Internet, social networks, e-mail, and television, it's hard to say exactly what you will be carrying around in the future in your purse or pocket, but I daresay it will be something that is truly incredible, and in the next 10 years it will be hardly imaginable from this point in time to know exactly what it will be, or what it might be able to do. I hope you will please consider all this. And contact me if you'd like to discuss this further at the Online Think Tank.

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10 Things You Absolutely Must See Or Do in London

If you're an infrequent visitor to London and plan to hit the tourist trail then the last thing you'll want is to be pointed in the direction of the underwhelming, the uninspiring or the instantly forgettable. There's enough of that where you live, which is why you're visiting London!

Our guide features London's best galleries, museums, landmarks, historical sites, shopping areas and entertainment zones, all guaranteed to provide the ultimate London tourist experience. The attractions we've highlighted are unashamedly well known, but do you really want to be returning home to tell your friends about the fantastic thimble shop in Pimlico you visited? Or would you rather rave about the phenomenal view of one of the world's great cities from the top of The Eye, or that you've actually seen the beauty of Van Gogh's Sunflowers with your own eyes?

London has a multitude of varied and exciting attractions but these are the ones without which, your trip just wouldn't be the same!

Oxford Street
Britain's busiest high street and London's best known shopping area is chock-a-block full of the largest branches of the nation's most popular shops - over 300 in fact. Many of the biggest high street names have their flagship stores here and the street also boasts the oldest record shop in the world (HMV at number 363). It's not all hardcore shopping though - light entertainment is often provided in the form of chanting Hari Krishnas skipping along the pavement. If you can't find what you want to buy in Oxford Street, you haven't got much of a hope elsewhere.

Nearest Tubes: Marble Arch, Bond Street, Oxford Circus, and Tottenham Court Road

Camden Market
If you're after a more bohemian approach to shopping than the Oxford Street experience, then get yourself up to Camden. One of London's coolest areas has a seemingly endless array of shops and stalls selling such items as clothing (new, second hand and retro), customised Doc Martins and trainers, jewellery, bootleg CDs and DVDs and craft ware. Open daily; it's a multi cultural experience with some great little food outlets dotted all over.

Nearest Tube: Camden Town

Tower of London
Built by Billy The Conqueror nearly a thousand years ago, this is one of the best preserved and most famous historic landmarks in the world. Full of the history of executions and imprisonments and offering the spectacle of the Beefeaters, the ravens and the crown jewels as well as the majesty of the building itself, this remains THE essential place of historic interest to visit when in London. camelotintl.com/tower_site/index.html

Nearest Tube: Tower Hill.

St. Paul's Cathedral
Britain's best known place of worship and certainly one of its most recognisable buildings, having so often been the centrepiece of state occasions. The cathedral was designed by Sir Christopher Wren and built 300 years ago following the destruction of the previous building by the Great Fire Of London. An awe inspiring feat of architecture, steeped in history and featuring works of art, monuments, mosaics and the Whispering Gallery, the Cathedral is also still a busy working church. So booking your wedding here during the summer months might just be a bit tricky.

Nearest Tube: St Pauls

National Gallery
The National Gallery is home to one of the greatest collections of European art in the world. Featuring works painted between 1250 and 1900, the collection includes such well known pieces as Van Gogh's Sunflowers, Botticelli's Venus And Mars and Constable's Hay Wain. Sadly, the work of the great Rolf Harris is too recent and too Australian to be included - see the Tate Modern.

Nearest Tube: Charing Cross. Admission: Free

British Museum
Founded over 250 years ago, it could be said that the British Museum is one of London's oldest and most prized exhibits - the museum building itself is one of Britain's greatest architectural landmarks. Housed inside is a collection of art and antiquities from ancient and living cultures the world over spanning two million years featuring the Rosetta Stone, the Easter Island statue and the earliest known image of Christ.

Nearest Tubes: Tottenham Court Road, Goodge Street, Russell Square & Holborn. Admission: Free

London Eye
Undoubtedly the quickest way to take in all of London's major attractions is by jumping on the Eye. There's not much of the city that can't be seen from the top of what has become one of the London skyline's most dominating features. To further enhance your flight on this modern day feat of engineering, you can even order champagne to be served in your capsule (not recommended for the easily nauseas). http://www.londoneye.com

Nearest Tubes: Waterloo & Westminster.

Tate Modern
If random blobs of paint on canvas and piles of rusty old engine parts is your idea of art, then get yourself down to the Tate Modern. Created in a disused power station on the banks of the Thames, the gallery has become one of London's most fascinating attractions since opening in 2000. The collection features works by Picasso, Matisse, Dali, Pollock and Warhol and represents all the major movements since 1900. Sadly, the work of the great Rolf Harris is too art like to be included - see the National Gallery.

Nearest Tubes: Southwark & Blackfriars. Admission: Free (however donations are gratefully received)

Covent Garden
Formerly a fruit and vegetable market, 'The Garden' is now a constant and varied hive of activity. It has a hugely diverse selection of shops, eateries, bars, a market selling art, crafts, antiques and souvenirs, historic buildings, theatres, the Royal Opera House and fantastic free entertainment provided by street entertainers and musicians. If you can't find something to capture your interest at Covent Garden then you must be harder to please than Simon Cowell on a bad day.

Nearest Tube: Covent Garden.

Trafalgar Square
Undoubtedly one of the most famous sights of London without visiting which, a trip to the capital would be incomplete. Not only are tourists drawn to see Nelsons Column, the fountains, the lions, the annual gift of a huge Christmas tree from Norway and the pigeons (dirty little so and sos), but it is where the masses flock to in times of national celebration or when there is cause to demonstrate. Trafalgar Square truly is the meeting place of the nation.

Nearest Tube: Charing Cross.

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What Does Travel Insurance Cover?

If you're about to head off traveling, whether it's a business trip, a beach bum holiday or a round-the-world no-holds-barred adventure, you need travel insurance. Anything can happen, and often does - looking at the annual statistics showing the thousands of travellers who get into sticky situations. It's important to know exactly what your travel insurance covers, so you know if you're getting the right cover for you.

What's Normally Included

The following areas are normally covered by travel insurance, but it's important to know to what extent. For example, if you buy certain budget options, you may well be covered for theft of property, but if your laptop is worth $2000, it's a bit pointless if your policy only covers you up to $500. You should also look at the 'excess' - this is the amount you need to pay yourself in the event of a claim, before any payments are made back to you.

o Overseas medical/hospital expenses: The amount you are covered for can differ wildly depending on which policy you opt for. If you have a pre-existing condition, the company should be aware of it, or your cover may be void.

o Overseas emergency medical assistance: As above, if travelling to countries with high healthcare costs, such as the USA, it's a good idea to have this one marked 'unlimited'.

o Luggage/Personal Effects: Consider the figure given for this - if you are travelling with particularly expensive equipment, it should be covered. This also covers travel documents.

o Accidental Death: Arguably benefiting your loved ones more than you, but worth considering.

o Permanent Disability: Most policies cover this.

o Delayed Luggage Allowance: If your clothes arrive a week after you, you might need some fresh ones.

o Personal Liability: If you cause an accident, you'll need to pay damages.

o Cash: Cover for money stolen from your person.

o Cancellation Fees and Lost Deposits: If for any (good) reason you are forced to cancel or delay your trip, such as illness or poor weather.

o Alternative Transport Expenses: such as in the event of flight cancellation

o Additional Expenses: a whole range of unforeseen circumstances can lead to you incurring extra costs.

o Hijacking: An unlikely one, but expensive policies often cover for this. If you're not worried, don't fork out for it.

o Loss of Injury: Again, some more expensive policies will cover you if you sustain an injury overseas and cannot work upon returning to Australia.

o Travel Services Provider Insolvency: In the unlikely event of your airline going bust before you have a chance to board, some policies will have you covered.

Top 5 things to look out for when choosing travel insurance

Many people find it a pain buying insurance, but make sure you don't get caught out!

1. Ensure that if you're likely to do a dangerous activity, such as paragliding or scuba diving, that you check if you're covered for it - many insurance companies hate such activities as they cost them too much money.

2. Make sure that you have enough cover. Medical costs can be huge in certain countries, while budget insurance deals can leave you paying for half of your stolen camera despite being covered. If you're carrying a lot of expensive gear, make sure you're covered for all of it. Also, check what the excess is. If you have to pay $100 and your MP3 player that accidentally went scuba diving with you was five years old already, think twice.

3. Do you have existing medical conditions? You might not be covered - so own up before to make sure.

4. Other general exclusions include acts of war, loss of property due to extreme carelessness, or self-inflicted injury.

5. And finally, make sure you are covered for the full duration of your trip - a common error is to get international dates mixed up - just because your Sydney-bound flight leaves L.A. on the 14th, doesn't mean it's still the 14th when you arrive! Last minute bungles do happen!

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How To Cook Black Pudding

In France it's called "boudin noir" and in Spain it's called "morcilla" but as far as I'm concerned (an Englishman from the North of England) it will always be black pudding. Traditionally from the North of England it is effectively a mix of onions, pork fat, oatmeal and brought together with pigs blood, a classic example of a product designed to use up every last bit of the animal, something that we don't do enough of these days.

It's sad that over the years the product has been trivialized by the "Ecky Thump" image portrayed by The Goodies in the 1970's and then confined to the gastronomic scrap heap along with tripe and other offal. - OK, so I'm not a massive fan of tripe!

Over recent years, black pudding has encountered something of a renaissance because many top chefs have rediscovered it both as an ingredient and also something to prepare just as it is. Supermarkets have now started to stock it again so maybe it's going to become something of a British staple again? I love it, so do my family and if you fancy giving it a try then here are my favorite ways to cook it.

Black pudding comes in two basic forms, a stick, wrapped in a plastic skin and a ring or horse-shoe that is in a natural casing like a sausage.

The stick is most commonly seen on the breakfast plate and it's very simple to cook as part of the great traditional English breakfast. Slice the stick into ½ inch slices, remove the plastic skin and grill or fry for about 5 or 10 minutes on each side. You'll know when it's done because the surface will have turned from a slightly brown color to a deep black and texture wise it will be slightly crispy.

That's all there is to it if you're going to serve it on the breakfast plate although baked beans to complement are perfect, as is a nice runny egg yolk. If however you're going to have it as an appetizer then the rule is ensure that you serve it with something sweet. Caramelized onions go well, as does caramelized apple, I've also tried honey and chili but to be fair you can even get away with a simple home-made tomato ketchup.

The ring again is a simple cooking process but fewer people are familiar with it. You don't remove the skin, just pop it into simmering water (just below 100ºC) and allow the ring to warm through for about 10 minutes.

You need to make sure that you have a pan that's about double the size of the black pudding ring because as the sausage warms through it will expand quite a lot and that's a good test for when it's cooked. Look also for the color of the skin to have turned more of a grey than black.

Serving a boiled black pudding for me is to slit the skin and peel it back leaving the inner contents looking like a large black sausage on your plate. Again, I like to serve with baked beans but try drizzling a little white wine vinegar on the black pudding - yum!

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Cruise Ship Review - Celebrity Cruises Eclipse

I am writing this review while on my return flight to the U.S., having just spent the past two weeks (14 nights) aboard the Celebrity Eclipse. Launched in April of 2010, the Eclipse joins Celebrity's award-winning family of "Solstice-class" ships, which currently includes the Celebrity Solstice, the Equinox and, in 2011, will also include the Silhouette. So, although I will try to maintain complete objectivity, I must admit that I boarded the Eclipse with very high expectations. Fortunately, with only minor exceptions (as later noted), I was not disappointed.

The "Hardware"

When discussing the physical attributes of a cruise ship (i.e., it's layout and appearance), industry professionals often refer to the ship's "hardware". So, let's start there.

At 122,000 tons (the largest in the Celebrity fleet), the Eclipse was surprisingly easy to get around on and, even with a full capacity of 2,850 passengers (based on double occupancy), the ship never felt crowded. To be perfectly honest, my first impression of the interior décor was that it was a bit "plain" but, as the days onboard passed, I came to appreciate it more and more. Consistent with Celebrity's position in the industry as a "premium" cruise line (as distinguished from "mass market" or "luxury"), the overall look and "feel" of the Eclipse is what I would describe as "subdued elegance". Unlike the "cheap glitz" or "pretentious opulence" of some other ships I've seen, the interior of the Eclipse seemed to be intentionally understated by its designers so that guests (myself included) would feel completely at ease while residing in their upscale home at sea. Colors in the main lobby area were soft and light, while other public areas and lounges (including Michael's Club and Cellar Masters) were adorned in deep natural wood tones with luxurious furnishings and plush carpeting.

Hallways and stairways were sufficiently wide for side-by-side passage of guests and we rarely had to wait more than a minute or two for an elevator. The public bathrooms were immaculate and they were always well-stocked with small single-use cloth towels (rather than paper or hot air dryers).

The pool and solarium areas were spacious enough that finding a comfortable lounge chair was never a problem. However, the jogging track (or "walking path" for those of us over the age of 60) went right through the pool lounging area (so it became something of an "obstacle course") and it didn't go completely around the entire ship.

Perhaps the most unique feature of the ship's "hardware" was the "Lawn Club". I must admit that a negative pre-conceived notion (based on photos and descriptions that I saw) may have clouded my expectation. But, after spending just a few minutes watching fellow passengers playing croquet or basking in the sun on the finely manicured natural grass, I realized that the photographs of this area in Celebrity's brochures and television commercials could not capture it's peaceful serenity. I loved it!

The Food

Since all restaurants offer a variety of culinary choices, any evaluation of food is influenced not only by personal taste but also by what items are selected from the menu. Nowhere was this more apparent than at the Murano specialty restaurant aboard the Eclipse. My wife ordered the filet mignon while my cousin, Mike, had the veal chop. Both entrees were, unquestionably, the best of their kind we've ever tasted....anywhere! On the other hand, the fish (Mediterranean sea bass) that my cousin's girlfriend, Janet, and I both ordered was fair at best.

More consistent was the meal we had in the specialty restaurant, Tuscan Grille. Although the filet mignon was quite as good (in our opinion) as in Murano (even though the Tuscan Grille touts itself as being "a steak house with an Italian flair"), all of our entrees were excellent in their own way.

At the specialty restaurant, Quisine, we had a lot of laughs sampling a wide variety of unique entrees and side dishes, each described on an I-pod menu.

The main dining room, Moonlight Sonata, offered a variety of dishes every night that ranged from good to excellent, with very few disappointments. We especially liked the Select Dining option which was a nice departure from the regimented two-seating arrangement on most traditional cruise ships. And, we were always able to get a table for four by the window as we requested.

The Service

A cruise passenger's perception of onboard service is so often dependent upon who their stateroom attendant was and which waiters / waitresses served their meals. So, at best, any evaluation of service should be taken only as a generalization based on limited individual experiences while onboard.

Having prefaced this part of my review (to "cover my tail" in case the reader has a different experience), let me say that my wife and I found the service to be superb. Our stateroom attendants (Violetta Rodriguez and David Campbell) were the best team we've had on any cruise (and we've taken many cruises). The dining staff was competent and professional in all restaurants. In addition, there were some nice little "extra touches", such as greeting you back onboard with a complimentary welcome-back soft drink and a "spritz" of cool spray after a long day of shore excursions. However, one of the things that I most appreciated was the judicious use of public announcements. Following the captain's positioning and weather update each morning, the public address system was virtually silent the remainder of the day. There were no blaring announcements about the next round of jackpot bingo or special "deals" on jewelry. If you were interested in such things, the time and place of all onboard activities and events were clearly shown in the daily calendar that was left in the stateroom the preceding night. Having learned to read when I was in 1st grade, I didn't miss the annoying announcements one bit.

The Entertainment

If there was one area in which my experience aboard the Celebrity Eclipse disappointed me (and my traveling companions), it was the entertainment. More specifically, the Broadway-style production shows (which I have seen countless times before on other cruise ships) were fair at best and totally uninspired at worst. That's not to say that the individual performers were not talented (although I've seen better). It's only to say that I found these "song and dance" shows to be "corny", repetitive and, in certain respects, slightly amateurish. The exception to this was the last show (titled "Eclipse"), which featured some terrific acrobatic performances and great sets with special effects. The variety shows (jugglers, magicians, comedians, etc.) were generally good.

The highly-promoted glass blowing exhibition was, in my opinion, slow-moving and dull. Although the presenters from the Corning glass museum were obviously very skilled at their craft and dedicated to their work, I just couldn't get too excited about spending nearly an hour watching a glass bowl being made. In fact, at one point during the exhibition, my wife turned to me and said "What am I missing?". Ironically, this same exhibition was highly recommended to us by one of our staff members who saw it on the Solstice. So, don't take my word for it. See for yourself.

The Staterooms

Like every modern cruise ship, the Celebrity Eclipse offers a wide variety of accommodations, ranging from lower-priced interior cabins (with no window) to huge luxury suites with personal butlers. Obviously, a guest staying in one of the large suites would have a different stateroom experience than one staying in a much smaller interior cabin so, once again, I must preface my stateroom review by cautioning the reader that it is based on my specific experience (which may or may not hold true for other types of accommodations on the Eclipse).

My wife and I chose (as we most often do) a standard mid-priced stateroom with a balcony, which was more than adequate for the two of us. The décor was soft and pleasing. The bedding was very comfortable and neither of us had any difficulty falling asleep. The bathroom was a nice size but the shower did not have a hand-held extension (which meant you had to move your body around a bit to get yourself all rinsed off). There was somewhat less storage space than we would have liked on a 14-night cruise but, overall, we were very satisfied with our standard balcony stateroom accommodations.

Conclusion

Having taking well over 30 cruises over the past 15 years that we've been in the business, my wife and I are always looking for something special when a new cruise ship enters the market. And, that's exactly what we got with the Celebrity Eclipse. On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 being the unattainable standard of being absolutely perfect in every respect), we give this one an overall rating of 8.5 to 9. We can't wait to book our cruise on the brand new Celebrity Silhouette (sister ship of the Eclipse) when she begins round-trip sailings to the Caribbean from Cape Liberty, New Jersey in 2011.

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Top Cruise Secrets Revealed

There are more than 200 cruise ships that you can choose from today. But the one thing that they all have in common is that a little advance planning and "insider" knowledge can help you save time and money on your next cruise. Here are the "top ten tips":

1. Maximum flexibility = Maximum savings. Most travelers have some flexibility in their travel dates, especially if planning ahead of time. Let your cruise specialist know that you can consider alternate departure dates that may have lower rates available. Keep in mind cruise lines will offer better prices and perks on sailings that are not nearing capacity.

Tip: Shoulder or off peak sailings offer the deepest price cuts. For example, the departure right after the New Year cruise might be substantially lower.

2. Ask if guarantees are available. This requires that you have a little gambling spirit. Many cruise lines will offer a rate on a particular cabin category instead of an actual stateroom number and in effect guarantee that rate to you. Then the cruise line has the option of assigning you a stateroom in either that category or better.

Sometimes you win and end up in a cabin several grades higher and sometimes you end up in exactly the category you were guaranteed. Remember, there is both an upside and downside to this program.

Tip: Completely understand the process before booking a guarantee.

3.Upgrade programs. Often, your cruise specialist may offer a cruise line upgrade program. This means that you book and pay for category 'B' and will be moved to a higher category 'A'. Again, there is an element of risk here. The fact that a stateroom may be in a higher category does not always mean it will be a more desirable cabin. For example, you might be in a nice mid ship balcony stateroom on Deck C and get an upgrade to a balcony stateroom on Deck A.

While your new assignment may be the same size and have identical amenities you might end up in a less desirable location such as near an elevator or at the extreme end of the ship. And there are outside cabins that have views partially blocked by lifeboats or other equipment. On the other hand there are many instances of guests being upgraded several categories to wonderful staterooms.

Tip: Advise your cruise specialist that you will consider upgrades offered but you want to have final say on any changes before they happen.

4.Special Fare Eligibility - One of the reasons that savvy cruisers find a knowledgeable cruise specialist and stick with them is the fact that there are many special fare programs that may or not be visible to cruisers doing casual research on the web. These include things like regional fares that are made available to residents of selected states.

Caution: If you are offered a regional fare and you don't live in that area and can not prove residency, don't do it. Cruise lines have the right to check your eligibility on sailing day and charge for the difference before you board. It does happen. Some of the other special fares being promoted today include active duty and retired military fares, union member fares, police and public safety discounts, airline or hospitality rates and more.

Tip: If your cruise partner is a member of any of the these groups, the discounts usually apply to everyone traveling in the same stateroom.

5. Past Passenger Specials - Virtually every major cruise line has a loyalty club for its members with different levels and benefits. Joining is free and entitles you to special perks and discounts when you book on that line. For many commonly owned cruise lines such as Carnival Corporation, the offers extend across all the brands such as Carnival, Princess, Holland America etc. Ditto for Royal Caribbean and Celebrity.

Tip: Many cruise lines started operation before computers become common and can not easily retrieve date for cruises you may have taken several years ago. However, if you send a letter to the cruise line listing the ships and cruises you have been on, most will take your word and credit you with those unrecorded sailings. This might have the effect of moving you from Gold to Platinum level and significantly improve the benefits.

6. Check for Group Rates: Many cruise agencies hold what is known as block space on ships. That means that they have reserved space at group rates, which can be up to 20% lower than individual rates. Many agencies that reserve space for groups hold aside several cabins for individual clients who might be able to depart on this date.

While you may be traveling as a group, your cruise experience will be as an individual traveler. The downside might be that your dining time or section is affected by the group program. The upside is that you might benefit from some group amenties such as an onboard credit, free shore excursion etc.

Tip: If your cruise specialist offers group rates, understand the features, benefits and limitations completely before you book. From the cruise line perspective you are a member of the group and fall under the policies and procedures for groups.

7. On board re-booking. Most cruise lines now allow you to book your next cruise with that line while on board. They may have what is known as an on board sales consultant or even a desk. This is usually a great opportunity to save. Generally, the cruise line will throw in some strong perks to retain your loyalty to their brand. Onboard credits on the future cruise can be quite substantial. Upgrades and other benefits are usually significant.

Tip: Many cruise lines realize that you may not be sure when and where you want to cruise while on your current voyage. Not to worry, because most have a program where you can book on board with the flexibility to change to other sailings and ships via your cruise specialist when you get home and keep all the benefits. This is a truly a win win for you!

8.Seek out Value Adds. Over the past few years, cruise lines have instituted something known in the trade as The Level Playing Field. This was instituted to attempt to control the rampant rebating and discounting that occurred in the post September 11 travel slump. Basically, now the cruise lines have been partially successful in putting the genie back in the bottle by requiring cruise agents to all use the same pricing feeds.

Because cruise agents do not purchase and re-sell the cruises but are paid a commission, the cruise lines themselves totally control published rates. One of the unintended side effects of Level Playing Field pricing is that the cruise lines had to find a way to promote challenged sailing dates. And they did this by creating Value Added features. They can include benefits ranging from dollars off certificates, on-board credits, pre-paid gratuities, free spa treatments, specialty dining experiences, casino credits to a free bathrobe or camera.

Tip: Ask your cruise specialist to seek out sailings that offer value adds. They can significantly impact your bottom line.

9.Arrange your own airline tickets. If you need to fly in to your embarkation port most cruise lines have flight programs known as Air/Sea arrangements. The good news is that includes the flights and often meet and greet and transfers. The bad news is that in order to publish these add-ons the cruise lines have negotiated the fares far in advance and try to set the rates on a cost average basis.

To you, it generally means that these add-ons may be up to 50% higher than the fares you can get by arranging the flights yourself. The one exception to this in many cases are Europe cruises where many lines maintain bulk contract fares. So it is always a good idea to comparison shop. Most lines allow you to purchase just the transfer package so you are able to create your own air/sea package at significant savings. And of course if you have several thousand airline miles collecting dust, this might be a good time to try to use them.

Tip: If you are arranging your own flights, make sure to allow plenty of time for flight delays etc. Savvy cruisers will often invest in a pre-cruise hotel the night before the cruise so that they can avoid the stress caused by late arriving flights. Remember, if the airline leaves you on the tarmac for 7 hours and you miss the ship, that voucher for a free flight will not seem very appealing. And unfortunately, the airline will not compensate you nor will the cruise line refund your money as you are counted as a no show.

10. Travel Insurance: What is the one thing you must bring on your cruise that you hope never to use? Trip Insurance! As you can see in #9 above things can and do go wrong. An affordable comprehensive trip insurance policy can cover many of these contingencies including, lost baggage, trip interruption, medical evacuation and more.

Your cruise specialist can explain the various programs available as there are several. Mark sure you understand fully the coverage and limitation before accepting coverage and keep in mind that you can not get coverage retroactively. It is a small, but absolutely vital part of your vacation expenditures. Keep in mind very few medical insurance polices cover you while out of the country and basic homeowner policies often do not compensate for lost luggage or other events. Just as in land based trips, the carriers responsibility to you is extremely limited by their contract and should a medical emergency arise on board or ashore you are responsible for all expenses incurred.

Tip: Cancellation coverage is very specific. Understand what is covered and not covered. You can not decide not to go at the last minute without incurring substantial cancellation charges. And if you have any pre-existing health issues, this may or may not be a covered event. That is why it is important to actually read the coverage.

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Oasis of the Seas - Tips For What to Expect Aboard the World's Most Innovative Cruise Ship

It was so exciting to receive an invitation to a pre-inaugural two-day trip aboard the all-new-game-changing Royal Caribbean Oasis of the Seas! After our on time flight, we proceeded to baggage claim to locate the Royal Caribbean representatives for our transfer to ship. We were loaded on a bus after a very short wait and transferred to the brand new terminal 18 at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale (purpose built for Oasis and Allure.) We really did get from curb to gangway in 15 minutes as advertised and everyone is the terminal was very pleasant. While Oasis is making port calls, card scanning/security will ALWAYS occur shore-side prior to re-boarding to enhance the boarding process. (A great idea for a ship than holds so many people and another industry first.) After boarding on the Royal Promenade level on deck 5 (the Royal Promenade on Oasis is much larger than the Royal Promenade first introduced on Voyager class), we easily found our cabin, D2-11702, Superior Ocean View w/Large Balcony starboard aft. Our cabin had a very nice sized balcony and plenty of storage space inside. The standard cabin stall shower had plenty of pressure and was more spacious than it appeared from the outside. It also featured a footrest to make the leg shaving process easier. Interestingly enough, the vanity/basin was extremely low.

After getting our gear settled in our cabin, we headed off to explore the Oasis of the Seas and find some lunch. We stopped in the Solarium to take it all in. Seems Royal Caribbean has taken some cues from sister brand Celebrity's AquaSpa area with the whirlpools, healthy cafe, etc. The Oasis includes a greatly expanded Solarium Bistro (translation healthy buffet by day and healthier alternative restaurant by night). In addition, there are cozy beach loungers and even a soothing stream. Visit the Solarium for a great retreat from some of the other hustle and bustle filled neighborhoods. In addition, do not miss the Solarium's fresh water pool and two cantilevered whirlpools carried over from the Freedom class; also visit the Solarium bar for a beverage. We had a wonderful lunch from the large selection in the Bistro. (The Solarium Bistro offers more choices than the Celebrity, Millennium class, AquaSpa Cafe, no disrespect to Celebrity's wonderful onboard experience). It was challenging to remember this was the "healthier buffet" since there were so many appetizing selections.

Next stop, we visited the new loft suite section on decks 17/18 with their own private area. This concept appears to be borrowed from NCL's Courtyard area. The two level Crown Loft Suite was truly one of a kind. Is the Loft Suite area better than NCL's Courtyard area? Answer: It is different. Next, we visited Central Park, a place like no other at sea. You can walk through this floating park on deck 8, over the roof of the Royal Promenade, and stop for a drink, coffee, or even pick up lunch from the Park Cafe to enjoy under a tree. Royal's lineup of alternative Restaurants including the new 150 Central Park is located in Central Park. Finally, you can also visit the all-new Vintages wine bar. Take your time to explore one neighborhood at a time and perhaps plan a meal there as well.

Note: the mandatory safety drill on the Oasis is also an industry first. You will not have to don life jackets in your stateroom and walk to your muster station with the straps dragging on the stairs. Life jackets are located near the lifeboats close by your assigned muster station. Additionally, a Royal Caribbean employee assures your attendance at this important safety event by scanning your room key card. (You will see more and more functions are loaded onto your card...ala a Disney type experience.)

The next neighborhood is the Boardwalk. This seaside inspired family entertainment area, is located aft on deck 6. Here is where the cruise industry's first floating carousel at sea is located complete with hand carved wooden animals. Keep in mind Royal has dispersed these three dining/shopping neighborhoods very well with the Royal Promenade midship on deck 5, Central Park, midship on deck 8, and the Boardwalk, once again, aft on deck 6. Bear in mind all of these neighborhoods lie along the route to the Opal Theatre forward and the Opus Dining Room aft. The boardwalk includes Johnny Rockets, and the new Seafood Shack along with other "high glycemic" outlets. The stern end of this area features one of my personal favorites, the all-new AquaTheater. The AquaTheater features Oasis of Dreams, Royal Caribbean's "Cirque O" inspired synchronized swimming/diving extravaganza with dives as high as 72 feet.

Been to your basic dining rooms and main show theatres? Look at the Opal and Opus, the Opus dining room is three decks high al a Voyager/Freedom Class but without the giant center opening. Further, each tier is also built out on concentric circles from the center. Therefore, even with such a large space, on each of three decks, you cannot view many tables at one time, which provides an almost intimate feel to such a gargantuan space. The Opal theatre is also three decks high and contains the latest in AV technology. The first night, we saw an unannounced Abba tribute show in the Opal Theatre. While not a huge Abba fan, the show was great and the theater was very comfortable. (Remember, Royal's objective is to have many dining and entertainment venues to keep passengers dispersed as they can't have the entire ship going from one dining room to one show lounge across two seatings, AND Royal Caribbean delivers.). Oasis is also introducing another first, on-line pre-booking for shows, alternative dining, and activities. Royal is well ware of the number of passengers trying to get to the shows and activities like the zip line, rock wall and not to mention the variety of alternative dining venues. Therefore, for cruisers who like to pre-plan all of the details, you can do it now for the Oasis. I did it for my own shows; just present your room card key for scanning at the door. Are you interested in prebooking your own activities and dining? Why not ask your travel planner to take care of the details for you?

The Oasis has not forgotten about the little ones. Happy kids equal a happy vacation for the parents! Royal Caribbean once again changes the game with their Youth Zone neighborhood entered via Kids Avenue on deck 14. This amazing facility has the largest daycare at sea, Royal Babies & Royal Tots, large enough to rival a top shelf land based day care facility. In addition to the obligatory teen dance club and hangout area, the Oasis has the Adventure Ocean Theatre for shows put on by kids for kids! This amazing area is broken up into different rooms by age group. This is the largest youth complex I have ever toured on a ship!

After another wonderful dining experience in the Opus dining Room, we went to see Hairspray. This was the best show I have seen at Sea, better than a lot of shows on land. The quality of the acting and singing was great along with the pit band that would occasionally rise from beneath the stage and even glide to the back while on the stage. The sets were just magnificent and the production values were amazing. Hairspray is a must see show. Shortly after this show, we were off to the Oasis of Dreams at the AquaTheater. While Royal was still working out last minute technical glitches, the show went on in a "rehearsal" format. I truly enjoyed hearing the commentary and stories about what went into this incredible production. Oasis of Dreams is also a must see on the Oasis of the Seas.

Sunday, 29 November, disembarkation day - we left our stateroom for one final breakfast in the Windjammer. This buffet is not like other Windjammers, the décor is more like that of a premium cruise line and the food stations have a great flow. We went down to the Royal Promenade just before 9am, but were quickly herded into the Opus ding room and told to sit. Why? The second gangway was not operational and caused a delay getting off the ship. I hope Royal has this and a couple of other very small details worked out in their otherwise magnificent offering. After disembarking, we were quickly directed to our FLL airport bound coach and bid adieu to the Oasis of the Seas. Well, this colossus of a ship did not want us to forget her just yet! The ship was still clearly visible from our Continental gate inside the airport. The verdict is in. This is an incredible ship with more to offer than I can describe. However, this ship is the destination as there are only a handful of Caribbean ports that can accept this vessel. Therefore, the Oasis of the Seas is great for first time cruisers, multi-generational family trips, and past cruisers who have totally done the Caribbean and are looking for a new experience.

Hotels in Orlando indoor water park

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Orlando - Attractions For Kids And Grown-Ups

Orlando is located in Florida. This is the most «summery» city in the USA, known for its excellent weather, beautiful and lush nature and well-developed infrastructure. Travelers from all around the planet head for Orlando in search of fun. The name of the city derives from the name of a soldier Orlando Reeves, who died here during the war against the Seminole Indian tribe.

Few people would know of Orlando if the Walt Disney World - the unique theme park - was not constructed here. That is why one can say that the year 1965 has changed the city's history. This was the year when Walter Disney, a famous American film producer, started to implement his plans of turning this deserted land into the world of fantasy. The giant Disney World occupies a 113 sq.m. territory. Its the place where children and kids alike dip into the magical fairytale world, the world where dreams come true. The park's territory is divided into several areas, each with its own name and its own attractions.

If you've never been here you can't even imagine how great the park is. Altogether «Disneylands» of Los Angeles, Paris, Spain and Tokyo are only a half of that in Orlando. But don't think that the park was built for children only. In addition to kids areas, there are golf courts, night clubs and what not.

Each area has its attractions. For instance, Magic Kingdom contains an Adventureland, with rides such as Pirates of the Caribbean and Jungle Cruise, a Liberty Square has the Hall of Presidents and other democratic attributes. Fantasyland is filled with the Peter Pan's Flight, Dumbo the Flying Elephant and The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh spirit. There is also a Tomorrowland with such attractions as the Starcade, Astro Orbitor, Disneyland Railroad and others. Names of the parks speak for themselves and describing their advantages would take too long. But one of the park's most visited attractions is Disney-MGM Studios where visitors can meet their favourite cartoon characters.

Inhabitants of the sea - from polar bears of the Arctic to inhabtitants of the tropic waters - can be observed at the "Sea World" - one of the most popular marine mammal parks of the USA. You can even stay at one of the Walt Disney World's hotels - rates are a bit higher than that in Orlando (the resort is located 20 miles from the city), but each hotel is a true sight: imagine you live in a Polynesian hut, or in a Wild-Western style hotel, or even a music-themed hotel called Disney%s All Star Music.

The only drawback is that there are no natural reservoirs close by, and it takes 1,5 hours to reach the ocean by car. But there is another attraction - Disney's Vero Beach Resort - located on Atlantic coast.

Both children and grown-ups will like Universal Studios Florida where one can «jump into the action of the movies», and entertain oneself at one of its attractions like «Terminator 2:3-D», «The Simpsons Ride», «Revenge of the Mummy», «Animal Actors On» and many others.

These are just a few of Orlando's attractions and parks. The city of course has numerous galleries, museums and scientific centres. But that's the subject for another story.

Fort Lauderdale Florida Hotels in Orlando

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